Love a good fritter? Well these kimchi savory pancakes are definitely a fantastic weekend treat, especially on a rainy day to spice things up!  They are super delicious and super easy to make! 

Starting with your best kimchi will result in the most flavorsome kimchi pancake kimchijeon. 

 

Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made from fermented vegetables. These ferments usually include Korean cabbage, radish, Korean pepper chili flakes, scallions, garlic, ginger, fish sauce (or soy sauce for a vegan option) and salt. Although this ferment can be dated back to ancient Korea, it is still a popular dish. 

 

Kimchi has been known for its wide health benefits due to the probiotic content, vitamins and antioxidants from the fermentation process. 

 

Kimchi can be used in a variety of ways including as a side dish, in Korean cooking and Korean recipes, including: in kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae), kimchi fried rice (bokkeumbap), kimchi pancakes (kimchijeon) or as a topping for a flavour and nutrient boost.  

Kimchi Pancake (kimchi jeon 김치전) ingredients:

1 cup of your favorite kimchi drained and finely chopped (reserve this brine)

½ cup reserved kimchi brine

1 cup stone ground flour (for best results) or all-purpose flour

2 tsp cornstarch (optional but makes for a crispier kimchi pancake)

2 eggs

1 scallion chopped or spring onion

Oil for the pan

Dipping sauce for kimchi pancakes:

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp tamari soy sauce

½ tsp sesame oil

½ tsp Korean red chilli pepper flakes (or just a sprinkle of cayenne pepper)

½ tsp toasted sesame seeds. 

Instructions to make Korean pancakes:

Whisk eggs and combine the rest of the pancake ingredients to form a thick kimchi pancake batter

Heat your pan over a medium to high heat

Add a generous amount of oil to the pan

Spoon ¼ cup of the Korean pancake mix into the pan, spreading it thinly for easy cooking and cripiness. 

Cook each side for approximately 3 minutes or until golden brown. You might need to lower the heat of the pan once they start cooking, depending on your stove 

 

For the Dipping sauce:

Combine all the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl

Serve up your Korean pancakes with the dipping sauce, enjoy! 

 

Tips for making Korean Kimchi pancakes (kimchijeon).

How to make kimchi pancakes crispy

To make korean kimchi pancakes crispy make sure you use enough oil so that it can fry the edges making them crispy. The oil needs to be hot so that the pancakes do not absorb all the oil. To test, heat your pan, add your oil and test your kimchi pancake by only cooking a tablespoon of kimchi pancake mix. Once this is cooking quickly and is resulting in a crispy kimchi pancake, then start cooking your larger pancakes. 

Add the cornstarch to your batter. This will give it that extra crispness! 

Make sure to spread the pancake batter thinly in your pan. This will also save on cooking time, cook through more evenly and result in a crispier pancake. 

Chop your Korean kimchi finely, so it is easier to spread the pancake batter more thinly. 

Serving

Serve with a sprinkle of salt and some dipping sauce, or even just a dollop of mayonnaise! 

Reheating kimchi pancakes

You can reheat them if you like, but they will loose their crispness. A better idea is to store the batter in the fridge for up to 48 hours and cook them in a hot pan as per the instructions. 

Storage:

You can store your kimchi pancake batter in a tupperware in the fridge for up to 48 hours.