Crispy Kimchi Jeon (Kimchi Pancake) with Sparkling Water
A special kimchi jeon pan-fried to a crisp texture with sparkling water 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 →
A snack pan-fried until golden, made by combining sour ripe mustard greens kimchi or aged sour kimchi with garlic chives. Mixing sparkling water and potato starch into the batter maximizes the crispy texture without getting soggy. Seasoned and colored with kimchi brine, it turns out deeply savory without adding salt.
- Servings
- about 2–3 servingsOriginal: 2 pancakes, 22 cm across
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spiciness
- Mildly spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Aged sour kimchi (or mustard greens kimchi (gat-kimchi))500 g
- Garlic chives (buchu)50 g
Pancake batter
- Korean pancake mix (buchim-garu) (or frying mix (twigim-garu), wheat flour)1 cup
- Potato starch1/2 cup
- Kimchi brine1/2 cup
- Sparkling water1/2–2/3 cup
- Instead of napa cabbage kimchi, you can use mustard greens kimchi or well-aged kimchi, and adding vegetables such as garlic chives or perilla leaves is also great.
- Squid or other seafood is also delicious in this, so you can prepare some alongside.
- You can use cold water or ice water instead of sparkling water.
Steps
Prepare the ingredients
Prepare 500 g of sour, well-fermented mustard greens kimchi and 50 g of garlic chives.
This is the kimchi brine that will go into the batter.
Squid or other seafood is also delicious in this, so you can prepare some alongside.
Cut the ingredients
Chop the mustard greens kimchi finely, and cut the garlic chives into similar lengths.
Make the batter
Put the chopped mustard greens kimchi and garlic chives into a bowl...
Add 1 cup of Korean pancake mix and 1/2 cup of potato starch as well.
Pour in 1/2 cup of kimchi brine and 2/3 cup of sparkling water (= cold water or ice water).
Adding kimchi brine gives the pancake a pretty color without needing separate gochugaru, and it seasons the batter so the salt level is just right without adding any salt.
Also, using sparkling water instead of plain water makes the pancake much crispier and more delicious.
Mix thoroughly.
If you feel the kimchi is very sour, you can add some sugar to the batter to neutralize the sourness.
Pan-fry
Heat the pan over high heat and drizzle in a generous amount of cooking oil.
Ladle the batter onto the pan; when the oil sizzles around the edges, the temperature has risen properly.
Spread it out evenly and thinly all over.
To prevent burning, lower the heat to medium now and fry until the bottom is crispy and light golden brown.
Flip it over, swirl in some more oil, press down with a spatula so the bottom spreads thin and flat, and fry until crispy.
Complete
The kimchi jeon made with mustard greens kimchi is finished.
Kimchi jeon made with napa cabbage kimchi is delicious too, but the texture here is truly wonderful, and the subtle bitterness unique to mustard greens is charming.
When the weather is overcast with rain in the forecast, you can feel a bit down.
At times like this, sizzling and smelling that savory aroma of oil while popping hot kimchi jeon into your mouth brings your mood right back up.
Ppunwife's tips
- Kimchi itself contains a lot of moisture, so reduce the water compared to other pancakes; mixing potato starch into the batter or using sparkling water instead of plain water lets you enjoy it much crispier.
- If you feel the kimchi is very sour, you can add some sugar to the batter to neutralize the sourness.
- Flip it over, swirl in some more oil, press down with a spatula so the bottom spreads thin and flat, and fry until crispy.
FAQ
What can I substitute if I don't have sparkling water?
You can mix the batter with cold water or ice water instead of sparkling water.
What should I do if the kimchi is too sour?
When the sourness of the kimchi is strong, you can neutralize it by mixing a suitable amount of sugar into the batter.
Is there a trick to frying the pancake crispier?
Mix potato starch or sparkling water into the batter, spread it thinly in a pan generously coated with oil, and fry over medium heat until the bottom turns golden brown to make it crispy.
Can I use regular wheat flour instead of Korean pancake mix?
You can use frying mix or regular all-purpose flour instead of Korean pancake mix without any problem.
