I've discovered the perfect kid food. Pancakes.
But not just any pancakes. All pancakes.
On Tuesday mornings at the Torrance Farmer's Market, Desmond and I frequently share a pupusa filled with a colorful mix of vegetables and topped with shredded cabbage and spicy red salsa. I love going to Wilson Park early, when the market has just opened and there's steam rising from the griddles and old ladies huddled around their coffee and gossip. I love this super spicy breakfast that wakes me up even if I've only managed to get one cup of coffee before we left the house.
On Desmond's birthday he and I shared an okonomiyaki from Casa de Tree. It was a giant dinner-plate-covering Japanese pancake filled with vegetables and served with four different condiments. Swoon. I love a condiment. There was papery thin shredded seaweed, a slab of vegenaise, a heap of smoky sweet chili paste, and a bowl of sweet soy sauce. It was a perfect lunch for the two of us.
And just about everyday this week we've eaten Korean pancakes. I'd been looking for the perfect combination of ingredients, and I found one that works for us, but what I love about this meal is its malleability. Desmond loved these pancakes stuffed with shredded carrots, peas, and scallions; just carrots and more scallions; and the combination that I'm posting here that is my current favorite taken from the late summer produce currently populating the mid-November farmer's markets here in Southern California. This recipe is adapted from Flavors of Korea: delicious vegetarian cuisine by Deborah Coultrip-Davis and Young Sook Ramsay:
(Makes 7 5-inch pancakes)
batter:
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. brown rice flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. water
1 flax egg
vegetables:
one ear of corn, kernals removed
1/2 a red bell pepper, finely minced
1 stalk of scallions, both white and green parts finely chopped
1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
canola oil
Prepare flax egg (whisk 1 Tbsp. ground flax with 3 Tbsp. water) and set aside to thicken. Toss vegetables with sesame oil and set aside. Heat about a 1/2 tsp. canola oil on a griddle over medium heat. Whisk together dry ingredients for the batter, and then stir in the water and flax seed mixture. Stir in the vegetables.
Ladle about a half a cup of batter onto the hot grill and spread thin. When the batter looks mostly dry, after about two minutes, flip it over and cook the other side.
Serve dusted with toasted sesame seeds and a sauce to dip. (I like soy sauce, rice vinegar, Korean chili powder, and sugar. The authors recommend 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. rice vinegar, 1/4 tsp. toasted sesame seeds. In that case you could skip the garnish, but I also really like a garnish.)
(I have used brown rice flour and flax meal in this recipe because a primary goal here was to make a simple wholesome meal for my family. I think that regular rice flour and omitting the flax seed would give the pancake a more authentic texture and appearance, though I found this one to be completely satisfying.)
