Street Food & Snacks
Kimchi Jeon (Kimchi Pancake)
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Servings
2
Photo: Flickr user *_* · CC BY 2.0
Steps
- 1
Chop the kimchi small and reserve its juice.
- 2
Whisk flour with cold water and the kimchi juice into a thin, pourable batter.
- 3
Stir in the kimchi, green onion and gochugaru if using.
- 4
Heat a generous slick of oil in a skillet until it shimmers.
- 5
Pour in the batter and spread it thin with the back of a spoon.
- 6
Fry undisturbed 3-4 minutes until the underside is set and browned at the edges.
- 7
Flip once and press flat, frying another 2-3 minutes.
- 8
Cut into squares and serve with the dipping sauce.
Did you know — Korean culture
Ask a Korean when to eat jeon and many will say: when it rains. The association is strong enough that pancake and makgeolli sales measurably climb on wet days. The most repeated explanation is sound - the sizzle of batter hitting hot oil resembles rain on a roof - though it is just as likely that a hot, oily, fried thing is simply what you want when the weather turns.
Old kimchi is the point, not a compromise. Fresh kimchi is crisp and mild and largely disappears into the batter; kimchi that has gone properly sour has developed the acidity that cuts the oil the pancake is fried in. Its juice does double duty, colouring the batter and carrying that sourness through the whole pancake rather than leaving it in pockets.
The batter wants to be thinner than feels right. A thick batter makes a soft, bready pancake; a thin one spreads into a lacy sheet that crisps at the edges and stays tender in the middle. Cold water helps, and so does resisting the urge to add flour when it looks runny in the bowl.
Heat and oil are the last two variables and both are usually set too low. The pan should be hot enough that the batter sizzles the instant it lands, and there should be more oil than feels comfortable - this is shallow-fried, not dry-cooked. Press the pancake flat after the flip so the whole surface makes contact.
Troubleshooting
Pancake soft and bready instead of crisp? Batter too thick, pan too cool, or too little oil - usually all three. Thin the batter and get the pan properly hot.
Falling apart when flipped? Give it longer on the first side. It should release on its own before you attempt the flip.
Tasting flat? Your kimchi is too fresh. This dish needs the sour, over-fermented jar at the back of the fridge.