Crispy and Savory Kimchi Jeon (Kimchi Pancake)
A kimchi pancake made extra crispy and flavorful with canned tuna and potato starch.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
Canned tuna is added along with its oil to aged sour kimchi, enriching the savory flavor and mellowing out the tartness. Mixing potato starch and cold water into the batter gives it an even crispier texture when pan-fried. It makes the perfect snack when you feel peckish, or an ideal side dish for makgeolli.
- Servings
- about 2–3 servingsOriginal: 2 pancakes, 23 cm across
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spiciness
- Mildly spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Aged sour kimchi500 g
- Sugar1/2 tbsp
- Canned tuna1 (135 g)
- Large green onion (daepa)white part
- Cheongyang chili pepper (hot green chili)2
Pancake batter
- Korean pancake mix (buchim-garu)2 cups
- Potato starch1/2 cup
- Cold water (or ice water)2 cups
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)1 tbsp
- Large green onions taste great these days so I used one instead of onion, but you can also use 1/2 onion instead.
- They say you can also use sparkling water instead of plain water to make the pancake crispy.
Steps
Prepare the ingredients
Prepare about 1/4 head of pleasantly sour aged kimchi, 1 can of tuna (135 g), the white part of a large green onion, and 2 Cheongyang chili peppers.
Large green onions taste great these days so I used one instead of onion, but you can also use 1/2 onion instead.
Chop the ingredients
Finely chop the aged sour kimchi, large green onion, and chili peppers as much as possible.
The stem part of kimchi is quite stiff and does not soften easily, so chopping it finely helps keep the pancake from tearing while pan-frying.
Mix the batter
Because of the strong sourness, I first added 1/2 tbsp of sugar and mixed it in to neutralize the tart taste.
Add the tuna along with its liquid, then add the large green onion and chili peppers.
Add 2 cups of Korean pancake mix, 1/2 cup of potato starch to make it crispier, and pour in 2 cups of cold water or ice water, then mix together.
They say you can also use sparkling water instead of plain water to make the pancake crispy.
To give it an appetizing color, add 1 tbsp of gochugaru and mix thoroughly to finish the batter.
Pan-fry
Thoroughly heat the pan over high heat, swirl in a generous amount of cooking oil, and spoon in the batter.
There should be a sizzling sound and the oil should bubble gently so the batter does not absorb too much oil and turns into a crispy pancake.
Lower the heat to medium and pan-fry both sides, shaking the pan often so the oil seeps evenly into the batter.
After flipping, swirl more cooking oil around the edges, shake the pan so it distributes evenly, and press down with a spatula to keep the pancake thin.
Finish
A thin, crispy kimchi pancake is complete.
If you chop the ingredients finely, it will not tear easily even when pan-fried thin.
The savory oil from the tuna softens the sourness of the kimchi, and the kimchi's acidity cuts through the richness of the tuna, making these two ingredients a wonderful pair.
You might think tuna wouldn't go well in a kimchi pancake, but it is very good.
Pan-fry a kimchi pancake and enjoy it when you crave a snack or as an accompaniment to makgeolli.
Ppunwife's tips
- The stem part of kimchi is quite stiff and does not soften easily, so chopping it finely helps keep the pancake from tearing while pan-frying.
- There should be a sizzling sound and the oil should bubble gently so the batter does not absorb too much oil and turns into a crispy pancake.
FAQ
Should I drain the tuna oil before adding it?
Do not discard the oil; adding it together with the liquid brings out the rich, savory flavor of the pancake.
Is there a trick to making the pancake crispier?
Mixing potato starch and cold water into the batter, then pan-frying it in a well-heated pan with a generous amount of oil, will make it crispy. You can also use sparkling water instead of plain water.
Can I use other vegetables instead of the large green onion?
You can chop and add 1/2 onion instead of the white part of the large green onion.
Why should the kimchi be chopped finely?
The stem parts are stiff and do not soften easily, so chopping them finely prevents the pancake from tearing even when pan-fried thin.
