KOREAN GREEN PEPPER PANCAKE: GOCHUJEON

I love Korean food... all the various types of kimchi, banchan, stews, rice dishes, porridge (jook), dumplings (mandu), pancakes (jeon), and everything else.

Korean pancakes are a favourite snack - there are many varieties, they are a total snap to make, and go with everything including themselves! I love whipping them up when I'm tall on hunger and short on time, especially on those Friday nights at the end of a long week when I don't feel like slaving over dinner and just want a drink or two with a delish snack. There are so many kinds of Korean pancakes - seafood, meat, squash, potatoes, mung beans, and green peppers, like the ones here.

Korean peppers (in the photo above) are mild and fresh tasting with a crisp texture. If you can't find them in your grocery store, use capsicum or a mix of capsicum and deseeded jalapeños. Capsicum and jalapeños have a thicker skin than Korean peppers, but they'll work in this recipe. Korean peppers are not spicy so if you want a spicy pancake, add a minced serrano, Thai chile, or green chile de arbol to the batter.

(Fun fact: Chiles de arbol - dried red or fresh green - are the variety commonly used in Indian cooking!)

Adapted from here.
Korean Green Pepper Pancake: Gochujeon
makes: 1 12 in. pancake (serves 1 - 2 people)

Pancake:
- 1 cup chopped Korean green peppers (~4 - 5 peppers)
- 4 tbsp. finely diced onion
- 2 tbsp. minced cilantro
- 1 tbsp. fish sauce (or 1 tsp. salt)
- 1 tbsp. chopped Thai chile or other spicy green chile (optional)
- 1/2 cup AP flour (or a mix of rice flours, or your favourite all purpose gluten-free flour)
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 tbsp. oil

Soy Dipping Sauce - Mix in a small bowl: 
- 4 tbsp. soy sauce (or gluten-free soy sauce: tamari)
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar (unseasoned)
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp. sugar
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp. finely minced onion
- 1 tbsp. finely minced red or green Thai chile pepper
- 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

1. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well into a thick batter. If the batter is dry, add water 1 tbsp. at a time till you have a thick batter, but don't make the batter too watery.
2. Heat the oil a 12 in. skillet and swirl around to evenly coat the skillet.
3. Pour the batter into the skillet and use a spoon to flatten into a pancake.
4. Cook till the edges brown and crisp up, then lift an edge of the pancake to let the oil get under the pancake so the centre can crisp up too.
5. Once the pancake edges are firm, flip the pancake over and cook for 3 - 4 minutes until the pancake is fully cooked to the centre.
6. Flip over once more and cook for 2 - 3 min. then transfer to a plate or cutting board.
7. Cut into 6 wedges and serve with any kind of kimchi, soy dipping sauce, or both.

ZUCCHINI BANANA NUT BREAD

I love baking with olive oil. It has natural emulsifiers that result in very moist and delicious cakes and quick-breads like this one... 

Sometimes I have a toasted, generously buttered slice of this bread for breakfast, or sometimes I make an open-faced sandwich with sliced apples or kiwi fruit. Irresistible!

Zucchini Banana Nut Bread

Makes: 1 9 in. x 4 in. loaf

- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

- 1 cup cake flour

- 1 tsp. cinnamon powder

- 1 tsp. baking soda

- 1/2 tsp. baking powder

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1/2 cup olive oil (or grapeseed oil or melted coconut oil)

- 3/4 cup demerara sugar (or regular white granulated sugar)

- 2 eggs

- 2 medium over-ripe bananas

- 2 small zucchini, shredded

- generous splash of vanilla extract

- 1/2 cup almonds (or walnuts/any other nuts) - optional

- 2 tbsp. unsweetened shredded dessicated coconut - optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.

2. Grease and flour a 9 in. x 5 in. loaf pan.

3. In a bowl, mix together the flours and other dry ingredients except the sugar and reserve for later.

4. In a large bowl, using a spoon mix the oil and sugar till the mixture is creamed - it will feel thickened.

5. Add the vanilla extract and break the eggs directly into the bowl.

6. Mix well till the eggs are completely mixed-in.

7. Peel and dice the bananas - I dice them directly into the mixing bowl.

8. Mix well and mash up the bananas coarsely against the wall of the bowl. Over-ripe bananas should easily mash up.

9. Add in the shredded zucchini and the dry ingredients. Also add in the nuts and coconut if using.

10. Mix well into a batter.

11. Pour into the greased, floured loaf pan.

12. Bake at 350 F/180 C for 1 hour.

13. Remove from the oven and insert a skewer or thin knife into the center of the loaf to check doneness. When the skewer or knife comes out dry, the loaf is done.

14. Let it rest and cool for 15 minutes in the loaf pan.

15. Loosen the sides with a knife and invert the loaf pan over a plate to remove the loaf. 

16. Put the loaf right side up on a cooling rack and let it cool completely, about an hour.

17. Enjoy!

Notes:

1. If you don't have cake flour, you can make it! Here's how: Measure out the all-purpose flour that you’ll need for your recipe. For every cup of flour you measured out, take out two tbsp. of flour and return it to the flour bin. Replace the two tbsp. of flour that you removed with two tbsp. of cornstarch. Sift the cornstarch and flour 4-5 times so that the cornstarch is well mixed with the flour. Et voila! Cake flour!