I’m going to introduce these 2 kinds of Korean style squash pancakes to you today: zucchini pancake and butternut squash pancake.
Unlike zucchini, butternut squash is an unusual ingredient in Korean cuisine. When I saw butternut squash for the first time in my life in USA, I asked my friend Jenny to give me her butternut squash recipe.
She told me that she usually cooked it in the microwave or in the oven with some brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon on top. I baked my butternut squash as she told me to, and it was very delicious! I found the texture, sweetness, and even the orange color to be almost the same as the squash that I used to make my hobakjuk in Korea!
Ever since then, buying some good quality of butternut squash in the fall is a regular seasonal activity for me. I stack them in the corner of my kitchen or living room. They are not only edible but also decorative!
My favorite squashes are: acorn squash, goblin squash, zucchini, and butternut squash.
Make your doenjangjjigae with acorn squash! It’s unbelievably delicious. : ) And bake a goblin squash in the oven with some honey, butter, and cinnamon. I love it!
Ok let’s start cooking!
Butternut squash pancake
Yield:
2 medium sized pancakes.
Ingredients
Butternut squash, kosher salt, flour, vegetable oil.
This is very unique style of pancake because you don’t use water!
Directions
- Cut a butternut squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon.
- Peel the skin with a potato peeler.
- Julienne the butternut squash.
- Place 2 cups of butternut squash strips into a bowl.
- Mix it with ¼ ts kosher salt by hand, and set it aside.
- In abut 20 minutes the butternut strips will be a little wet due to the process of osmosis.
- Add 3-4 tbs flour and mix it slightly by hand or with a spoon.
- Heat up a pan with 1 tbs olive oil.
- Spoon half the butternut squash mixture on to the hot pan
- Spread the batter thinly, smooth it out with your spoon, and cook for a few minutes over medium heat.
- When the bottom of the pancake is lightly golden brown, flip it over.
- Keep pressing the pancake gently and add more vegetable oil to make it crispier.
- Serve it hot.
Zucchini pancake
Yield:
1 large pancake, for sharing.
Ingredients
Zucchini, kosher salt, water, flour, toasted sesame oil, vegetable oil.
I learned this recipe from my friend Heykyung’s mom, when I was in high school. I went to her house one day and her mother made this pancake for us. The taste was much better than any zucchini pancake that I had ever eaten. I found out the trick was just a little bit of toasted sesame oil, in the right spot, at the right time! Actually her recipe used more flour and water, and a little bit of sugar in the batter. I modified her recipe to my taste by cutting down the flour and cutting out the sugar.
Directions
- Julienne a small zucchini. Put 1½ cups of zucchini strips into a bowl.
- Add ½ cup flour, ½ ts kosher salt, ½ cup water and mix it well with a spoon.
- On a heated pan, place about 2 tbs vegetable oil and put the batter on to the pan.
- Spread the batter evenly and thinly to make a large circular pancake.
- About 1 minute later, when the bottom part sets firm, add 1 tbs toasted sesame oil on the pan, along the edge of the pancake.
- Tilt and shake the pan so that sesame oil spreads underneath the pancake.
- Cook another minute until the bottom turns light golden brown and crispy.
*tip: keep pressing it down with a spoon or spatula while cooking - Turn over the pancake with a spatula, or flip it if you can.
- Add more vegetable oil if you want to make it more crispy. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer the pancake to a large serving plate and serve with dipping sauce.
Dipping sauce:
- In a small glass bowl add 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs vinegar, 1 tbs chopped onion, 1 clove of minced garlic, and 1 sliced green chili pepper.
- Mix it up with a spoon.
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 for that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
Does it have to be a non-stick pan? Or is there a way to make it in a stainless steel pan? That’s all I have.
I grew zucchini for the first time this year — 4 plants was actually too many – very productive. Looking for ways to use it. This recipe is perfect. My Korean wife loves it! Thank you!
Can the zucchini pancake be made in advance and then reheated in a toaster oven on another day to regain its crispness?
Hi Maangchi!!!
My mother is Korean and makes these as well and they are super YUMMY!!! Her method is shredded squash/zucchini ( all water squeezed out) flour, eggs, habanero peppers and onion. She cuts bacon strips in half and then half cooks the bacon reserving the grease. She then wipes the skillet with the bacon grease, adds two strips of bacon and then spoons the mixture onto to bacon making patties. When the bacon is cooked and the patty is brown, she drizzles sesame oil and then flips till the other side is brown and serves with soy sauce and fresh cucumber kimchi. I am definitely going to try this in the fall with the butternut squash!!! Thanks so much for tips!!
I made two of these today, one with rice flour and zucchini, and the other with all-purpose flour, zucchini, and the kernels off of half an ear of corn. My family unanimously agreed that the corn version was better, though both were delicious! I would say that whereas the pancake made with all-purpose flour was crisp, the rice flour pancake was crunchy. Another thing to note, although the measurements for the pancake don’t need to be changed for rice flour (to make it GF), since rice flour is much less absorbent than regular flour, it does benefit from sitting for a few minutes to give it a chance to soak up all of that water! I also salted my zucchini, let it sit 10 minutes, and squeezed out all the excess water using a thin towel before adding in the other ingredients. I then used the liquid I squeezed out as part of the 1/2 c water added to the pancake mixture. And for those without fresh chili peppers (to use in the dipping sauce), I substituted 1 tsp red pepper flakes for a double batch of sauce just fine :-)
Fantastic recipe again!!! I used potato starch instead of flour in the butternut squash one and it turned out delicious! I was wondering what other type of flour I could use in the batter? Can I use potato starch or rice flour maybe? My husband doesn’t eat gluten and he’s dying to try it! Thanks so much Maangchi!
Rice flour is a good replacement. Potato starch won’t work well.
Oh great! Thanks so much Maangchi, and thank you for responding so quickly!
Hi Maangchi,
I made this recipe today.
1) Instead of flour, I used Korean Pancake Mix.
2) The zucchini was placed in a cheese cloth and excess water squeezed out.
3) I added a teaspoon+ of white powdered sugar to the mix.
It turned out great and I wish I made more. Next time.
Hi Maangchi! I made the zucchini pancake today and it was a success! ^o^ My batter was a little too wet though so the centre of the pancake was a bit gooey, but it was still very good. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Be9y3atCMAAut7X.jpg
Your pancake looks thin and delicious! ” centre of the pancake was a bit gooey” add more oil and lift the edge with your spatula, tilting the pan so that the oil reaches to the center. The oil make it crispy. Good luck!
I tried to cook this kind of pancake and my husband love it.
Thank you for your site..
Hi Maangchi,
I tried to cook your zucchini pancake and my husband love it, i love it also..
Thanks for your site so I can make a lot of korean foods..
Keep it Up and More Power..
Oh my! This was so good. I loved the sauce! Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful recipes. I am falling in love with South Korea all because of maangchi.com!!!!! LOL!
Im interested in the zucchini pancake but the dipping sauce sounds like it would really make this go together well like peanut butter and jelly! Great post Maangchi :)
Hi maangchi!
Can I use this recipe for lunchbox?
You can use it for lunchbox but it will lose its crispness.
can I mix squash and zuchini to make into a pancake?
yes, you can.