How to Make Kimchi Pancakes! (Kimchijeon)

Kimchi Pancake, or as the cool kids say, Kimchijeon. The unruly cousin of plain old pancakes who went backpacking in Korea and came back full of sass and spiciness. These guys are a full-on flavor carnival with crispy edges, a chewy interior, and that signature kimchi kick. It's like breakfast, but it studied abroad.

Making Kimchijeon at home is an exercise in culinary punk rock. It laughs in the face of traditional pancakes and spits hot sauce in the direction of convention. The batter is an easy mix of flour, water, and kimchi juice - that's right, we're using the juice. The result is a hearty, crispy pancake that doesn't just challenge the status quo, it dropkicks it out the window.

So, get your apron on, maybe throw on some old punk tunes, and let's give breakfast a wake-up call it won't soon forget. Cooking Kimchijeon is about as far from making Aunt Jemima pancakes as you can get, and that’s the whole point. It's a riotous blend of textures and flavors that's just begging to be washed down with a cold beer. And remember, cooking is a contact sport, so don’t be afraid to get messy. 🤘🏼Adam

Yield: 2 medium pancakes

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Kimchi Pancakes (Kimchijeon)

Cook time: 40 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Ingredients

Kimchijeon

• 1/2 pound Kimchi, chopped
• 3 Scallions, sliced thin
• 2/3 cup All-purpose Flour
• 3 Tbsp Kimchi Brine
• 1 tsp Honey
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1 Egg, beaten

Dipping Sauce

• 2 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds, garnish
• 1 Tbsp Scallion, sliced thin, garnish
• 1/2 tsp Gochugaru, garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Start with some napa cabbage kimchi. Preferably, older, sour kimchi is used for a more flavorful, tangy pancake. Remove some kimchi from its container, along with a bit of its brine.
2. Don't mince the kimchi, but rather chop it up a bit to maintain some crunchiness.
3. Transfer the chopped kimchi, along with all the other ingredients, to a mixing bowl. Stir the liquids in first before adding the solids. This makes the mixture blend more easily. The ingredients include the chopped kimchi, green onion (also known as scallions), and all-purpose flour.
4. Once the ingredients are combined into a batter, it should be chunky but still pourable. If the batter seems too thin, simply add more flour to thicken it up.
5. Next, heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add a bit of neutral oil and wait until it's hot enough to sizzle a bit of batter.
6. This recipe is good for two medium pancakes, but you can adjust the size to your preference. Pour the batter into the hot pan and let it sizzle undisturbed for a few minutes.
7. When you see some darker coloring along the edge of the pancake and it's loose enough to jiggle around the pan, it's ready to flip. Carefully turn it over with a spatula, avoiding burning it. Repeat the process for the second pancake.
8. Once both sides are cooked and have a nice color, poke the pancakes to see if they're done. If they spring back, they're ready.
9. Move the pancakes to a cooling rack to prevent them from getting soggy on the cutting board. Once cooled, they should have a soft but semi-crunchy interior with a crispy exterior.
10. It's optional, but you can serve your pancakes with a tangy soy dipping sauce. There's no one right way to serve these pancakes; you can slice them like a pizza or serve them whole and let people pick at them with chopsticks.

Adam's Notes

• “Kimchi brine” is a reference to the red juice that forms at the bottom of the kimchi jar. It’s salty, tangy and packed full of flavor. Don’t waste it!
• These pancakes are some of my favorite Korean Banchan (side dishes) to be served with KBBQ.