Flapjacks. Hot cakes. Silver dollars. I love pancakes. Waffles are great. French toast is fine. But when it comes to pairing a bit of sweet with my savory at the breakfast counter, pancakes are never my second choice. While waffles and french toast can both do the same things that pancakes can, pancakes do it better. Take fruit for example, especially berries. I've seen plenty a breakfast plate sporting french toast topped with blue, rasp, and/or straw berries. I've seen waffles do the same. Pancakes, on the other hand, can arrive at the table looking plain ordinary--imperfectly circular, burnt golden on two sides, the circumference rounded with a lighter golden ring--they arrive looking like ordinary pancakes until their dressed with small amounts of butter, a swirl of maple syrup, and divided neatly in half, (six times if done correctly). The fork is gently pressed into the golden shell, it's prongs gliding down into the airy center like a pin into a pin cushion. Then, the first bite. Apple. Cinnamon. Warm apples with a hint of cinnamon. Or blueberries. Or strawberries. Or pumpkin. Lemon ricotta. Oatmeal. Carrot cake with coconut and pineapple. Everything, all of it, housed within--and perfectly distributed through--the fluffy batter; the fruit still warm and therefore countering the sweet syrup with a dull tang. It's here that pancakes achieve a level of functionality that surpasses their sweet-variety-breakfast-option comrades. The ability to appear mundane yet act extraordinary. Essentially, it's batter mixed with "stuff", poured round in oil, and lightly fried. A proven formula that manifests itself in many of the world's cuisines. The Korean version is different only in category--savory rather than sweet, paired with soju rather than coffee--the formula is very much the same.
The "batter" is flour sometimes thickened with a fermented soybean paste called doenjang. The "stuff" varies from soil to sea; potato to squid, kimchi to cod. I'm not sure it's possible to cover the Korean pancake in all of it's forms, but compiled in the list below are some of my favorites.
Haemul -- A variation of the green onion kind, or pajeon, which includes various bits of seafood among the long strands of onions. Typically, we're talking squid tentacles, miniature shrimp and clams.
Kimchi -- Exactly as it sounds. It's a kimchi pancake.
Gamja -- Potato pancakes with Asian chives, or buchu.
Gochu -- Made with finely chopped green chili peppers. To the untrained eye (mine) this one can look similar to the green onion version. You'll know it's different when your mouth lights up.
Yachae -- Another play on the green onion pancake (pajeon) only this time with zucchini.
Chamchi -- Tuna mixed with garlic and onions and seasoned with salt and pepper. It's the simplest things that go a long, long way.
Gul -- Made with oysters. I've only stumbled across this one time but it was worth remembering.
Daegu -- Despite what the name suggests this isn't made from random scraps found floating around the city of Daegu, (thankfully), it's also the name for cod. Pacific Cod to be precise.
Dubu -- Thick chunks of tofu more commonly served as a small side plate than in pancake form but delicious all the same.
Bintaetteok -- Mung beans and the kitchen sink. Various vegetables. Sometimes meat. Sometimes seafood. Always a hit.
That's just a drop in the proverbial jeon bucket. Other assortments include shiitake mushrooms and beef (pyogojeon), squash (hobakjeon), lotus root (yeongeunjeon), shredded beef (yukjeon), and edible flowers such as rose or azalea (hwajeon). The picture at the top of this post is a perfect jeon trifecta of kimchi, potato (gamja), and seafood (haemul). In no particular order, these also happen to be three of my favorites and staples among any reputable jeon jib (pancake house). The above three were prepared, cooked, and devoured on the side of a mountain, as jeon also sometimes functions as a hiking snack. Yes, in a perfect world, one I hope to see, Denver omelets will give way as blueberry pancakes will pair with the squid and onion flapjack, creating a perfect sweet and savory pancake harmony, only fully appreciated once the Soju Bloody Mary begins to take hold.
Best of all, most of these are easy to make. I find my recipes here.
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