from my previous kimchi pork belly stir-fry and wanted to finish it before my dad throws away my kimchi again like before because he thought that it’s been sitting in the fridge for more than 2 weeks and nobody has touched it *laughs*. I’ve been wanting to try making kimchi pancake (김치전) for the longest time now so it was the perfect opportunity! Kimchi pancake is something I’d usually order at Korean restaurants but the price is usually on the steeper end. After realising how simple it is to make the pancake, I think I’d hesitate to order it when I eat out in future.
The batter is pretty straightforward, you’ll need: kimchi, kimchi brine, flour, cornstarch/potato starch/rice flour (to make the pancake crispy), spring onion, water, salt and sugar. I used semolina flour which is a coarser grain of flour, but if you don’t have that, you can use regular all-purpose flour.
Mix all the ingredients together to form a runny batter.
Heat a 28cm frypan over medium-high heat and add a generous amount of oil (minimally 2 tbsp). If you use too little oil, your pancake may not turn out crispy enough. Once the oil is hot, add a scoopfuls of batter into the frypan, leaving some space between the pancakes so they won’t stick together. You can also make one whole pancake but I decided to do mini ones so it’ll be easier to flip them over.
Fry until the underside becomes browned and cripsy, around 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes over and fry the other side until browned. I personally felt that they were crispier and tasted better when very slightly charred. I also prefer my pancakes thinner as I feel that if they are too thick, the inside tends to be doughy and feels undercooked to me.
The kimchi pancakes were flavourful and savoury enough to be eaten on their own but if you want to make the dipping sauce, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar (or white vinegar), sugar and water.
I really enjoyed the parts that were slightly charred – they were incredibly crispy and tasty! It felt like I was eating a healthy but yummy snack, or at least I’d like to think they are healthy. Kimchi pancakes will probably be my go-to dish the next time I want to finish up the kimchi in my fridge!
In case you didn’t read the entire post, here are some tips for extra crispy kimchi pancakes:
– Use cornstarch/potato starch/rice flour in addition to flour as that will give the pancakes additional crispiness
– Use a generous amount of oil (at least 2 tbsp) to ensure that the pancakes will be crispy
– Ensure each pancake is not too thick so as to avoid a doughy interior
Korean Kimchi Pancake
Ingredients
KIMCHI PANCAKE
- ¾ cup kimchi
- ¼ cup kimchi brine
- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp semolina flour or plain flour
- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp cornstarch/potato starch/rice flour
- ¼ cup water
- 1 stalk spring onion chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp sugar
DIPPING SAUCE
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp rice vinegar/white vinegar
- ½ tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for the kimchi pancake.
- Heat a 28cm frypan over medium-high heat and add a generous amount of oil (at least 2 tbsp to ensure the pancakes are crispy). Once the oil is slightly smoking, add scoopfuls of batter into the frypan, leaving some space between the pancakes so they won't stick together.
- Note: You can also make one whole pancake if you prefer, but mini pancakes will be easier to flip over. Also, try to make the pancakes thinner so they won't end up too doughy inside.
- Fry kimchi pancakes until the underside becomes browned (or even slightly charred) and cripsy, for around 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes over and fry the other side until browned. Remove pancakes from frypan.
- Combine all ingredients for the dipping sauce, and serve with the pancakes.
