Delicious, four ingredient kimchi pancakes - perfect for a lazy but fun breakfast or for an appetizer / snack. Serve with soy sauce or dipping sauce of choice.
Chop up the kimchi finely. Then, add half a cup of all purpose flour to a mixing bowl, along with the chopped up kimchi and any kimchi liquid. Then give this a quick mix to incorporate. Then, slowly add ¼ cup of sparkling water (or regular water) along with half a teaspoon of salt and mix them together until it forms a coarse batter. Don't overmix!
Heat a nonstick or enameled cast iron skillet and heat on medium flame. Then, add two tablespoons of vegetable oil and swivel it so it covers the entire surface.
Once oil is heated and glistening, add the batter to the skillet. Let this fry for 4 minutes on one side so the bottom of the pancake starts to get golden brown and the top starts to look cooked. If you desire, once the edges start to appear cooked, you can gently lift them to allow the oil to seep towards the center. This helps avoid soggy centers!
Add the other two tablespoons of oil, and flip the pancake so the other side can cook evenly, another 3 to 5 minutes.
I typically like to turn the heat to a low flame and cook another 20-30 seconds on each side just to finish crisping the pancake.
Serve hot either with a simple soy sauce or a habanero-mayonnaise as an aoili!
Notes
Use vegan kimchi: Traditional kimchi uses shrimp heads, so make sure to find vegan kimchi at your local store! I like using the Mother in Law brand when I haven't made my own kimchi at home!
Increase crispiness: You can add up to a tablespoon of rice flour to increase the crispiness of your kimchi pancakes