Korean-style vegetable pancakes: A flavorful twist on the classic

Until recently, I thought potato or courgette pancakes had no competition. They are the best! That was until I discovered a recipe for vegetable pancakes from Korea. Asians mix several vegetables, and the result is excellent. The delicious sesame sauce adds the finishing touch!

Are you already a bit bored with traditional potato pancakes or those made with courgette? I was because I prepared them many times during the summer and was looking for a new recipe and inspiration.

Asian-style vegetable pancakes are definitely richer in ingredients and flavour. You can safely call them multi-vegetable. Even though they come from Korea, they are based on vegetables you surely have in your kitchen or can quickly get at a market. The typical Asian ingredients are needed for the sauce. Does having more ingredients make these pancakes labour-intensive? Absolutely not; you can easily prepare them for a warm dinner. They are also suitable for lunch because they are filling.

Ingredients:

• 1 small courgette,
• 1 medium carrot,
• 100 grams of red cabbage,
• chives or spring onions to taste,
• a piece of chilli pepper,
• 200 grams of all-purpose or spelt flour,
• 2 eggs,
• salt to taste,
• oil for frying.

For the sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce,
• 1 tablespoon lime juice,
• 2 tablespoons water,
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil,
• 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce,
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds.

Preparation:

1. Grate the courgette on a coarse grater. Sprinkle with salt, mix and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Thinly shred the cabbage, cut the chives into long pieces, slice the chilli, and grate the carrot on a coarse grater.
3. Squeeze the excess liquid from the courgette, but do not discard it.
4. In a bowl, combine the flour, a pinch of salt, 2 eggs, and about 125 millilitres of the drained liquid from the courgette. Mix to form a smooth batter. You can add a little more water from the courgette or fresh water if needed. The batter should be the consistency of thick pancake batter.
5. Add all the vegetables and the drained courgette to the batter and mix well.
6. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a pan. Spoon heaping tablespoons of the batter into the pan and flatten with the spoon to form pancakes. Fry for a few minutes on each side until golden brown.
7. In a small bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients. Serve the pancakes with the prepared sauce.