Kimchi pancakes with Sriracha bacon

This recipe is a variation on the classic Korean kimchi jeon (kimchi pancakes), which are often served as a snack or easy meal with rice. Many Koreans use shop-bought Korean jeon (pancake) mix, which gives an ideal texture, but plain flour works well, too.

• serves

  2

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 100 g plain flour
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 270 g good-quality kimchi, finely chopped
• 3 spring onions, thinly sliced, plus extra to serve
• 2 tbsp flavourless oil (e.g. sunflower or grapeseed)
• 2 fried eggs, to serve
• cracked black pepper, to serve

For the dipping sauce 

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• large pinch caster sugar
• ½ tsp sesame seeds, toasted

For the bacon 

• 6 rashers unsmoked streaky bacon
• 30 ml maple syrup
• 1½ tsp sriracha
• ½ tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp flavourless oil (e.g. sunflower or grapeseed)

Instructions

1. For the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. To make the pancakes, combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl, then add 1/3 cup water and whisk until smooth (tiny lumps are okay). Add the sesame seeds, kimchi and spring onion and mix. The batter should be thick enough to slowly drop off a wooden spoon back into the bowl. Add up to 2 tbsp more water if the batter is too thick.

3. Heat half the oil in a 20 cm non-stick medium frying pan over medium heat. Add half the batter to the pan and tilt the pan to ensure the batter is evenly spread. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then cook for 5 minutes per side, until golden and crispy, reduce the heat if the pancake darkens too quickly. Transfer the pancake to a paper-towel lined plate, then repeat with the remaining batter.

4. To make the sriracha bacon, mix the maple syrup with the sriracha and soy sauce in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a separate frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the bacon and cook for 4 minutes, turning it halfway through. Reduce the heat to medium-low and turn the bacon over again.

5. Brush with the sriracha glaze and cook for 1 minute. Turn the bacon over and glaze again. Cook until glazed and crisp, then remove.

6. Top the pancakes with the sriracha bacon and fried eggs, then sprinkle with spring onion and black pepper. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Note

Make it vegan: Use vegan kimchi and omit the egg and bacon.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.