Inspired by a comment from Mai of Flavor Boulevard and her question about why neither of us has ever seen a Pajeon made with meat in it, other than crab, I decided the best thing was to try it.
To start off, I considered how to proceed with the batter. Do I add the cold meat to the cold batter and cook as if it is a regular pajeon, or should I saute the meat and green onions first then pour batter over it. Both ways could work, but, since I am wanting a well integrated end product, I am going for all one batter. I decided to go with this recipe. I could go into why three flours, the better crumb of pastry flour and the better rise of bread flour blah blah blah...I ran out of All-purpose flour. Milk instead of water for texture is a bit of an experiment.
Flippage did not go so well, I am not sure what happened, but, I reinjured my already strained wrist and flipping a cast iron skillet was not in the cards today. Spatulas are not so effective. Oh well, taste will still be good. Here is the texture, which was tender, moist and just chewy enough to be satisfying. In terms of overall flavor, I think I will do this again, but, there will need to be a few changes. I think the beef needed a stronger flavor and I may just go with a less integrated method of batter construction. There is real potential here.
Kimchi Pancake
1/2 Cup bread flour
1/2 cup pastry flour
1/3 cup rice Flour
1/8 cup chopped kimchi (all I had left)
2/3 cup chopped bulgogi flavored chuck ribs
3 stalks green onions, chopped
1 cup milk
1 Egg
1-1/2 teaspoon palm syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
a few dashes of Red Boat Fish Sauce
Mix dry ingredients, Premix liquids and add, mix to pancake consistency, add chopped kim chee and scallions, mix until pancake batterish. Fry until edge is dry, then flip and finish. I wish someone was here when I flipped this, it was a thing if daring and beauty. Once this was done, it was time to plate. First, a little slicing and a look at the texture of the pancake.
Yay for bulgogi pajeon!! I've asked one of my Korean friends and she said the reason they don't add meat is probably because pajeon is a quick food (kimchi is always available and seafood is fast to cook). Meat is slower to cook (isn't it?), we think. But I'm glad it turned out well.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm sorry to hear about your wrist, is it feeling better now?
I wish I could see you flip the pancakes. Flipping a skillet is never an option for me, I'm barely strong enough to hold the skillet with food as it is... :-P
Stupid wrist, actually, stupid Bob, the doctor told me to be careful, but, noooo. It is getting better, thanks for asking. I will be flipping another one soon I hope.
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea with a pretty but painful execution. I've had these with squid many times but I have never seen it with turf or winged critters. This might also be good with day old Peking duck that is crisp fried in fat.
ReplyDelete