Recipe: Sang by Mabasa’s Oustanding Kimchi Pancake, From the Adored Restaurant’s Debut Cookbook

I couldn’t contain my excitement when I heard that my favourite Korean restaurant – Sang, Sydney’s beloved family-run spot in Surry Hills – was publishing a cookbook. Sang: Recipes from a Korean Family Table, by Kenny Yong-Soo Son, is a shake-up from the other Korean books I own. It’s kinda like how the experience of dining there feels different from anywhere else: considered, to the point, not pretentious and most importantly, bloody delicious.

True story: my early copy arrived and I immediately started cooking. The garlic chive pancake and the jeyuk bokkeum (a spicy pork stir-fry with mushrooms) were my gateway to the book. I couldn’t wait! But for a recipe for this column, it had to be the kimchi jeon (kimchi pancake). At Sang, the large round arrives at the table with a thin crisp shell; the inside is thicker than I’ve had elsewhere and has a delightful, soft texture. It’s pretty special. I read through the recipe: a bit of chopped kimchi tossed into a floury batter, then crisped in the pan. Seems simple, right?

As with all simple recipes, it’s about the finer details.

A few things I figured out along the way were to really squeeze the juice from the kimchi (use that liquid later instead of water, as they instruct), chop it super-fine, and use a pan that’s unlikely to stick.

I tried the recipe a few times, and the version I made with house-made kimchi from Soonchi Banchan had by far the best flavour. It did take me a few goes to get a perfect flip, but the good news is it’ll still taste brilliant if you botch it – just smoosh it back together. It was squishy in the centre and crisp on the edges, but not quite as crisp as the one in the restaurant. I’m certain with time and practice I’ll get there. But until then, I’ll always have a backup plan on 98 Fitzroy Street, Surry Hills.

Kimchi jeon by Sang

Serves 1
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

150g fermented or slightly over-fermented kimchi, finely chopped
45g plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) ½ tsp coarse sea salt 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

Put the kimchi, flour, cornflour, salt and 110ml of water into a large bowl and mix well.

Preheat a 22cm frying pan over high heat, then add the vegetable oil. Once the oil has heated, pour the batter into the pan, spreading it out over the surface. Cook for 1–2 minutes, until the base begins to set, then flip the pancake with a spatula and press flat.

Top up with some more oil if the pancake sticks to the pan, and continue to flip and press down lightly until lightly golden on both sides, about 6 minutes in total.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and press the pancake to squeeze out any excess oil. Discard any excess oil from the pan and cook for 30 seconds more on each side. This will help you achieve a crispy texture on the pancake.

Serve with cho ganjang as a dipping sauce.

Notes

When mixing the ingredients, you can add a little bit of the kimchi juice to make the mixture more flavourful.

Sang: Recipes from a Korean Family Table, by Kenny Yong-Soo Son, is available now in bookshops across Australia.

Gemma Plunkett is a Sydney-based dinner party tragic and home cook who is a writer, content strategist and recipe developer. Find her (but mostly food) in pictures or in your inbox via her free newsletter Ding!