Korean mung bean pancakes, called bindaetteok, are a delicious, savory, irresistible meal in themselves. Packed with ingredients: ground mung beans, rice, kimchi, pork, vegetables, egg, and full of seasonings, they are hearty and unforgettable. I make the pancakes in big batches and keep the leftovers in the freezer, wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and then putting the wrapped pancakes into a zipper-lock bag. Whenever I want one or two as a quick meal, I thaw them out and pan fry them with a few drops of vegetable oil.
Korean pancakes are an essential part of Korean cuisine, and I knew that when I wrote Real Korean Cooking I needed a whole chapter devoted to them. Between my book and my website I’ve still barely begun to post all the recipes for the many varieties of Korean pancakes!
When I was in university, me and my friends used to go to the bindaetteok place and have a pancake with makgeolli. Those two really go well together! And both are pretty filling, so in the course of eating and drinking together we consumed a complete, well-rounded meal.
This recipe is the same one in my cookbook, and the same one I’ve been using for years and years. I learned it from my friend whose parents-in-law were born in North Korea and taught her their local version of this dish. Complete credit for this goes to my friend in Korea who first showed it to me. As her parents-in-law shared it with her, I share it with you.
The fernbrake (gosari) is traditionally foraged in the wild, but can be found these days in most Korean supermarkets. It can take some some effort to find but really adds an earthy dimension to this dish that makes it unique. But if you can’t find it, skip it.
Enjoy the recipe!
Ingredients (Makes 6 pancakes)
- 1 cup dried skinned mung beans
- ¼ cup sweet rice (glutinous rice: chapssal in Korean)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 4 ounces ground pork
- 4 ounces (about ¾ cup) well-fermented napa cabbage kimchi, chopped
- 4 ounces (about 1 cup) fresh or soaked and drained fernbrake (gosari)
- 6 ounces (about 2½ cups) mung bean sprouts), washed and drained
- 1 large egg
- 4 green onions chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- Silgochu (shredded dried hot pepper) for garnish, optional
- vegetable oil
Directions
- Combine the skinned mung beans and sweet rice in a large bowl, rinse and drain in cold water a couple of times. Cover with water, and soak overnight (8 hours). Drain. You should have about 2¾ cups of beans and rice.
- Combine the soy sauce and vinegar in a small bowl to make the dipping sauce. Set aside.
- Combine the bean and rice mixture and ¾ cup water in the workbowl of a food processor and grind until it’s creamy (1 to 2 minutes). Transfer to a large bowl.
- Add kimchi, green onion, garlic, gosari, mung bean sprouts, pork, egg, kosher salt, ground black pepper, and toasted sesame oil. Mix well.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Add about 1 cup of batter. Spread with the back of a spoon to make a nice 6-inch round pancake. Cook until the bottom turns light golden brown and crunchy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Turn it over and cook until the second side turns light golden brown, another 2 minutes. Turn it over once more and cook another 2 minutes on the first side. Add more vegetable oil to the pan if needed.
- Transfer the pancake to a large plate. Garnish with silgochu (if used). Repeat with the remaining batter.
- Serve immediately with the dipping sauce on the side.
Hello,this is Viv. I m wondering if I can freeze my bindaetok after mixing all the ingredients and use them a week later? Thanks.
You can freeze cooked bindaetteok.
Hello! I have been wanting to make this for my kids but unfortunately my son is allergic to eggs and sesame. Can I use an egg replacer (like Bob Mill’s Egg replacer or flax seed “egg”) and olive oil for this recipe? I’ve used several of you me other recipes and we LOVE them, but not anything that requires egg. Thank you!!
I have made this with flaxseed egg and it worked well.
Great, thank you! I just now saw this reply. I don’t use flax seed eggs often, how do you prep/use them?
Decided to try making this for the lst time. It was great! It made seven big pancakes!
I had two for lunch/dinner. I switched to a pescatarian diet 5 months ago, but it was so good without any meat!
감사합니다!
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Delicious!
This was my first creation from Maangchi’s website! Turned out fine, a little raw in the middle in some of my bindaetteok. Next time I”l do smaller bindaetteok cooked individually.
Couldn’t find fernbrake anywhere (I’m so curious to taste it!). The search continues.
Thank you, Maangchi!!!
I was only able to buy an 8lb bag of sweet rice so I have A LOT left over! Curious to know how people like to use this ingredient.
Hello Maangchi!
I was wondering if it was possible to use fresher kimchi instead..? I had already softened my gosari and when I did that I forgot that my kimchi were not well fermented kimchi, I just made them yesterday…
Is there anything I can add to make the flavour more “deep” like well fermented kimchi…?
Thank you!
Hi Maangchi,
Can I substitue the mung bean and glutinous rice with mung bean flour and glutinous rice flour instead?
Yes, you can.
Is it still the same ratio? 1/4 cup glutonous rice flour with 1 cup of mung bean flour?
hi maangchi!! i’m really wanting to make this but i don’t eat meat – do you think it would still be delicious without the pork? i was considering mushrooms for savoury flavour; and maybe some firm tofu for protein? i’m unsure, i might play around and post my results – some of my favourite veg substitutions have come from the comments sections of your recipes!
I’ve been wanting to try these for a long time. I couldn’t find the skinned Mung beans here so I ordered them from Amazon. Finally made the pancakes tonight, perfect for night shift snack
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It looks amazing!
If i can’t find the gosari, can i add some sliced shiitake mushrooms? And do you think chicken mince will work as well? As the pork here is pretty tough and rubbery even with the loins
Yes, sliced shiitake mushroom and minced chicken meat sounds good!
Spectacular recipe! I made these for a Korean friend of mine and she got very emotional….said her grandmother used to make them. There is a little learning curve, but once you figure it out and get the stove temp right, you can make them quickly. I also did not have sweet rice, so I substituted Italian Arborio rice (used for risotto). Came out perfectly, and after soaking all night ground to a paste with the mung beans with no problems. I will be making these regularly!
I’m very happy to hear that your Korean friend was impressed by your homemade bindaetteok! Happy cooking!
Omg!! These are absolutely fantastic!!! The taste and texture is out of this world!! My husband absolutely loved them!! I will definitely make another batch and make extra to freeze!! This is mid-week meal game changer!!
Thank you so so much for sharing this with me!! I love watching your show!! Thank you for inspiring!! Magical!!
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It looks wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe!