Kimchi Jeon (Korean Kimchi Pancake)
A thin, crisp-edged pancake made with well-fermented kimchi and its juice: the savoury Korean comfort snack everyone craves on a rainy day.
Method
Shake off most of the chilli paste clinging to the kimchi and chop it into 1 cm pieces. Thinly slice the onion and cut the scallions into 3 cm lengths. Big pieces of kimchi don't hold in the batter and tear when you flip.
Add in this stepWell-fermented napa cabbage kimchi (sour) 200 gOnion 60 gScallions 1
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cold water, kimchi juice, sugar and chilli flakes until no dry flour remains, then fold in the kimchi, onion and scallions. The batter should slide slowly off a spoon; if it's too thick, add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time.
Add in this stepAll-purpose flour (or Korean pancake mix) 80 gCold water 80 mlKimchi juice (brine) 40 mlSugar ½ tspKorean chilli flakes (gochugaru), optional 1 tsp
Mix the soy sauce and vinegar in a small bowl for the dipping sauce.
Add in this stepSoy sauce 1½ tbspRice vinegar 1 tbsp
Pour enough oil into a 26 cm frying pan to thinly coat the base and heat it on medium-high heat for . It's ready when the oil shimmers (about 170–180 °C) and a drop of batter sizzles immediately. If it smokes, it's too hot: take the pan off the heat for a moment.
Add in this stepNeutral cooking oil 1¾ tbsp
medium-high heatLadle the batter into the centre of the pan, spread it into a thin round about 0.5 cm thick with the back of the ladle and cook on medium-high heat for . Kimchi juice can make the oil spit, so pour close to the pan and keep the handle turned away from you. When the edges are brown and crisp and the whole pancake slides when you shake the pan, it's time to flip (1 pancake(s) in total, cooked one at a time with fresh oil each time).
medium-high heatSupport the pancake with a wide spatula and flip it in one go. Drizzle the remaining oil around the edge and cook on medium heat for , pressing down with the spatula. Flip once more and cook on medium-high heat for for an extra-crisp finish. Slide onto a board, cut into pieces and serve straight away with the dipping sauce.
Add in this stepNeutral cooking oil 1¼ tbsp
medium heat→medium-high heat
Cook's tip
Use sour, well-fermented kimchi for the deepest flavour; if yours is young, add a few drops of vinegar to the batter. A thick layer of batter stays soggy inside, so spreading it thin is the secret to crispness. Korean pancake mix instead of flour crisps up even more easily.
Cooking it at camp
A burner and one wide pan are all you need. Chop the kimchi and mix the batter at home, then carry it in a sealed tub in the cooler. Camp burners heat unevenly, so turn the pan now and then and use a windscreen to keep the cooking times steady.