This weekend, do you have any plans to showcase your cooking skills and treat your family? If not, don’t worry, let’s try something new by joining the kitchen with TasteVN to make 2 delicious dishes – Japanese savory pancakes and Korean savory pancakes that will leave everyone craving more!
1. Korean Kimchi Pancakes
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
50 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Korean Kimchi Pancakes Serves 3
Kimchi 160 gr Chives 50 gr Toasted sesame seeds 2 teaspoons Tempura flour 2 tablespoons All-purpose flour 100 gr Soy sauce 2 tablespoons Water 100 ml Cooking oil 4 tablespoons Sugar 2 teaspoons
How to Choose Fresh and Safe Kimchi
- Fresh and safe kimchi has bright colors, not turning yellow, and when you touch it, you can feel the distinct crunchiness, not too soft.
- You should avoid buying kimchi that has dark spots or is slimy because it indicates that the kimchi has spoiled due to being kept for too long.
- Additionally, if you have time, you can also make kimchi at home with the extremely simple and quick recipe below from TasteVN!
How to prepare Korean kimchi pancakes
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Mix the batter
First, put 100gr bowl of flour and 2 teaspoons of sugar, using a spoon to mix well.
Then, add 160gr of finely chopped kimchi, 100ml of water, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, and 2 tablespoons of batter for frying.
Next, continue to stir in one direction until the mixture is well combined, then let the batter rise for 30 minutes. Finally, add 50gr of cleaned, finely chopped chives, mix well again, and it’s done.
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Making Vietnamese Pancakes
After mixing the batter, you place a pan on the stove over medium heat. Then, use a specialized brush to evenly spread a little cooking oil, add 1 ladle of batter, and hold the pan’s handle to spread the batter evenly, cooking for about 3 minutes.
Next, gently use a flat spatula to flip it to the other side, continue cooking for another 3 – 5 minutes, until both sides are golden, then turn off the stove, take it out onto a plate, and sprinkle a little roasted sesame on top to finish.
Just repeat this process until all the batter is used up!
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Final Product
The Korean kimchi pancakes have a beautiful golden color that is really appealing, don’t you think? Moreover, when you enjoy it, you will be immersed in the crispy, attractive golden batter, enhanced by the tangy, spicy flavors from the kimchi!
2. Japanese Pancakes
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
50 minutes
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Japanese Pancakes For 2 people
Pork 75 gr Shrimp 75 gr Squid 100 gr Taro 50 gr (mashed) Cabbage 200 gr Onion 1/2 bulb Green onion 20 gr Tuna soup 1.5 tablespoons Chicken eggs 3 pieces Rice flour 10 gr Wheat flour 100 gr Baking powder 3 gr Okonomiyaki sauce 2 tablespoons Mayonnaise 2 tablespoons Bonito flakes 10 gr Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Common seasoning a little (Salt/ sugar/ monosodium glutamate)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh squid
- Usually, fresh squid will have a bright white color, not cloudy and without unusual tiny dark spots on the surface. At the same time, the eyes are still clear, not too bulging out.
- Press gently with your hand to feel the squid has good elasticity, firm, not too soft and mushy. Additionally, the head should not be separated from the body.
- You should avoid buying squid that has a strong fishy smell as this may indicate that the squid is spoiled due to being left out for too long.
How to choose fresh and delicious pork
- Fresh and delicious pork always has a bright pink color, with white fat, and the meat should not have unusual dark bruises or purples.
- Additionally, when you gently press the meat with your hand, it should feel soft and firm, not overly mushy or slimy.
- You should avoid buying pork that emits a strong fishy odor or has turned unusual colors, as this indicates that the meat is spoiled and should not be used.
How to choose fresh and delicious shrimp
- Fresh and delicious shrimp are still alive, with shiny and smooth shells, fresh bodies, and transparent legs that are tightly attached to each other.
- Moreover, quality shrimp have tails that fold together; conversely, if you observe them with tails that are too spread out, it means they have been pumped with water to look plumper.
- Do not buy shrimp that are slimy, have curved bodies, or have legs that have turned black, as these are old shrimp and no longer fresh.
How to Prepare Japanese Pancakes
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Prepare the Ingredients
First, for the shrimp you bought, remove the head, peel the shell, and also remove the black string on the back, rinse briefly with water to clean, drain, and use a knife to cut it in half lengthwise.
For the squid, remove the backbone from the body and squeeze out the beak from the head, rinse clean, drain, and cut into bite-sized rings.
For the pork, rub a little salt all over the surface of the meat for a few minutes, then rinse several times with clean water, drain, and slice thinly.
Finally, wash the cabbage, onion, and green onion with diluted salt water, rinse again with clean water, drain, and then chop finely.
How to Clean Squid Safely at Home:
- Step 1: First, rinse the squid with water, gently separate the head from the body.
- Step 2: Next, use your hands to pull out the transparent white backbone from the squid’s body, while also removing any remaining internal organs.
- Step 3: Finally, cut the innards away from the head, slit the squid’s head, cut off the eyes and rinse clean.
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Making the batter
After preparing the ingredients, add 100gr of bowl of flour and 10gr of rice flour into a spoon and mix well, then use a sieve to sift the mixture for a smoother consistency.
Next, add 3gr of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1.5 teaspoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 2 chicken eggs, 1.5 tablespoons of canned tuna, 75ml of water, and 50gr of mashed taro to the bowl.
Then, use a spoon to stir in one direction until the mixture is well combined. Finally, add all the cabbage, onion, green onion, shrimp, squid, and pork, and mix well once more.
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Pouring the pancake
After mixing the batter, you place a pan on the stove with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil heated over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, pour all the batter from the bowl in, spreading the batter and ingredients evenly.
Then, crack 1 chicken egg into the pan, cover it and fry for about 3 minutes, then open the lid, carefully flip the pancake to the other side, and continue frying for another 3 minutes.
When the pancake is golden brown, turn off the heat, and transfer the pancake to a plate. At the same time, use a spoon to spread 2 tablespoons of okonomiyaki sauce and 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise sauce on top. Finally, sprinkle an additional 10gr of shaved bonito flakes on top to complete.
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Final product
Japanese pancakes have an attractive flavor from seafood and meat, nutritious with various vegetables blended with delicious sauces, creating a perfect dish for the family on the weekends!
Tips for making the dish
- You can serve it with pink ginger according to your taste.
- The obtained flour mixture should not be too watery like water but also not too thick. If the flour is too thin, it will be hard to bind when frying the cake, and if it is too thick, the cake will be a bit thick, chewy, and easy to be raw inside.
- Dashi broth, okonomiyaki sauce, and shaved bonito fish can be purchased at Japanese grocery stores.
- Adding taro helps enhance the flavor of the dish; if you don’t like it, you can omit this ingredient.
- Dashi water can be replaced with tuna soup, and you can also use plain water, but it will make the dish less flavorful and authentic.
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I hope that with these 2 ways to make Japanese pancakes, Korean pancakes that are super unique and appealing will enrich everyone’s menu list! Wish you success.
