Korean Vegetable Pancakes
Prep Time: ~10mins
These Korean pancakes are god-tier with a satisfyingly crispy exterior, contrasting with a starchy and soft interior. They are simple, quick, and despite being fully vegetarian (and gluten-free if you wish) they have all the hallmarks of a cheat meal. Exquisitely moreish, I love eating these with a bottle of Tabasco sauce at hand.
Serves: 2-4
Prep: ~10 minutes
Cook: ~5 minutes
Ingredients
Pancakes
3 Large king oyster mushrooms
One large carrot carrot
One small red or white onion
A bunch of spring onions
Vegetable stock (~400ml)
All-purpose flour (~240g)
Potato starch (~90g)
Olive oil or groundnut oil
Dipping Sauce
Soy sauce (2 tbsp)
Rice wine vinegar (2 tbsp)
Toasted white sesame seeds (1 tbsp)
Chopped spring onion (1 tbsp)
Toasted sesame oil (1/2 tbsp)
Honey (1/2 tbsp)
Gochugaru or chilli flakes (1/2 tbsp)
Notes
Dipping sauce: While nice, this is certainly optional. Personally, I like a classic hit of Tabasco sauce or the Maggi brand Malaysian chilli sauce.
Equipment
Large mixing bowl
Frying pan or skillet
Whisk
Mise En Place
Dressing
Gently toast a tablespoon of white sesame seeds in a pan until golden, and leave to cool.
Mix the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame seeds, gochugaru, and sesame oil in a small bowl. If you like sweet, add honey. Thinly slice the green ends of one or two spring onions and add those too.
Pancake Mix
Take a vegetable peeler and make ribbons out of the carrot. Finely slice the onion and spring onions, and cut the king oyster into small cubes.
In a large bowl, add the potato starch and flour and whisk while gently adding vegetable stock into the bow. You are looking for a batter which is not too viscous but not too liquid.
The Cook
Empty the prepared vegetables into the batter and mix well, ensuring they are coated and the batter is binding.
Tip: The batter should be ever so slightly sticky. If you find it to be too loose, take a small bowl to the side, prepare another batter with ~30g potato startch, ~80g of flour and slowly whisk-in vegetable stock until a paste-like batter is formed. Add this to your bowl with the vegetables.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil or groundnut oil to a pan and bring to a moderately high heat. Once hot, add a layer of vegetables to the pan in a pancake-shape, and gently mould the shape as they fry. They should be reasonably flat and even in thickness and rounded. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
Once golden, remove from the pan, sit on a folded paper towel to capture the oil and instantly add a garnish of Maldon sea salt. It should have a crisp and crunchy exterior with a soft and gooey inside. You can serve the pancake whole, or slice it into squares for optimal dipping form factor.
If you attempt this dish, let me know how it goes, and if you variate the recipe in any way. This newsletter relies upon word of mouth, so if you know someone who would enjoy this recipe please share it.
Thanks for reading,
Conor