Korean pancakes (Buchimgae in Korean) are very popular on a rainy day. There are a couple of theories about the reason, but I don’t really know why.
Anyhow my husband once said to me he wishes it could rain all the time. Simply because he thinks that I’m going to cook lots of buchimgae for him. He is a Buchimgae killer.
Ingredients for 2-3 people
-Vegetables
- 1/2 an onion
- 1/2 a carrot
- 1/2 a zucchini
- Oyster mushrooms 50g (Matari Beosot in Korean, however you can use other available mushrooms.)
- 10 stalks of small spring onions
- 1 red chili
- 1 green chili
-Meat
- Legs from 4 small squids (or 1 squid flesh)
- 1 sprinkle of pepper
-Flour mix
- Flour 2 and a 1/2 cups
- Water 2 and a 1/2 cups
- Salt 1/2 tsp
- 1 egg
-Dipping Sauce (Add all the dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl. However, add the onion pieces just before you eat.)
- Sugar 2 tsp
- Soy Sauce 3 tsp
- Water 3 tsp
- Vinegar 3 tsp
- Some onion pieces
-Preparation for Vegetables and Meat
- Rinse all the vegetables, and peel the skin off as needed.
- Thin finger length slice the carrot and zucchini.
- Thin slice the onion.
- Thin angle slice the red and green chillies.
- Cut the spring onions into halves or thirds.
- Cut the squid legs into half finger length, put it in a bowl and add the pepper on top.
- Tear the mushrooms in half. (Or thin slice them. It depends on what kind of mushrooms you use.)
-Preparation for Flour Mix
- Sieve the flour and the salt.
- Add the water.
- Mix it thoroughly so there are no lumps.
- Add the egg (beaten) and mix it well again.
- Mix the flour mix, vegetables, and squid together.
-Cooking
- Pre heat the frying pan for about 10 seconds.
- Put some oil into the pan. Make sure the oil is spread all the way through the pan. (I used vegetable oil this time. Because Buchimgae consumes a lot of oil. However don’t put too much oil in, otherwise the Buchimgae will go soggy)
- Scoop out the final mix with a ladle, put it on the pan.
- Cook it on medium to low heat. Otherwise it just burns and doesn’t cook properly.
- Turn it over when the bottom side is nearly cooked. (If you turn it over too much, it will tear up. )
- When both sides are cooked, serve it on the plate.
You can make about 6 pieces of squid pancakes with these ingredients. However 3 pieces were enough as a meal for me and my husband. By the way, if you don’t want to bother with making dipping sauce, you can use soy sauce only. However, this dipping sauce I introduced to you today really tastes nicer.
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I also have issues with making and keeping these crispy. One cookbook author suggested adding rice flour (1/2 cup to 2 cups of APF) which I did. It seems to help a little but I found that using a cast iron pan with enough frying oil does the best job. Except, we are all trying to cut down on oil and fat. Hope you or someone can suggest something more.
I’ve also had a few issues with keeping kimchi buchimgaes crispy.
I’ve tried cutting out the cooking oil completely, and just spraying the pan with a cooking spray. It does work, but there still seems to be the soggy effect.
Turning the heat up too much can burn the outside.
Turning it too low can make you crazy, when you want to be eating
one, and they still stay soggy.
I think I’ll try some soon, with low-med heat, and
a little more buchim garu, to soak up more of the liquid.
I’ve made them from scratch, with Buchim mix, and with a few other
prepared flour type products; The from scratch ones came out the best, texture wise, but the buchim garu mix made it very easy.
I like a lot of kimchi in my buchimgaes, so perhaps its just that there is too much liquid overall in the cake?
They stick together, but still stay flexible, and a bit soggy.
Can’t thank you enough for all the KOREAN recipes that you’d posted here.
We we living in Busan for 2 years (1999-2001), but I learnt NOTHING in Korean cuisine and regreted it so very much.
Now, since I’d found your site …I’m ready to learn every Korean Food that we used to love when we lived there.
Thanks a bunch !! God bless You, always.
Luv, Wawa
I was wondering how to make the pancakes crispy… mine turn out all soggy. Ewww.
Hi, Lars
Thanks for spotting my mistakes.
I wasn’t specific enough about the steps, though now I have edited the recipe.
Add the squid when you add the vegetables, and use a ladle to scoop out the mixture.
Thanks for visiting. I hope it turns out well for you.
Take care.
When do you add the squid? Is it cooked separately or is it mixed in when the vegetables are added? How do you get the mixture from the bowl to the pan? Do you pour it from the bowl, or do you use a ladle?
It looks like a recipe I want to try.