Hobak Buchim (Zucchini Pancakes)
Korean savory pancakes made with zucchini!
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini about 8 ounces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 medium sweet onion thinly sliced
- 2 green hot chili peppers thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup buchim garu (Korean savory pancake mix) or flour (see note)
- 1 large egg (omit for a vegan version and add some water)
- vegetable or canola oil for frying
Dipping Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- pinch of black pepper
- pinch gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
Instructions
- Cut the zucchini into matchsticks. Place them in a bowl, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Let sit for about 10 minutes until wilted and released some liquid. Squeeze the liquid out from the zucchini as much as possible, reserving the liquid in the bowl. Set the zucchini aside.
- Add the egg and pancake mix (or flour) to the bowl with the zucchini squeezed mix. Mix everything well with a spoon, and then combine with the zucchini, onion and chili peppers. The zucchini mix may look stiff when mixing, but it will become more liquidly after a few minutes. If it’s still too stiff, mix in some water (2 to 3 tablespoons to start with).
- Heat a skillet with two tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. Add about 2 heaping tablespoons of the batter and spread it evenly into a thin round shape. Depending on the size of your pan, you can cook 3 to 4 pancakes at once. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the bottom is light golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. Serve hot with a dipping sauce.
Notes
Use 5 tablespoons all purpose flour with 3 tablespoons cornstarch if available.
This recipe makes 6 to 8 3-inch round pancakes, or two large pancakes.
This recipe was originally posted in August 2013 and has been updated here with minor changes.