해물파전[Hae-Mul-Pa-Jeon]
I wish the picture of this seafood scallion pancake turned out to be more appetizing than it looks on the screen because it really is delicious. I guess its two dimensional form couldn't help it. Nonetheless, these seafood scallion pancakes make the best appetizer ever especially if they are served right off the stove when they are still hot and crispy.
For 2-3 servings:
scallion (6 stalks, cut in half)
seafood mix (1/2 cup)
flour (1 cup)
water (3/4 cup)
egg (1)
oil
1.
Mix flour and water.
2.
Mix in seafood mix.
3.
Cut scallions about 4 inches long and lightly coat them with flour.
4.
Add half of the prepared scallions into the seafood and flour mix.
5.
On a skillet in high heat, place a few stalks of scallions over oiled surface.
6.
Pour the seafood scallion mix onto the skillet, and cook at high heat for the first couple minutes and reduce to medium heat.
7.
When the bottom side of the pancake is about cooked, pour an egg mix over and around the edge of the pancake.
8.
Add remaining scallions onto the top and fry both sides of the pancake by turning until they turn golden and crispy.
부추전[Bu-Chu-Jeon]
Garlic chive pancake used to be my favorite jeon (pancake) as I was growing up. When my mom was making a batch of garlic chive pancakes for dinner, I would often stand by her with a mini bowl of ketchup (for dipping sauce) and a plate anxiously waiting for each pancake to be passed over to the plate when it's cooked. My sisters and I then devoured the toasty, chewy garlic chive pancakes even before dad got home, making only few left for the family dinner.
For 2 servings
flour or Korean pancake mix (3/4 cup)
ice cold water (1/2 cup)
garlic chives (10 stalks)
oil
For Dipping Sauce:
soy sauce (2T)
vinegar (1T)
1.
Mix the Korean pancake mix (3/4 cup) and ice cold water (1/2 cup). Colder the water, more crispier the pancake would get. If Korean pancake mix is not available, use flour instead.
2.
Cut garlic chives about 4-5 inches long.
3.
Add half the garlic chives into the pancake mix.
4.
Glze a skillet with oil and place some of the garlic chives that had not been added to the pancake mix.
5.
Pour the garlic chive pancake mix onto the skillet.
6.
Place rest of the garlic chives on top. This step (and Step 4) help garlic chives visible from the pancake.
7.
Fry both sides of the pancake until they turn golden and crispy.
김치부친개[Kim-Chi-Boo-Chin-Gae]
Pancakes in general, whether they are the breakfast kinds or Korean pancakes like this, must be the specialty of someone who is very patient and disciplined, I think. Not only do you have to resist the temptation to turn it over too quickly, it also requires standing and staring for several minutes at a slow-cooking pancake over medium heat. I am not very good at this as I have a terrible tendency to set up multiple tasks when I am cooking and get easily distracted one from another. This slightly burned, kimchi pancake is a result of my such habit of cooking. Luckily, I saved it at the very last minute, and though it may not look too appetizing at first, the taste was unaffected and came out just as delicious ;) Didn’t I say before that you can’t really go wrong when cooking with kimchi?
For 2 servings
Korean pancake mix (3/4 cup, or use flour and egg)
water (1/2 cup)
kimchi (2/3 cup, chopped coarsely)
onion (1/2, medium size sliced)
1.
Mix Korean pancake mix (3/4) and water (1/2). If you don't have Korean pancake mix, you could use flour (3/4 cup) and an egg instead.
2.
Add kimchi and onions.
3.
On high heat, glaze the pan with enough oil.
4.
Pour the kimchi mix onto the pan and on medium heat cook until both sides turn slightly crispy. With the ingredients provided, you could make two thin pancakes that are about a half foot in diameter or one big and fat pancake like in the picture.
고구마전[Go-Gu-Ma-Jeon]
One of my ex-coworkers used to say her favorite vegetable and the only vegetable she eats is French Fries. I thought that was funny when she said it considering how health conscious people are these days. But then I realized I am not much different from her. Sweet potatoes are my favorite vegetable, I have to say.
I like the Asian kind, which is white inside and sweeter than yams or American sweet potatoes that are yellow inside. The best way to enjoy (the Asian kind) sweet potatoes, I think, is just to bake them in the oven, and the next best way is to slice and fry them like above.
For 2 servings:
sweet potato (1)
egg (1)
flour (1/2 cup)
salt
1.
Cut a sweet potato into thin slices.
2.
Lightly coat each slice with flour.
3.
Next coat with egg with added salt.
4.
Fry on high heat for the first 3 minutes.
5.
Change to medium heat and continue frying until it gets soft and turns golden brown.
