Seafood & Kimchi Savory Pancakes

A bit of Korean/American fusion in the form of a delicious and wonderfully easy-to-make pancake.

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Main Course, Main Dishes

Cuisine American, Fusion, Korean, Miscellaneous, North American

Keyword dinner pancakes, kimchi, korean fusion, korean pancakes

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Servings people

Calories 367kcal

Ingredients

Basic Batter

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1.5 cups milk
1/3 cup melted butter (about 75 grams)
1 tbsp baking powder

Seafood & Kimchi

1/2 cup kimchi plus extra to serve
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 large shallot finely chopped
1/2 lb squid chopped (see note)
1/2 tsp gochujang

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the squid (or shrimp) and gochujang and cook until the seafood is cooked through (see note). Set aside to cool.
Preheat a griddle (if using) or skillet over medium heat. (See note below about added butter).
Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, and melted butter and mix thoroughly until well combined.
Stir in baking powder, taking care to get it thoroughly mixed into the batter. Let the batter stand for 5 minutes.
Add the semi-cooled mixture and the chopped kimchi to the basic batter, stirring until just combined.
Pour the batter onto the preheated griddle/pan (see note below about adding butter); I like to use about 1/2 cup of batter per pancake, but you can go bigger or smaller depending on your personal preferences. Cook until the bottom is browned, the edges are looking solid, and bubbles are coming up through the center of the pancake. Flip over and cook for an additional 2 minutes or so, then set aside to cool.
Garnish with extra kimchi (plus or minus some chopped scallions or gim [seaweed]).

Notes

Squid vs. shrimp - I used thinly cut strips of squid, which cook quite quickly. If you use small (or chopped) shrimp instead, your cook time might need to be increased a little bit. That being said, the ingredients will cook a bit more in the pancakes themselves, so try to take care not to overcook your seafood or it will end up rubbery.

Vegetarian variation - you can simply omit the seafood, and instead cook the shallots with a little gochujang before adding them (and the kimchi) to the batter. Try topping with some gim (seaweed) before serving to add a bit of a marine punch.

Extra butter - I use a well-seasoned griddle to make my pancakes and I've never needed any extra butter to keep the pancakes from sticking. That being said, if you're using a skillet or frying pan, you may want to have a little extra butter handy to add to the pan in order to keep the batter from sticking as it cooks.

Nutrition