Korean Kimchi Pancakes-Kimchi Pajeon

Kimchi PA Jeon - Kimchi Pancakes with scallions

Today I want to share a recipe using some delicious, and super healthy Korean kimchi. By using it in these pancakes the flavor will not be so strong, and you might enjoy trying this amazing food. It's much easier than just taking a bite straight out of the jar, especially if you are not used to it. 

Kimchi is typically made super-spicy, and it is eaten by almost all Koreans, with almost every meal. The average Korean consumes about 40 pounds of this each year. It is basically a fermented cabbage, made with garlic, salt, vinegar, chiles, and other spices. Sometimes kimchi is made using things like radishes too. Kimchi is high in vitamins A, B, and C, and has loads of that good bacteria found in yogurt, lactobacilli. This is especially helpful in digestion, helping to prevent yeast infections, and possibly helpful in the prevention of cancer.

Clearly this stuff is god for you, but the key to all food that is super healthy, is to actually eat it. Growing up Romanian, I am used to eating sour condiments with my meals, so this is not to far from that. Since I started cooking Indian food, eating spicy lime pickle for example is very common in our house as well. So when I tried kimchi I enjoyed it from the very start. However like I said if you are not used to this kind of flavor, I suggest starting of with a mild kimchi, and trying this recipe. You will not believe how tasty having cabbage in your pancakes can be. I promise you will love it!!

Kimchi Pajeon

* 3 c all purpose flour

* 1/4 c rice flour

* 1/2 c urad flour

* 1/2 c milk

* 2 eggs

* 1/2 tsp baking powder

* 1/2 tsp chili powder

* 1 tsp sugar

* 1 tsp salt

* kimchi juice (maybe 1-2 tsp from the jar, as needed)

* 1 c chopped kimchi

* 1 bunch green onions, cut in 1 inch pieces

1. Mix all dry ingredients together. Then add the wet ingredients, and mix until you get a smooth batter. A little thicker than a crepe batter. Once your batter is mixed well, see if you need extra liquid. Use some kimchi juice from the bottle, and if you still need more add a tsp of water at a time.

2. Now you can add your green onions, and kimchi to the batter.

3. Have a hot skillet oiled slightly, and pour the batter forming a pancake. Make sure to help spread the batter, green onions and kimchi smooth, and as thin as possible.

4. Cook until browned on one side, then flip to cook the other side.

5. Serve hot, or you can enjoy these cold. 

*** Please note***

If you do not have all the different kinds of flours available, you can make this using just regular all purpose flour. Just adjust the measurements accordingly. Using the different kinds of flour is not a typical recipe you will find if you google this. I just added those because well, that's how I cook. I wanted to see how it turned out, and I loved it, so I'm sharing it with you as well. 

In addition, if you can get to a Korean supermarket, grab a bag of KOREAN PANCAKE MIX. This is suppose to give you a nice crispy pancake, and I want to try this out next time. I didn't have this on hand, but after asking several Korean friends, they all suggested this mix to me. 

Hope you can try this wonderful treat yourself. It's super for breakfast, lunch dinner, or just to snack on anytime of the day. It's also a perfect appetizer for a party. Remember you can add shrimp, carrots, red onions, even broccoli. Just experiment and see what you come up with. However I LOVE the kimchi in there, and adding some extra heat, was just perfect for my taste.