Grandma’s Korean Pancake
Esther Choi, the chef/owner of Mokbar and Ms. Yoo in New York City, says that this riff on her grandma’s pajeon, a traditional Korean vegetable pancake, is all about the crispy edges. “As a kid, I only ate the edges of the pancake,” Choi explains. “I wanted to create a pajeon that was very crispy throughout — i.e. the rice flour, ratio of batter to vegetables and ground pork help make it crispy.” The result is a pancake that Choi acknowledges is not traditional, but “has been tested hundreds of times” and is exactly to her liking. Choi is a member of the Chefs’ Collective 2023, a group of culinary professionals from across the country who inspire us.
Ingredients
For the pancakes:
- 1 cup (4 1/2 oz./120 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz./75 g) Asian rice flour (not sweet or glutinous)
- 1/4 cup (1 oz./30 g) cornstarch
- 1 Tbs. kosher salt
- 2 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 cup (4 fl./125 ml) water
- 8 oz. (250 g) ground pork, or any ground meat or seafood
- 6 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
- 2 cups garlic chives or scallions, cut into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces
- 1 medium carrot, cut into 1/8-inch (3-mm) matchsticks
- 1 red finger chile pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 cup (5 oz./155 g) kimchi, thinly sliced
- Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
For the dipping sauce:
- 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) soy sauce
- 1 Tbs. gochugaru (Korean red chile flakes)
- 1 Tbs. rice vinegar
- 1 tsp. sesame seeds
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, rice flour, cornstarch, salt and sesame oil. Add the water and whisk until the batter is loose but thick enough to coat and run off your finger. Adjust with more water if needed.
Add the ground pork and whisk until completely incorporated into the batter—it should seem to “melt” into it.
Add the shiitake mushrooms, zucchini, garlic chives, carrot, chile pepper, shallot and kimchi. Mix well until everything is lightly coated in the batter.
In a 10-inch (25-cm) nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm about 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) of the oil.
Add about 1 cup of the batter and spread it into a 1/2-inch (12-mm) thick pancake. Cook, undisturbed, until the batter has set and the pancake feels sturdy and evenly browned underneath, 4 to 5 minutes.
Flip and cook the pancake on the other side until evenly browned underneath, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat with the rest of the batter, adding more oil as needed.
To make the dipping sauce, in a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, gochugaru, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, scallions and garlic.
Serve the pancakes hot, with a small bowl of dipping sauce on the side. Makes about 6 pancakes.
Recipe courtesy of Esther Choi, chef/owner of Mokbar and Ms. Yoo