Korean Comfort Food

I was craving spicy, quick, and not requiring much thinking or shopping last night. My consumption of Korean food has decreased with the decreasing number of weekends in New York and the increasing amount of dedication to bringing my lunches to work and the lack of metro-accessible Korean groceries.

Anyway, the convenience store where I sometimes pick up wine on the way home from the metro is owned by a nice Korean family. The daughter is about my age and she seems to always be rooting for me -- like I'm the nice Korean girl who managed to work my way up in the social hierarchy. The door to the store is full of signs advertising their goods, one of which says "Fresh Kimchi!" Hmmm. Its just two blocks from my house and on my way home. Kimchi. Mmmm. I had scallions left over from Persian goodness the night before. Half a zuchini as well. I always keep on hand the basic Asian four -- tamari soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and oyster sauce. And then it hit me, Pa Jun (Korean Pancake)!

Pa Jun's base is simple. Egg, flour, and water. What you add in varies from the basic (just scallions), to veggie laden (scallions, squash -- typically zuchini, and korean red pepper), to seafood laden (typically one or more of the following -- shrimp, oyster, clams), to kimchi laden. My favorite are the scallion, veggie, and kimchi ones, but I rarely order them at Korean restaurants because they are made family style. That is, one pancake is the size of a huge pan and costs anywhere between $8-$20 depending on the place and the fillings. Sometimes they come as banchan, so I can never justify buying them.

This is soooo easy and soooo fast and soooo delicious and soooo healthy that I think it may become a new staple in my diet. This grades A nutritionally, and the way I prepared it comes in at 170 calories per serving, with .5g fat, 0 cholesterol, 362mg sodium, 1.8g dietary fiber, 7.6g protein, 6% vitamin A, 16% vitamin C, and 11% iron. My recipe serves one hungry Asian chica an 8" diameter pancake. For aesthetic purposes, I ate half of the pancake so I could make a pretty picture on a pretty plate.


The batter is easy. For small skillet sized pancake (think about 8" diameter), use 1/4 cup of flour (I used whole wheat, but any flour good for flatbreads like millet or spelt could be used), 1/4 cup of water, and 1 egg white. Mix together.

Traditionally, the stuff that goes in the pancake are done in 2-3" strips, julienned. I took about half a zuchini, a small handful of chives, and about 1/4 cup of chopped up kimchi. This was almost too much for my pancake. A good korean pancake is loaded with fillings, but doesn't fall apart. You don't need any salt if you use kimchi as it is already quite salty. You also should drain the kimchi a little so it doesn't make your batter too wet. Throw all of the fillings in with your batter and mix well. Then, I took an 8" stainless steel fry pan and sprayed it with canola oil from a pressurized oil sprayer. I highly recommend these as they give you a nice even coat with out overdoing it. Let the pan come to temperature on medium heat. Don't go too high or your pancake will burn before the inside is done.

Throw the pancake in and spread the fillings out evenly. You are going to feel like you have waaaay too much filling for the batter, but that is normal. The average korean pancake can reach about 1/2" thick. Let it cook for about 5 minutes on the first side. It should be golden brown and you should see the batter on top start to look a little dry. Then comes the flip. I used the method shown to me by Maruja, the little old Spanish lady I stayed with when I lived in Madrid, for spanish tortilla flipping. Use a spatula to loosen everything from the bottom of the pan. Then slide the pancake onto a small round plate (that is bigger than the pan), cooked side touching the plate. Spray the pan again lightly with oil. Take the plate, and in one swift motion, flip over your plate on top of the pan. The first side will always be browner and less cool looking than the second side. This is because the batter settles to the bottom on the first side. No worries, just remember that all korean pancakes are displayed with side that is cooked second up. The second side should take about 4-5 minutes, depending on your filling to batter ratio.

Remove from heat and transfer to a cutting board. Cut up into manageable pieces. I do mine quartered since these are small. The really big ones are generally done into little squares. Serve with a basic sauce that is equal parts light tamari soy sauce (not the dark soy used for cooking) and rice wine vinegar with a dash of sesame oil, pepper flake, and chopped chives. Dip each piece in and enjoy!