Hi, everybody! I’m going to introduce 2 kinds of kimchi pancakes (kimchijeon) to you today: chopped kimchi pancake and my grandma’s style of whole kimchi leaf pancake.
The kimchijeon made with chopped kimchi is very easy and simple to make. You don’t need any special ingredients as long as you have some kimchi in your fridge. I make this kimchijeon at home all the time. (note: I made an updated version of this recipe here!)
My grandma’s style of kimchijeon is made with whole kimchi leaves and is what I would call upgraded kimchijeon. ; )
Have you ever seen this kind of kimchijeon? I thought it looked very special the first time I saw my late grandmother making it for us. I remember what I thought: “Hmm, grandma treats the kimchi leaf like a slice of fish? Interesting!” But I never said anything, I just watched what she was doing.
I miss my grandmother now. She would be so proud of me if she knew I was posting her recipe here! Which recipe would you like better? : )
In the video, I show you how to cut the big, round kimchijeon (it’s 12 inches wide because my frying pan is 12 inches wide : )) into bite sized pieces, but as I mentioned in the video, you could also serve it right out of the pan without cutting it. It’s usually served as family snack that way. Then you use your chopsticks to tear off a piece of the kimchijeon and eat it. It may be difficult because the pancake might slide around on the plate, and it should stay there so everyone else can eat some too! So one of your family members should grab the pancake with her or his chopsticks so you can tear off your piece more easily. Helping each other is very important when you eat kimchijeon this way!
“Let me eat some, I need someone’s help! Grab the corner of this pancake for me, plz!”
If you cut it into bite sized pieces, it’s usually served as a side dish. It’s a popular side dish for lunch box, too.
Enjo~yee the recipe! : )
Kimchijeon made with chopped kimchi
Yield:
2-4 servings
Ingredients
Kimchi, onion, kosher salt, sugar, flour, vegetable oil.
Directions
- In a bowl, place 1 cup of chopped kimchi, 3 tbs of kimchi juice, 2 tbs chopped onion, ½ ts kosher salt, ½ ts sugar, ½ cup flour (all purpose flour), and ¼ cup of water and mix it well with a spoon.
- Heat up a 12 inch non-stick pan over medium high heat and drizzle about 2 tbs grape seed oil.
- Place the mixture of kimchi pancake batter on the pan and spread it thinly and evenly with a spoon.
- Cook it for 1 to 1½ minutes until the bottom gets golden brown and crispy.
- Turn it over with a spatula or flip it.
- Lower the heat to medium and cook for another 1½ minutes.
- Turn it over one more time and cook for 30 seconds before transfering it to a serving plate.
*tip: Serve it right out of the pan or cool it down and cut it into bite size to serve.
Grandma’s kimchijeon made with whole kimchi leaves
Yield:
2 servings
Ingredients
Kimchi, ground pork, tofu, onion chives (or green onions), onion, kosher salt, black ground pepper, toasted sesame oil, egg, flour, grape seed oil.
Directions
Prepare kimchi
- Prepare 6 or 7 kimchi leaves (6 to 7 inches long, or 16 cm) and ½ cup flour in a plate.
- Coat both sides of each kimchi leaf in the flour by hand.
Make meat mixture
- In a small bowl, add 2 tbs ground pork (or beef), 2 tbs tofu (after gently squeezing out excess water with a paper towel), 1 ts chopped onion chives (or green onion), 1 tbs chopped onion, a pinch of salt and black ground pepper, 1 ts of toasted sesame oil, and mix the mixture well with a spoon.
- Set aside.
Make the pancakes
- Place 1 egg in a small bowl and add a pinch of salt. Beat it with a fork.
- Add some of the meat-tofu mix on one side of a kimchi stem. Add some flour on top of the mixture.
- Put some of the meat-tofu mix on the rest of kimchi leaves.
- Heat up a non-stick pan and add some grape seed oil (or vegetable oil).
- Coat each kimchi leaf with beaten egg mix and place on the heated pan.
*tip: the meat mixture should be bottom of the pan
- When the bottom of the kimchi pancake turns golden brown (1 or 1½ minutes), turn it over and cook another minute.
- Turn it over one more time and cook another 30 seconds before transfering it to a serving plate.
*tip: you can serve it as it is or cut it into bite size before serving
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
Made a delicious kimchi pancake with steamed silken tofu for lunch today, thank you for the recipe Maangchi! Eating one whole kimchi jeon straight from the pan by myself was the best way to spend the afternoon!
See full size image
“Eating one whole kimchi jeon straight from the pan by myself was the best way to spend the afternoon!” I agree with you! : )
Delicious! Your grandmother would be very proud of you.
Hi Maangchi!
Just curious, could this recipe work with daikon kimchi too?
Hi Maangchi,
Thank you so much for sharing your kimchijeon recipe! I made them tonight and they tasted delicious! Just one question so I can improve the next time I cook them, do you have any tips to make the pancakes crispier? Thank you!
Yes, adding generous amount a cooking oil will make the pancake crispier. Make sure the oil is in the center. You may have to lift up one edge of the pancake with your spatula and tilt the skillet so the oil flows underneath the pancake to the center. Cook until the both sides are crispy.
Hi Maangchi!!
Is it possible to provide general ratios of ingredients to make any pancake? For example:
1/2 cup flower
1/4 cup water
? salt
? veggies, etc. (whatever you want)
etc.
It would be awesome to develop this if you haven’t already instead of keeping separate recipes for each pancake =)
THANK YOU!!!
Woke up way to early so I descided to make kimchijeon (the one with whole leaves) for breakfast. I just might do this again ;) This is really good and probably very healthy also :)
See full size image
It looks so yummy! I love your green onion garnish!
Hey Maangchi,
Thank you so much for the recipe.
Finally, i made my own kimchi jeon! xx
See full size image
It’s such a perfect looking kimchi pancake! Yum!
Tried this recipe with homemade kimchi and turned out delicious! Thank you so much Maangchi, MUA!
See full size image
Wow, mouthwatering!
Hi Maangchi! I have one question. I haven’t grape seed oil and actually I’m not sure that I can found it in our supermarkets cause it’s not popular oil in Russia. Can I use usual sunflower oil or is it bad idea? I also have sesame oil, but I’m not sure that I can use it for cooking on stove.
Yes, you can use sunflower oil, corn oil, or vegetable oil.
Sesame oil is not good for frying, that’s why I often add a few drops at the end.
I love using avocado oil for high heat cooking. It’s healthier then vegetable oils, can stand up to 500 degrees F and has no flavor!
Hi Maangchi,
I’ve been using this recipe a lot in my college apartment! I was wondering if I could make a few kimchijeon and freeze them? That way I could just reheat them in the pan instead of having to make the whole thing from scratch. :)
So easy and so delicious – we love Kimchi pancakes!
See full size image
I’ve made this recipe 3 times already. It’s delicious, but I think I’m doing something wrong because the outside starts to burn before the inside gets cooked. I think maybe medium-high heat on my stove is too hot?
Can the all purpose flour be substituted with whole wheat flour, or will that affect the consistency of the 전?
(Sorry if this is a stupid question, I’m new to cooking)
I Just made this and it tasted so good!
Com sumida Maangchi! Thank you so much for creating this site! And Sharing all of your wonderful recipes. I am not Korean but Asian and my husband is Korean. I have learned some dishes From my in laws and yours really is so helpful! My Omani does not measure so I have learned and changed some of her recipes. I have sent your site to so many of my friends and family that loves Korean food, and has been so successful at making it! I just wanted to add that when making the pancake any variation. I have found that using Pelligrino Ice Cold (like tempura) makes an even crispier pancake. I was watching a iron chef show and they used ice cold vodka for a frying dish and I had a lot of pelligrino at home so decided to try! Much crispier maybe due to the bubbles? I also treated my pancake much like an American pancake. When I let the pancake fry for a while one one side before turning. I did press down after turning and left fry more. I seem to make a crispier pancake that also stayed crispier longer. It works well with savory fried dishes because of the salt in the minerals. You are the best! Thank you for sharing the love of Korean cooking!