Non-Traditional Korean Scallion-Free Pancake

Ah, leftovers. So many possibilities...

Tonight the fridge contained left over Indian rice and some somen noodles which I thought we should work on. I also had broccoli, zucchini and some Chinese cabbage (the one the looks like a pretty, green and white football, not bok choy) So naturally I thought "scallion pancake!"

No, I didn't have scallions. I don't especially like scallions. I like scallion pancakes though. I figured, why discriminate against other vegetables just because I don't have scallions?

So I sliced up some regular onion, pared down some broccoli florets, grated the zucchini, took out my bag of cabbage that I'd shredded two nights ago (for that night's soup - more left overs) and got out my handy dandy jar of kimchee.

I mixed up some Korean pancake batter (2 cups flour, 1.5 cups water, two eggs, one teaspoon salt - beat it all together) and sautéed the vegetables. Then I added the kimchee, the Indian rice and the somen. Pour some batter into the pan on top of the fillings, shake it around to distribute, cook and flip. I made three large pancakes. Easy!

Except the flipping part. I love pan-fliping things. It's risky but so satisfying when it works. It adds a little excitement too. I made these pancakes in my largest frying pan so they were too big to flip with a spatula.

For my first attempt at flipping I was too wimpy and merely folded the pancake in half like an omelette. Disappointing. I had to unfold the thing because if I didn't it would have become a thick, gobby mass of oily glue with slimy vegetables.

Pancake number two's flip got more muscle and flipped nicely. A few loose noodles and vegetables went flying all over the kitchen but Fay took care of that. (Thanks Fay!) Pancake number two is pictured above.

For the last pancake I tried to use a large plate for flipping. You know, you put the inverted plate on over the pancake in the pan then turn the whole mess over then slide the flipped pancake back into the pan? Utter failure. I don't know why but half the pancake didn't make it onto the plate. I salvaged it all (except for the section that Pete ate off the stove) and put it back in the pan.

The process was messy but tasty. We used a dipping sauce made of 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1 Tablespoon sesame oil and a clove of minced garlic.

So there it is, mostly vegetables with a bit of egg for protein and I used up some of our leftovers. My favorite parts were the Indian rice for the unusual seasoning and the kimchee - just because I love kimchee.

And, of course, now we have exciting new leftovers!