Kimchi Pancakes (Kimchijeon) 🥢

Description

Crispy Korean kimchi pancakes with a tangy savory dipping sauce, golden edges, and a juicy kimchi center that tastes like a street-food classic done clean and premium. 🥬

Hook ✨

If you want the most searched Korean appetizer that hits fast and loud, kimchijeon is the one: crispy, punchy, and made from pantry basics. ✨

Ingredients

• Pancake batter
• 🥬 180 g kimchi, chopped (1¼ cups / 6.3 oz)
• 🥣 60 ml kimchi juice (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)
• 🧅 60 g scallions, thin sliced (1 cup / 2.1 oz)
• 🧅 80 g onion, thin sliced (¾ cup / 2.8 oz)
• 🌾 110 g all purpose flour (¾ cup / 3.9 oz)
• 🍚 40 g rice flour (⅓ cup / 1.4 oz)
• 🌶️ 4 g gochugaru, optional (1 tsp / 0.14 oz)
• 🧂 2 g fine salt (½ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 💧 120–150 ml cold water (½–⅔ cup / 4–5 fl oz)
• 🛢️ 30 ml neutral oil, for frying (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• Dipping sauce
• 🥣 45 ml soy sauce (3 tbsp / 1.5 fl oz)
• 🍋 15 ml rice vinegar (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• 🍯 5 ml honey or sugar syrup (1 tsp / 0.17 fl oz)
• 🧄 3 g garlic, finely grated (1 small clove / 0.1 oz)
• ⚫ 6 g toasted sesame seeds (2 tsp / 0.2 oz)
• 🟤 10 ml toasted sesame oil (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Prep the kimchi
2. Chop kimchi and squeeze lightly so it is not dripping, then measure the kimchi juice. 🥬
3. 2️⃣ Mix the batter
4. In a bowl, combine all purpose flour, rice flour, salt, and optional gochugaru. Add kimchi, scallions, onion, kimchi juice, and 120 ml (½ cup / 4 fl oz) cold water, then stir just until thick and spoonable, adding up to 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz) more water if needed. 🥣
5. 3️⃣ Rest briefly
6. Let the batter rest 5 min so it crisps better and fries evenly. ⏳
7. 4️⃣ Heat the pan
8. Heat a 28 cm (11 in) nonstick skillet over medium high for 2 min, then add 15 ml (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz) oil and swirl to coat. 🔥
9. 5️⃣ Fry until deeply golden
10. Pour in the batter and spread into a round about 20 cm (8 in). Fry 5 min until the bottom is deeply golden and crisp. 🥢
11. 6️⃣ Flip cleanly
12. Add the remaining 15 ml (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz) oil around the edges, flip, then fry 4 min until crisp and browned. 🍳
13. 7️⃣ Make the dipping sauce
14. Whisk soy sauce, vinegar, honey or syrup, garlic, sesame seeds, and sesame oil until glossy. ⚫
15. 8️⃣ Slice and serve
16. Rest 1 min, slice into wedges, and serve hot with the dipping sauce. 🍽️

Total Time

⏱️ Prep: 15 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 10 min
🛋️ Rest: 5 min
⏰ Total: 30 min

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