I’d argue that those beautifully colored kimchi pancakes are rather on the subtle side when it comes to taste intensity. The kimchi flavor certainly isn’t overwhelming. At the same time, leaving it out makes you wish for something.

Ingredients

Serves 4 hungry ppl.

Pancake batter

• 2 eggs
• 1.5 cups of chopped Kimchi (most likely around 400g)
• 2 cups of flower
• 2 cups of corn or potato starch
• 1.5 cups of kimchi liquid
• 12 tablespoons of water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 spring onions

Dipping sauce

• some chili flakes
• a bit of sugar (adjust to taste)

Equal parts of:

• soy sauce
• sesame oil
• rice wine vinegar

Half a cup of each will do, less probably too.

Garnish

• Sesame seeds
• 1 spring onion

Method

Strain the kimchi and preserve the juice. Finely chop it and mix it with the remaining batter ingredients. The batter should neither be as liquid as normal pancake batter nor be as sticky as dough - just somewhere in between should be fine. In case your kimchi doesn’t hold the suggested amount of kimchi juice, just substitute it with water.

Place the batter in a high-heat pan coated with a neutral oil. It should be fairly easy to flip them. Aim for a thickness between .5 and .8 cm. Not using too much oil will prevent them to be too heavy and soft.

Precut the pancakes so they can be dipped in a sauce bowl with chopsticks.

Garnish with sesame seeds and possibly extra spring onion.

Closing remarks

I tried out dried seaweed as a complement and substitute for the Kimchi, both of which I can recommend.

Serving spiralized cucumber and carrot mixed with some of the dipping sauce and fresh coriander makes for a fresh, fitting side dish.

Many thanks to Giulia. :)