Cooking for two

Korean pajeon pancakes make warm savory meal

 Korean Scallion Pancakes With Vegetables Photo by Linda Xiao (The New York Times)
Korean Scallion Pancakes With Vegetables Photo by Linda Xiao (The New York Times)

Pajeon, those crisp-edged, scallion-filled Korean pancakes, are delectable in any weather. But it's on rainy, blustery days when the skies seem bleak and the air feels damp, that chef Sohui Kim craves them the most.

Kim, an owner of Insa and The Good Fork restaurants in Brooklyn, N.Y., told me this as she was walking down the streets of Red Hook. It was drizzling, and I could hear the wind howl through her cellphone.

"I could use one now," she said. "I need something comforting and crispy."

I got hooked on Kim's seafood pajeon at Insa, where its crunching sounds markedly improve the karaoke renditions of "Bohemian Rhapsody," or at least drown them out.

When she told me the pancakes were easy enough to make on a weeknight, I begged her to tell me how.

"If you think about the sweet pancakes you make in the morning, it's the same thing," she said. "You can throw anything in the batter -- blueberries, apples, chocolate chips. When you turn the whole notion savory, the possibilities are limitless."

Kim, who lived in South Korea until age 10 when she moved the United States, learned how to make the pancakes, called jeon, from her mother. ("Pa" means scallions and is added to the word when they're tossed into the batter.)

"My mother would use whatever was available," she said. "Sometimes she'd grate zucchini and throw it in with kimchi juice, or she'd use mushrooms or edible roots." (Kim is partial to jeon made with leftovers like Brussels sprouts.)

Most importantly, she said, is to finely chop or shred raw vegetables, so they cook quickly in the batter. Cooked vegetables and seafood can be cut into bite-size pieces. Then, shallow fry the pancakes in just enough oil to coat the pan in a thin layer, but not more. These are pan-fried, not deep-fried, and you don't want them to get greasy.

Kim mixes potato or other starches into the batter to give the jeon a slightly sticky chew. She adds baking powder for lightness. But her mother sometimes won't bother with either. Like recently, when the two were making kimchi jeon together, and her mother used only kimchi, flour and water.

"I said, 'Mom, let's jazz it up,'" Kim recounted. "But she said: 'I'm too tired. Let's just eat it.'"

"And you know what, it was great."

Korean Scallion Pancakes With Vegetables

For the pancakes:

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup potato starch (or 1/4 cup each white rice flour and cornstarch)

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed

½ teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup ice water

1 large egg

¼ cup finely chopped kimchi

4 cups finely chopped or grated mixed vegetables (carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, kale, whatever you've got)

4 scallions (green onions), cut into 2-inch-long sections and thinly sliced lengthwise, divided use

2 tablespoons grapeseed or peanut oil, plus more as needed

For the dipping sauce:

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger or garlic (optional)

½ teaspoon sesame oil, plus more to taste

Pinch of sugar

In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, potato starch, salt and baking powder.

In a medium bowl, combine water, egg and kimchi. Whisk kimchi mixture into flour mixture, and whisk until smooth. Fold in vegetables and about three-quarters of the scallions. (Save the rest for garnish.)

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Scoop ¼ cup portions of batter into the skillet, as many as will fit while not touching, flatten, and fry until dark golden on the bottom, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and continue to fry until other side is browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with a little more salt. Continue with remaining batter.

In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, vinegar, ginger or garlic (if using), sesame oil and sugar. Sprinkle sliced scallion over pancakes, and serve with dipping sauce on the side.

Makes about 3 servings.

Food on 11/13/2019

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