Kimchi pancake

Kimchijeon 김치전

A kimchi pancake is one of the easiest and quickest things to make and is one of Koreans’ all time favorite dishes. It’s hot, spicy, crispy, a little sweet, sour, and a little salty. It is not only a great snack but also it goes well with rice as a side dish, and is great in lunchboxes in place of plain kimchi.

On a rainy day on the weekend, when a Korean family wants something special and cozy to eat, this is something anyone can make using the ingredients we have at home. Then mom will say: “You want me to make kimchijeon?” and everybody will say: “Yayyy!!”

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When kimchi is fermented, it tastes sour and pungent with a deeper flavor. All Koreans have well-fermented cabbage kimchi at home, it’s pretty much a staple! We Koreans will always make more kimchi before the current batch runs out, so that means we often have both fresh kimchi and fermented kimchi on hand. Kimchi is available all the time for Koreans.

I made a video for kimchi pancakes ten years ago (including my grandma’s style of kimchijeon), and I decided it was time to update the recipe, remake the video in HD, and include all the tips from the questions that some of you have asked me over the years. The number one question was: “How come my pancake isn’t crispy in the middle?” That’s because you need to use a generous amount of oil, and make sure it gets under the pancake like I show you in the video and explain in the recipe below.

How about having a Korean style kimchi pancake party with your family or friends? Enjoy the recipe and show me some photos of your kimchi pancake day! : )

Ingredients

  • ½ pound well-fermented napa cabbage kimchi, chopped into small pieces, plus 2 tablespoons of the brine
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup water
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

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Directions

  1. Combine the kimchi, kimchi brine, scallions, sugar, flour, and water in a medium bowl and mix well with a spoon.kimchi pancake mixture
  2. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. (If you don’t have a 12-inch skillet, use a smaller skillet to make 2 pancakes.)
  3. Add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.
  4. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it with the back of a spoon or a spatula to make a large circle.kimchijeon pankimchijeon batter
  5. Cook until the bottom is golden brown and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes.kimchijeon crunchy bottom
  6. Carefully turn the pancake over. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons oil around the edges of the skillet, then lift the pancake with a thin spatula to allow the oil to run underneath and tilt the pan to spread it evenly.kimchijeon oil
  7. Cook until the bottom of the pancake is light golden brown and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes.
  8. Flip it one more time and cook for another minute.
  9. Slide onto a large serving platter and serve immediately.

kimchi pancake

Posted on Thursday, February 27th, 2020 at 5:13 pm. Last updated on May 23, 2020.
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26 Comments:

  1. Autumn Jane Singapore joined 4/20 & has 3 comments
    Posted May 24th, 2021 at 7:35 am |

    Hi Maangchi
    Thanks for the kimchi pancake recipe! So easy to put together and taste awesome!
    Jane Lee


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  2. YeTiTiA Paris, France joined 2/21 & has 4 comments
    Posted March 26th, 2021 at 7:57 am |

    I did it ! With homemade kimchi. But not that old… I sadly don’t have a lot of room to store it for a long time.
    It was delicious though.
    Thank you Maangchi <3


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  3. Julienne Sacramento CA joined 11/20 & has 5 comments
    Posted November 9th, 2020 at 10:33 pm |

    Ooooohhhh. These were a hit! We tried a few types all on the same night. The dipping sauce is especially yummy with these. Thank you again!


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  4. hannahthelitbanana hong kong joined 8/20 & has 2 comments
    Posted August 11th, 2020 at 12:44 am |

    does rice flour work just as well?

    • hannahthelitbanana hong kong joined 8/20 & has 2 comments
      Posted August 11th, 2020 at 12:54 am |

      also what about self raising flour? as i have self raising flour in the house and my local supermarket only has rice flour left due to the pandemic and everyone is staying at home and baking / cooking lmao so i cant find all purpose flour! :)

      • jsp73 joined 3/15 & has 32 comments
        Posted March 21st, 2021 at 5:53 pm |

        No answer, eh? I love your user name. It made me chuckle. Did you try the self-rising flour? I am VERY curious. The main ingredients in self-rising flour are all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Those alkaline substances in the baking powder and soda would react violently with the lactic acid present in well-fermented kimchi (LOTS of bubbles but… also, the by-product of that chemical reaction is a form of salt). Sounds like it would make a very fluffy pancake! Please do attempt it and get back to me… if you aren’t too lit :)

  5. DevorahTF Michigan, USA joined 3/20 & has 13 comments
    Posted June 21st, 2020 at 12:54 pm |

    I have been making these kimchi pancakes and veggie pancakes for my family for months now. My family ask for them regularly. My only concern about making them so much was the oil…they are basically fried. We try to limit oil in our diet, and we are vegetarians, very health-conscious. So I am always modifying recipes, trying out ways to make them just a little healthier.

    Yesterday I decided to try baking kimchi and veggie pancakes. I thought they would probably be ok..edible, but not crunchy like they are when fried.

    Well, I was totally shocked! They came out of the oven crunchy, and tasted pretty much the same as when fried in the skillet.

    This is how we will make them from now on, and I think they may become an almost daily food for us, since we don’t need to worry about the oil.

    I baked them at 400 degrees on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I made them into 6” diameter pancakes. So individual size. I don’t know how long I baked them. It was probably nearly an hour.

  6. Jessicaf North carolina joined 6/20 & has 14 comments
    Posted June 19th, 2020 at 12:19 pm |

    We add eggs to this. It adds a softer more custard texture. Very tasty

  7. Tshvahn Minnesota joined 5/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted May 1st, 2020 at 12:34 am |

    I made this today and it was so good! My wife and I are very and surprisingly this tasted downright cheesey. Idk what made it taste like fried cheese or if it’s just because we haven’t ate cheese in years but it was delicious!

  8. [email protected] Trinidad and Tobago joined 4/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 29th, 2020 at 6:52 pm |

    Made with homemade kimchi…..so yummy. Thank you Maangchi!!!

  9. tejas Seattle, WA joined 4/20 & has 2 comments
    Posted April 22nd, 2020 at 11:18 pm |

    Made with homemade kimchi, served with homemade makgeolli. All the effort was so rewarding, thanks so much!


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  10. Amandalundgren South Korea joined 4/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 22nd, 2020 at 6:23 am |

    This was SO good! Now that I found a recipe in English that was super easy to follow, I will be making this often! Also it only requires a few ingredients which made it even better!


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  11. barriehie Las Vegas, NV - USA joined 9/19 & has 2 comments
    Posted April 11th, 2020 at 8:22 pm |

    I made mine with the last of the Napa cabbage kimchi I had; making room for the new Bok-Choy kimchi! Was really good! Thanks for sharing.


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  12. MaangchiLove Montreal, Toronto joined 8/19 & has 35 comments
    Posted April 7th, 2020 at 11:42 pm |

    Made it three hours ago, and it was SO GOOD~!! Thank you, Maangchi~ :D

  13. mabellth Australia joined 6/13 & has 3 comments
    Posted April 3rd, 2020 at 1:10 pm |

    Is old kimchi(a minimum of 6 months) worth making kimchi jeon? Also, how to deal with really old kimchi?

  14. Jamndbeanstalk Quezon city, Philippines joined 10/17 & has 1 comment
    Posted March 26th, 2020 at 8:56 am |

    can i use rice flour instead?

    • jaygles Colorado joined 3/20 & has 2 comments
      Posted April 5th, 2020 at 12:52 pm |

      I used gluten free flour and it turned out great. It may not brown as much just because rice flour doesn’t brown as much as wheat flour, but it should still work! It’s more of a glue than anything.

      • Stgaut Montreal, Canada joined 4/20 & has 1 comment
        Posted April 11th, 2020 at 8:34 pm |

        I made this today and oh my god this is so good! I don’t know how I lived without kimchijeon in my life! Thank you for your amazing recipes!

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