Korean Kimchi Jun (Kimchi Pancake)

This kimchi pancake recipe is a great use of leftover kimchi and is very easy to make. Kimchi Jun works as a hearty snack, an appetizer, or a side dish to a Korean or Asian meal. As with most Korean recipes and dishes, you can tweak it to your own tastes with the addition of other vegetables, meat, or seafood. If you are going to be using the ready-made batter available at Korean and other Asian groceries, see the bottom note for directions.

Ingredients:

•2 cups flour

•2 eggs, beaten
•1.5 cups water
•1-2 cups of chopped cabbage kimchi (baechu kimchee), depending upon how spicy and crunchy you like your pancake
•1 tsp salt
•Oil for cooking

Preparation:

1.Mix all ingredients together and let sit for about 10 minutes. Check consistency before cooking – batter should be a little bit runnier than American pancake batter, so that the Pa Jun cooks quickly and evenly.

2.Heat a saute pan over medium heat and coat with a thin layer of oil.
3.Pour batter to fill pan in a thin layer (about 1/3 of your batter should fill a regular saute pan).
4.Cook for 3-4 minutes until set and golden brown on bottom.
5.Turn over with help of spatula or plate (or flip it in the air if you are good at that) and finish by cooking 1-2 more minutes, adding more oil if necessary.

6.Serve with soy or spicy dipping sauce.

(Serves 4 as an appetizer or a side dish)

*You can also make these using the ready-make “Korean Pancake Batter” (Buchimgae) from the Korean of Asian grocery store. You just add ¾ cup water to every 1 cup of dry mix and add whichever vegetables you wish.