Renowned chef Alan Cha shares his recipe for Kimchi Pancakes

Chef Alan Cha from Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel says Korean food culture is all about sharing your food. He whips up his favourite dish, Kimchi Pancakes, which contain fermented veggie salads

Kimchi Pancakes
Ingredients for kimchi
>> 50g Chinese cabbage
>>u00a020g white radish
>>u00a020g fresh carrot
>>u00a010g spring onion
>>u00a020g fresh pear
>>u00a020g red apple
>> 20g rice syrup
>>u00a010g sugar
>>u00a05g sticky rice flour
>>u00a020g garlic, crushed
>>u00a05g fresh chives

Visiting chef Alan Cha from Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel cooks up a Korean storm. Pics/ Pradeep Dhivar

Method
>>Cut the into half and then soak it in salt water for 12 hours.
>>Remove and drain out the salt and juice
>>Mix the rice syrup, sugar, sticky flour, garlic and chives and add all the vegetables
>>Soak overnight
>>Next day, mixthe vegatable mixture into the cabbage and refrigerate

Ingredients for pancakes
>> 100g refined flour
>>u00a02 egg yolks
>>u00a020g rice flour
>>u00a050ml water
>>u00a05g baking soda
>> Salt to taste
Method
>> Mix the above ingredients to make a paste.
>>Add the vegatable mixture to the pancake paste and make pancakes

Understanding korean food
In Korea, like India, food is all about sharing. So, the dishes are not divided into courses, and everything is served together, says Chef Cha. “It is a misunderstanding that Korean food is spicy. This happens when Chinese spices are used to make a dish. Another misconception is that kimchis are of just one kind,” he adds. In fact, Kimchi is a process of making fermented vegetables and there are at least 100-odd ways to make kimchis, he explains. It is a light dish best paired with red wine. One can use radish, cabbage, spring onions and bellpeppers, etc.u00a0Koreans are basically farmers and fishermen, so the food is simple. It is not plated up fancifully. “For dessert, we serve a popular drink made from cinnamon and sugar called Su Jung Gua. It also contains ginseng and dates and is boiled for over six hours to create a sweetened flavour,” explains Chef Cha.

The Korean food festival is on at Spices, JW Marriott in Juhu till September 2

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