Mmmm … Asian-style pancakes… I LOVE ’em! Malaysian cuisine has its own fair share of pancakes that are a delight to eat: the apam balik, the uttapam, the roti jala and the sweet Chinese version filled with mashed yam, sweet black bean paste or sweet potato, which I don’t know an English translation for. Today however, I am going to share none of these. Heh. Instead I am going to share a pancake recipe inspired by our regional neighbour, Korea.
I saw this recipe online and I did some reading up on the subject. In my mind, the flavours seem very familiar to something I have eaten lots of times before at the Singapore hawker centres ~ the oyster omelette. Not 100% positive if it’s the same thing but I am going to share my version anyway. This pancake is not to be confused with the Chinese spring onion pancake coz this is made with a thin batter and not out of rolled dough.
Pancakes have got to be world’s oldest and most basic recipe, coz every single nation out there has a pancake recipe of some sort. Let’s face it, all that’s really required to make a pancake is some ground up grain and water. Cook it on a hot flat surface and hey presto! you’ve got yourself a very crude pancake. Wikipedia tells me that pancakes have been around since the dawn of prehistoric societies. I am not surprised there.
While I do love my sweet pancakes, smeared with melted butter and jam, I do appreciate savoury ones as well. Today my recipe is going to include lots of spring onions, chives and shrimps, but you can use squid, octopus, clams, oysters or make it a seafood medley. I will also be including a dipping sauce to go with.
Ingredients:
- 100 g AP flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 200 mls water
- 2 shallots
- 1 stalk spring onion
- ½ cup chives, chopped
- 1 cup small shrimps
- 1½ tbsp veggie oil (for frying)
- ½ tbsp sesame oil (for frying)
Place the flour, cornstarch, salt, water and egg in a mixing bowl and whisk by hand until smooth. This pancake batter has no raising agent so when it cooks there will be no bubbles on the surface and it will not rise.
Add the chooped up shallots, chives and spring onions. Stir through.
Add shrimps. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for one hour.
In a pan, heat some veggie oil and some sesame oil. Place half the batter in the pan and swirl it around to spread the mixture evenly. Cook until golden and crispy round the edges, then flip to cook the other side.
Slide onto a cutting board and cut into squares or wedges. Garnish with more spring onions and serve with dipping sauce.
I made the mistake of putting all my batter in the pan at once. What resulted was a thick pancake … too thick for my liking. I like crispy edges and not so chewy centers. Anyway, lesson learnt. Still tasted great (although R. shunned it like he usually does to new foods … pffft!).
You can use a wide variety of fillings but I feel onions and prawns make the best ones. I do hope you feel adventurous enough to give this a try. It makes for a very nice entrée for your Asian-themed dinner party, or simply a teatime snack. The sauce is versatile enough that it can be served as a general dipping sauce for a variety of things. Use it with dumplings, pot stickers, deep-fried prawn fritters, or as a dressing for salads and cold noodles. If you don’t like chillies then omit the sambal.
So until next time … I wish you all the best in the kitchen and stay safe!
~ Enjoy!! ~
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