{"id":10731,"date":"2018-01-24T11:48:39","date_gmt":"2018-01-24T19:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kimchimari.com\/?p=10731"},"modified":"2020-11-29T15:43:22","modified_gmt":"2020-11-29T23:43:22","slug":"buckwheat-pancake-korean-winter-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kimchimari.com\/buckwheat-pancake-korean-winter-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Buckwheat Pancake for Winter Olympics in Korea!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buckwheat Pancake (Memil Jeon \uba54\ubc00\uc804) is a special local food in the province where the 2018 Winter Olympics is being held. Ready in just 20 min!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Buckwheat
Buckwheat Pancake Memil Jeon Buchim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Buckwheat pancake Korean style! You may have heard of Buckwheat crepes and Buckwheat breakfast pancakes but you probably have not heard about this Korean buckwheat pancake. It is a specialty in the area of Bongpyeong, Gangwon province, which is also where this years’\u00a0Winter Olympics<\/a> is being held.<\/p>\n

\"Soba<\/a>
Soba Noodle Salad (Memil Guksu Salad)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you asked a Korean, they will probably associate Bongpyeong with Memil Jeon, Memil Guksu \uba54\ubc00 \uad6d\uc218 (Buckwheat noodles aka soba noodles) and Memil Muk \uba54\ubc00\ubb35 (Buckwheat Jelly). Because Bongpyeong produces the majority of Korean buckwheat. And I just found out that this area is only 30 minutes away from Pyeongchang \ud3c9\ucc3d(where olympic village is). You can read my past post Buckwheat or Soba noodle salad<\/a>\u00a0to learn more about our visit to the area and their buckwheat festival that we got to see while we were there.<\/p>\n

Before we go on, I need to share an almost fading<\/span> memory I have about Memil Muk (Buckwheat Jelly). <\/p>\n

My Memories of Buckwheat Jelly<\/h3>\n

I’m sure some of you may know the most common type of muk made is from acorns (Dotori Muk) and mungbeans (Cheongpo Muk or Nokdu Muk). Well, when I was a kid living in Seoul, sometimes in the darkness of night, you would hear a song that starts from a far away and then getting closer and closer —<\/p>\n

“Me-mil~\ud83c\udfb6\u00a0Muuuk ~\ud83c\udfb6”<\/p>\n

“Chapssal~\ud83c\udfb6\u00a0Tteoo~ok\u00a0~\ud83c\udfb6”<\/p>\n

“Me-mil~\ud83c\udfb6\u00a0Muuuuk ~\ud83c\udfb6”<\/p>\n

It was a song sung at the top of his lungs, by a street vendor trying to sell his remaining inventory so he could go home to his family. These street vendors walked around in the neighborhood at night, beckoning you to buy their yummy “mu~uuuk~” for a late evening snack. If you are old like me \ud83d\ude1c, you may remember hearing these vendors singing in the dark, hanging around outside your door…hoping and wishing that someone would come out and buy their food. Oh boy… writing about those days are evoking a certain feeling of nostalgia as I am suddenly singing their song in my head. \ud83d\ude0d\u00a0We mostly thought it was annoying at the time but now I kind of long for those days of less machines and less convenience… a memory is always more beautiful than reality, right?? HAHAHA…<\/p>\n

A restaurant that’s in my Top 13 Best Seoul Restaurant<\/a>\u00a0list,\u00a0Nurungji Baeksuk \ub204\ub989\uc9c0 \ubc31\uc219 Restaurant in Donamdong \ub3c8\uc554\ub3d9, serves Baeksuk and Nurungi (burnt rice porridge) and my favorite version of Memil Jeon. The most traditional Ganwondo version of memil jeon has napa cabbage and green onions in them and is served with a soy dipping sauce. That’s the recipe I’m sharing today. There’s another version that uses rinsed sour kimchi instead of fresh cabbage. And then there’s this restaurant’s version which I especially love and I have included that recipe here too! So you are getting two recipe versions for the price(?? yeah, maybe your price of having to endure my ads.. haha..) of one!! This lovely buckwheat pancake is served with some fresh buckwheat sprouts and dolnamul (sedum, stonecrop) on top with some sweet and sour gochujang drizzled on top. I just LOVE the combination.<\/p>\n

\"korean
korean buckwheat pancake at Nurungji Baeksuk Seongbukdong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These little green gems adds freshness and a wonderfully crunchy texture. The chogochujang brings a zing and a zang (my word for a spicy kick!) that just brightens up all the flavors as you enjoy the contrast of the nutty smooth taste of the pancake with the fresh little crisp salad.<\/p>\n

Is Buckwheat Pancake (Memil Jeon) gluten free and vegan?<\/h4>\n

YES and YES!!! My recipe only uses buckwheat flour, water and salt for the batter mix which makes it naturally gluten free. And then only vegetables are added so it’s also vegan!<\/p>\n

Can I substitute American buckwheat flour instead of Korean to make buckwheat pancake?<\/h4>\n

While testing this recipe, I found that the buckwheat flour sold at Korean store and buckwheat flour I bought from Amazon are different. Note, I just tested one organic brand. Korean buckwheat flour is much more fine ground and works perfectly for my recipe but the American buckwheat flour ended up being a little gummy when I used buckwheat flour only. So I ended up mixing in some flour to make it work. I am not sure if it’s because of the particular organic American made buckwheat flour or if that’s the case for all American buckwheat.<\/p>\n

Korean Buckwheat Pancake (Memil Jeon) Recipe – GF, Vegan<\/h3>\n

Makes: 2 pancakes (10″)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Cooking Time: 20 min\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Difficulty: Easy<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/p>\n