I am in love.

Every now and then I try something new and we eat it non stop til I forgot about it and move onto the next thing.

This month it's Korean vegetable pancakes. Why haven't I tried these babies yet? I know my son is obsessed with cooking okonomataki, the Japanese version. As far as I know, the Japanese ones are sweeter. We buy them sometimes when we are out - I like them, but have never been keen on making them as they seem quite thick and floury to me. As far as I can tell, they use more wheat flour whilst the Korean pancakes mix with other flours to fry to a more crisper pancake, and has a more salty, savoury topping.

Basically, for both, one makes a batter and adds the vegetables.

Yachaejeon (vegetable pancakes) is awesome for using the leftover veggies in your fridge. I used mushroom, red cabbage, and zucchini, some spring onions and lots and lots of garlic chives - and a secret ingredient, Korean chilli paste. I love gochugang - it's hot and salty, but not knock your socks off. A tablespoon added to the mix just gave the pancakes a little extra flavour.

Korean Style Vegetable Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 egg (or a tbsp of cornstarch if vegan)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp chilli paste (goachung, optional)
2 cups of your choice of thinly sliced vegetables (e.g., zucchini, carrots, scallions, mushrooms, bell peppers, or any other vegetables you prefer)
1/2 cup of kimchi (optional)
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying
Dipping sauce - I used a mixture of sesame oil, homemade fermented chilli sauce, rice wine vinegar and

Thinly slice the vegetables into matchstick-sized pieces. If using potato, grate and squeeze out extra water. Thinly slice spring onions. I also added heaps of garlic chives and my son tells me grated ginger also is the bomb.

Whisk together the flour, water, egg, and salt until you have a smooth batter, adding the chilli paste if you like.

Add the veggies to the batter so they are well coated. Fry in oil over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side, squishing down as you go. It should be a thin, even layer - you can make lots of little ones or fill the whole pan with a big one.

You can also make these gluten free, using a gluten free flour like rice flour and adding some cornstarch or tapioca starch to help them bind.

It's a fabulous way to get your veggies without much fuss - honestly, this recipe is a keeper. Thanks Korea.

To serve, cut into bite sized pieces and serve with dipping sauce. So good!

Some people add shrimp or even kim chi to their pancakes. In fact, I've already adapted them to make it more German-stylie with tons of parsley and some german mustard - so good.

With Love,

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