Rainy Day Pancake

Pa jeon is one of my favourite foods. Since it’s known in Korea as “Rainy Day Pancake”, you’re technically supposed to eat it when it’s raining, but I’ve never really adhered to the tradition (although it did rain in Waterford yesterday!). In Korea, you eat pa jeon with makkoli – a fermented, alcoholic rice beverage that looks like milk and gets served cold in a large teapot. You share one big pancake with whomever you’re dining and drink the makkoli out of small bowls.

The main ingredient in this savoury pancake is green onion, but if you ever order it in a Korean restaurant the word “hae mul” will almost always precede it. Hae mul means seafood, often in the form of squid, mussels, bay scallops and shrimps, and is always a lovely addition to the pancake. It gets served with a soy dipping sauce; usually a combination of soy, vinegar, sugar and chilies. The outside of the pa jeon is always crisp while the inside is soft and comforting – I guess that’s why it’s such a great “rainy day” food.

The key to a crisp pa jeon is rice flour, but if you don’t have access to it (as was the case with me yesterday) regular ol’ all purpose will do the trick. If you’re ever in a Korean grocery store there are pa jeon mixes. I’ve never used them, but I imagine it’s a “just add water and veggies” kind of deal and would be super easy if you were in a hurry. Also, though, if you’re ever in a Korean grocery store, many will have ready made pa jeon on sale, often homemade by the shop owners, and they will taste a gazillion times better than the mix ever would.

This is my own recipe for pa jeon that I’ve adapted from talking to my Korean friends and acquaintances. Egg is not always included in a pa jeon recipe but I find it makes the pancake a lot fluffier on the inside. Also, when I’m feeling sneaky, I’ll grate a carrot or two into the batter with the green onion. Shhhh!

Pa Jeon

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour

1 cup AP flour

2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 1/2 – 2 cups water

1 large bunch green onion, washed and sliced into inch long pieces

1 tsp minced chilies

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Mixed, chopped seafood (optional)

Canola/vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:

• In a large bowl, mix the two types of flour (again, if you don’t have rice flour use two cups of AP) and salt. Add the egg and 1 1/2 cups water; mix. The consistency should be slightly runnier than a traditional pancake batter, but thicker than crepe batter. Add more water if needed.
• Add the soy sauce and chili to the batter and mix. Add the green onion and, if you plan to use seafood, you can add it in at this point.
• Heat a wok or non-stick (or cast iron) frying pan over medium heat. When the pan/wok is hot, add 1 Tbsp of oil followed by 1/2 cup of pancake batter (the pancake will not be crispy on the outside if the pan is not hot enough). Fry until crispy and golden brown on both sides. Repeat the process until all the batter has been used. Makes about six pa jeon. Serve with soy dipping sauce (1 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp brown sugar, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp chili paste, 2 tsp rice vinegar).

Feeling Korea-sick

Our favourite Galbi (Korean BBQ) place in Gokbanjeong-dong, Suwon. It has since closed down; such a shame!

Sometimes I get Korea-sick. It’s not like being homesick, since Korea was never really “home” to me, but I did live there for nearly three years and it was the first foreign country I had ever visited. It holds a special place in my heart.

Patrick doesn’t get Korea-sick like I do. He was well traveled by the time he arrived, having finished backpacking the old silk route, from Istanbul to Beijing, and most of Nepal and India. He’d seen a thing or two at that stage, including a holy man in India who told him he’d meet his future wife in the coming year, would have four children (!) and would live to a ripe old age. True to form, we met the following year. We’ll see how many kids I’m willing to pop out after this one.

Korea, for me, was something entirely new and exciting. I had to learn a completely different way of life, I spent a huge chunk of my time teaching (something, after having my mom teach me my whole life, I had vowed never to do) and I had to learn new mannerisms. It was important for me to learn as much as possible about the culture – you see a lot of foreigners in Korea who don’t bother, and it’s painful to watch.

That was part of the excitement of living in a new place. It was also my first experience living in a city – I had to learn how to use a cell phone and public transit for the first time – and my first real experience with foreign food.

In Nova Scotia, at least, outside of Halifax, we don’t have a lot of ethnic food. It’s getting better now, but when I was growing up the most exotic meal you could get were the spicy noodles at Wong’s, the Chinese food restaurant in my hometown (I still often crave those spicy noodles; they’re so, so good). Sesame oil was a flavour I had to get used to, and it took about six months for me to like kimchi, the staple of any Korean’s diet.

After I started eating kimchi, though, a whole world of Korean flavours opened up to me. Kimchi Jiggae, a hot stew made of (you guessed it) kimchi with soft tofu, green onion and pork or tuna, Pa and Kimchi Jeon, which are Korean-style pancakes, often made tastier with the addition of “hae-mul”, or seafood. Bulgogi, dakgalbi, jjimdak, bibimbap and mandhu all became much-loved meals.

I started craving rice – just plain, Korean-style rice – regularly, as it had become a real comfort food for me. During my first months of pregnancy, I couldn’t eat anything – but Patrick could always convince me to down a bowl of Kimchi Jiggae with rice no matter how sick I felt.

A massive meal of ssamgyupsal (BBQ-ed pork belly) and beer or soju has been our date night of choice for years now. Every major occasion calls for it – weddings, birthdays, going-away parties. So yes, I get Korea-sick quite a lot, especially now that I live in a place with no Korean restaurant (Dear Koreans: Please move to Waterford and open a restaurant. PLEASE.).

For more Korean stories, you can check out my very first blog, ever: Getting My Suwon (don’t judge; I had no idea what I was doing!).

Since I’m having one of those days, I invite you to commiserate. Photos of some of my favourite Korean meals:

Korean-style Chinese food

Shabu Shabu! Boiling broth with thinly sliced raw beef to dip in, followed by noodles when the beef and veggies are eaten.

Buying produce off the ground never tasted this good.

The necessary drinking glasses at any Korean BBQ establishment: beer, water & soju.

Street food in Namdaemun Market, Seoul

Red Mango, my favourite froyo OF ALL TIME. The toppings are unreal. It’s expensive but so worth it.

Gamja Jeon, potato pancakes. Killer.

It’s sometimes best not to read menu translations. Itaewon, Seoul.

Homemade songpyeon for Chuseok (Korean style Thanksgiving)

Dak Galbi (chicken with chili, cabbage, onions, rice cake) in Jongno-gu, Seoul

Korean wedding food. I went to a lot of Korean weddings. These banchan (side dishes) are just for snacking during the ceremony. The real meal happens after!

Dak Galbi in it’s raw state, with a chilled radish soup on the side.

Waiting for our Kimchi Jeon (Kimchi pancake) to arrive we sip on Makkoli (fermented rice alcohol, served chilled in a teapot, drunk from a bowl, looks like milk).

Beachside ssamgyupsal on the island of Muuido.

Street food in Busan – ddeokbokkie (spicy rice cake), kimbap and fried mandhu (pork or kimchi dumplings).

We had this delicious clam Jiggae (stew) after a long hike in Jeollnam-do

Kimchi Jiggae in Baengyeongdo (an island off the coast of North Korea).

Donkatsu in Baengyeongdo, plus banchan (breaded pork cutlet and side dishes).

My first ever Korean meal, Kimbap (rice, ham, egg, pickled radish, root veg) at 5AM. Jetlag.

Typical “service” (meaning: free) bar snack in Korea – squid jerky with ketchup and mayo!