Have you guys seen Culinary Class Wars on Netflix? It's a Korean cooking show that we really enjoyed. The basic premise is chefs from all over Korea - from starred Michelin chefs to extolled restauranteurs - competing for the top spot. It was so interesting to learn about Korean traditional food - not least the world famous barbecue. I found myself googling ingredients as I went. There were too, however, I was familiar with.
One was kimchi - we often get it from the Chinese grocers, though I've also made it myself. It's a staple in Korea and made from cabbage or radish which is fermented and seasoned with garlic, ginger, chilli and fish sauce (though you can get a vegan version too). On the show we also learnt about white kimchi, which is without chilli. It's not to everyone's taste as it can be quite fermented and hot, but it's rich in probiotics and so good for you.
I had to laugh when it came up in @quarator's Hive Top Chef challenge as the feature ingredient. I had about three quarters of a cup left from two pots of it and was getting a bit fed up with it just as a side, or eating it from the jar. So I started thinking - what could I make with it? As if one thing the Korean show had taught me was that you could use kimchi in all sorts of ways, from seasoning in soup to pasta sauces. That makes sense - the liquid is quite sour, salty and spicey. I thought perhaps I could make some kind of rice ball, and a quick look on line showed me that yep, people make a kind of arancini from rice, kimchi and even cheese. I had some left over rice. Were rice balls the answer?
The thing is, I had long grain white rice, and rice balls kinda need a gluggier sushi or risotto rice. So I decided to make jeon, since I'm pretty much addicted to Korean vegetable pancakes these days. Have you heard of them? I see them as a kinda Korean version of bubble and squeak - leftover fried vegetables. They even make one that's just kimchi and batter. Having read that you could add cheese - what the? - and fish, as well as rice, it was a no brainer. I was going to experiment with some rice and kimchi jeon.
For this experiment, I wasn't so convinced about the cheese. It didn't seem like an Asian type flavour. I decided I'd make three - one with just kimchi & rice, one with added tuna, and one with added tuna and cheese. In my mind, it seemed like a fantastic leftovers lunch. I also added a ton of spring onions and garlic chives from the garden, as I think they work so well with a savoury pancake, and some tapioca starch, as some kind of flour or starch makes for a crispier pancake, as well as a large egg to help bind it together. I fried them in vegetable oil til crispy, which took about four minutes on medium-high heat on both sides.
Half way through, I decided to add some gochujang to the mix. As I'd added tuna and cheese, I was worried I was watering down the kimchi spiciness, and gochujang has a similar flavour profile. I always have some on hand - it's one of my favourite ingredients! It's like a spicy, fermented chilli jam.
Finally, I had three pancakes, garnished with garlic chives from the garden and drizzled with a sauce of sesame oil, gochujang and tamari (a type of soy sauce) that I had made for other jeon. But which one did I like the best?
Kimchi Jeon (Kimchi Pancake) Recipe
Ingredients:
- Kimchi - roughly 3/4 cup, finely chopped, with juice
- Egg: 1 large
- Tapioca starch: 30g or about 2 tbsp
- Garlic chives: A small handful, finely chopped
- Spring onion: 2 - 3 stalks, finely chopped
- Gochujang (Korean chili paste): 1 tbsp
- Cheese: A large handful - I used cheddar
- Tuna (canned): 1 small to medium tin.
Stir all the ingredients together.
Spread a large spoonful of batter in a heated pan coated with vegetable oil.Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy. Flip carefully with a spatula - you might need to make smaller pancakes so they are easier to handle or cut in half to flip.
Serve with more kimchi on the side, or perhaps a garnish of chives and a mayonaisse or dipping sauce such as tamari, sesame oil & chili sauce in equal proportions or to taste.
Much to my surpise, my favourite one was absolutely the one with cheese! All of a sudden the cheese and kimchi together made sense. Both have an umami flavour profile, and both are aged. Why wouldn't they work together? Cheese also mellows out the kimchi, bringing a creaminess to counter the sharpness of the kimchi. There's also the fact that cheese adds a kind of sweetness to the saltiness of kimchi. Genius!
As for the tuna, well, I'm not sure it's needed. I know tuna isn't always the most ethical choice here. I think you could add crumbled tofu for extra protein or forego a protein addition altogether. I think brown rice would also work really well in this recipe too, and seaweed. But I really enjoyed this lunch - even Jamie did, and he shouldn't have kimchi as it messes with his histamine levels during this hayfever season we're in right now down south in Australia.
Did you know that after all my years on Hive, this is the first time I've entered @quarator's Hive Top Chef Challenge?
With Love,
Are you on HIVE yet? Earn for writing! Referral link for FREE account here
