KKENIP BUCHIMGAE (깻잎 부침개 • Perilla Leaf Pancakes)

When I announced to my family that I was going vegan, my mother was especially worried. She wondered whether I would get enough protein (surprise!), if this was a symptom of my never-ending quest to be “skinny” (she was onto something there . . .), and how I could possibly keep up with my running eating nothing but vegetables. But mostly, she was panicked about what the heck she would cook for me when I came over. She soon discovered how easy it was to make buchimgae, or pancakes typically made with seafood, without the shrimp or oysters. Simply add water to the flour mix and a bunch of vegetables for a quick batter. Omma makes a huge batch whenever we come over and saves some in the freezer for unannounced visits. I now do the same for myself, you know, for those unannounced cravings that occur around 10:17 p.m.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

In a large bowl, combine the flour, potato starch, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, squash, carrot, and julienned perilla leaves. Do not add the whole perilla leaves or scallions.

Step 2

Add the cold water to the bowl and stir. You should have a fairly thick and rough batter, but if it’s too thick to work with, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you arrive at a consistency that’s thicker than regular pancake batter but not as thick as biscuit batter.

Step 3

In a nonstick skillet, heat enough oil to coat the pan over medium-high heat. Before pouring in any batter, throw a few scallions onto the pan, as well as one whole perilla leaf. Then pour 1 ladle (about ¼ cup) of batter over the top of the scallions and perilla leaf, so that they are completely covered.

Step 4

Cook for about 3 minutes. Flip the pancake and cook until both sides are evenly browned, an additional 2 minutes. Repeat to make more pancakes.

Step 5

Serve with spicy soy dressing.

Step 6

NOTES

Step 7

Gluten-free flours work very well with this recipe; however, because of the additional moisture in the batter often caused by gluten-free flours, fry the pancakes at a lower temperature so they have more time to “dry out” without burning.

Step 8

Spicy Soy Sauce Dressing, for serving