Easy and Savory Mung Bean Pancakes
#MungBeanRecipe #EasyRecipe #StoreBoughtMungBeanPancakeMix #ReadyMadeMungBeanPancake #FernBrakeNamu #BalloonFlowerRootNamu #AusterNamu
The world has become incredibly convenient! Nowadays, you can easily enjoy delicious mung bean pancakes at home using store-bought mung bean pancake mix. In the past, making these pancakes involved a lot more effort: buying shelled mung beans, soaking them, grinding them, preparing various vegetables and minced pork, mixing the batter, seasoning it, and then frying. It was quite a labor-intensive process. If you also had to prepare the vegetables from scratch, it could take up half a day. Making the batter and frying could easily consume an entire day, or the batter might be refrigerated for frying the next day. However, with store-bought mung bean pancake mix, you simply defrost and fry, saving significant time and effort. The only minor drawback is that the filling might not be as abundant as when made from scratch at home. For this recipe, I used two packs of store-bought mung bean pancake mix. I fried one pack as is, and for the other, I added extra vegetables to compare the taste differences. There were also subtle differences in the mixes themselves. Let me walk you through these interesting details step by step.
Ingredients- 1kg Store-bought Mung Bean Pancake Mix
- 100g Fern Brake Namu (Gosari)
- 100g Balloon Flower Root Namu (Doraji)
- 100g Auster Namu (Chwinamul)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Let’s examine the first store-bought mung bean pancake mix. This mix naturally contains shelled mung beans, bean sprouts, boiled fern brakes, minced pork, and garlic, along with other additives. However, I noticed that balloon flower root is missing. Most of the ingredients appear to be of Chinese or American origin, and interestingly, cabbage is included, which is a unique addition.
Step 2
It’s a bit unclear if the green vegetables seen in the mix are namu, green onions, or cabbage. The dough itself has the yellowish hue of roasted mung beans. This color differs from what you’d expect if you ground mung beans yourself. Another observation is that the batter tends to be quite watery, with a lot of liquid relative to the other ingredients.
Step 3
Heat a pan thoroughly and add a generous amount of oil. Fry the pancake mix on both sides until golden brown and crispy. Since the batter is quite watery, it’s helpful to spoon some of the batter liquid over the vegetables as you fry.
Step 4
This is the finished mung bean pancake, fried using only the first store-bought mix. While the filling wasn’t as abundant as I’d prefer, the nutty flavor was quite pleasant. I’d say it’s a very standard and reliable option. ^^
Step 5
Now, let’s look at the second mung bean pancake mix, which is labeled as ‘Mung Bean Jeon Mix’. This one claims to use 100% domestic (Korean) mung beans. Among the other ingredients, the most surprising inclusion is ‘kimchi’ instead of cabbage! I’ve never seen kimchi added to mung bean pancakes before – quite a shock! It also contains green onions, bean sprouts, meat, red pepper powder, salt, and pepper. I suspect this won’t taste like a traditional mung bean pancake. The presence of red pepper powder is particularly noteworthy. Wow…
Step 6
Transfer the batter into a bowl. Even after mixing in some of the drained batter from the first batch (which was watery), this new batter has a reddish tint. This is likely due to the kimchi and red pepper powder. I wonder why they decided to include kimchi and red pepper powder in a mung bean pancake mix?
Step 7
Add the prepared fern brake namu, balloon flower root namu, and auster namu to the mix. Chop the namu into bite-sized pieces and mix everything thoroughly.
Step 8
With the generous addition of various colorful namu, it now looks like a hearty mung bean pancake. All that’s left is to fry it. I’m very curious to taste what a mung bean pancake with kimchi and red pepper powder will be like.
Step 9
Heat a pan with plenty of oil. Add the pancake mixture and fry until golden brown on one side. Flip it over and continue frying until the other side is also cooked through.
Step 10
The pancake is nicely golden brown on both sides. You can faintly smell the kimchi while it’s frying and even after it’s done. Adding the extra namu made the pancake wonderfully plump and thick. I’m eager to taste this kimchi-infused mung bean pancake.
Step 11
Here is the finished mung bean pancake, made by adding various namu to the second mung bean jeon mix. I’ve also prepared a dipping sauce made with soy sauce, onion, and chili, along with some ginger. This sauce helps cut through any richness. Now, what about the taste of this mung bean pancake, which is so different from the traditional North Korean-style mung bean pancakes I’m used to, with its kimchi inclusion? Wow! The kimchi flavor is very prominent! Because of it, there’s no greasiness, and I feel like I could eat several more. However, the intense kimchi flavor somewhat overwhelms the original nutty taste and aroma of the mung beans. While this recipe is enjoyable as a unique twist or a special treat, especially if you love kimchi, I would recommend omitting the kimchi if you’re seeking the authentic taste of traditional mung bean pancakes.
