Chamchijeon (Korean Tuna Pancakes)

Turn a can of tuna into these crispy little snacks!  They're absolutely delicious.  A can of tuna makes six little pancakes, and I devoured them in about two minutes.  Note to self: always make a double batch.



This recipe comes from Maangchi, who is my go-to Korean cooking expert.  Pretty much everything I have ever made using her recipes have turned out well, and this was no exception.  The funny thing is, there's really nothing about the recipe that indicates that it's Korean... or even Asian.  Okay, maybe the sesame oil, which imparts an "Asiany" flavor.  But if you left that out, it's really just made up of familiar, run-of-the-mill ingredients that aren't Asian in origin.

It couldn't be easier.  Mix everything together, then fry for about two minutes on each side.  Then viola!  Delicious little tuna snacks that don't taste tuna-y.  You know what I mean; canned tuna always imparts a very distinctive kind of tuna flavor... these pancakes don't have that.  At least not while hot.  I don't know what they'd taste like cold, as I ate them all too quickly.  Maangchi says that this can serve as a cold appetizer, so I have no reason to doubt her.



I love that they don't have to be deep fried.  While I love deep-fried foods, I don't like the mess of dealing with leftover oil at home.  For these, you just use a tablespoon or two of canola oil, like you're going to stir-fry vegetables or make scrambled eggs.  Easy peasy!

Maangchi's original recipe calls for a teaspoon of salt.  This seemed really excessive to me, and in fact, in her own video at the end, after she tastes them, she admits they're on the salty side.  She says it's fine because they're intended to be served with rice.  Me, I just drastically cut the amount of salt called for and it was fine, especially because I didn't eat them with rice.



The dipping sauce she recommends for them is a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar -- she didn't specify what kind, but I used black.  Soy sauce, black vinegar, and some hot chili paste is my go-to sauce for potstickers, and it worked just as well for these little snacks.  However, I can also see myself leaving out the sesame oil, squeezing lemon juice over them, and dipping them in aioli.

Chamchijeon (Korean Tuna Pancakes) (adapted from Maangchi)

Ingredients

• 1 5oz can of tuna packed in water, drained
• 3 tbsp onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1-2 tbsp canola oil, for frying

Method

1. Heat your pan on medium-high heat with the canola oil.
2. Meanwhile, thoroughly mix together the rest of the ingredients.  It should be fairly wet and stick together well.  If it doesn't, add a little more oil or water.
3. Divide the mixture into six portions.  Drop by the spoonful into the hot pan, and gently shape them into rounds if you care about shape.
4. When the bottoms are nicely browned, about 1-2 minutes, flip them over, pressing gently.  Fry until browned as well, then eat immediately ... or not.

Bridge Creek Heavenly Hots

About 8 times out of 10, if you asked me to choose, I'd probably pick waffles over pancakes. But occasionally I'm in the mood for pancakes, especially when homemade, as they're so much easier to make than waffles (in my opinion). I'm also a fan of things in miniature. So when I saw the recipe for silver-dollar pancakes in the latest issue of Gourmet, I was tempted.



Then I read this description of them in the magazine, and it sealed my fate: These are the lightest sour cream silver-dollar-size hotcakes I've ever had -- they seem to hover over the plate. They are heavenly and certainly should be served hot. So light they hover over the plate? Surely an exaggeration.


Shown here next to a head of garlic so you can see the hotcakes' silver-dollar size -- or close enough, anyway.

And while okay, they didn't literally levitate, they really were the lightest, most wonderful little hotcakes I've ever had. It finally gave me a good excuse to drag out my Black & Decker griddle, which has gotten far too little use. The batter is quite thin and will spread, so use less per cake than your instincts tell you. "Serve hot" also seems to be a tall order, given how small these are and how many you'd likely have to make, but depending on the size of your griddle, you can make several at a time. I was able to fit 8 of them on mine, and if I had really tried I probably could have made it 10. Stacking them immediately after they're done will help insulate the heat between them, as well.



Also? I haven't purchased maple syrup in probably years, and I must say I was simply shocked by the prices. I had read something at some news source about maple syrup costing an arm and a leg these days, but I didn't pay that much attention since I rarely buy it. But wow -- I'm sure glad pancakes are a once-in-a-while treat in my house rather than a regular staple!



I had these for breakfast this morning, and just in case, I had them again for dessert after dinner. You know, for the sake of science. I wanted to make sure the first batch wasn't a fluke of "heavenliness."



Bridge Creek Heavenly Hots (from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham)

Makes 50-60 dollar-size pancakes

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup cake flour
• 2 cups sour cream
• 3 tbsp sugar

Method

1. Put the eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until well blended. Add the salt, baking soda, flour, sour cream, and sugar, and mix well. All of this can be done in a blender, if you prefer.
2. Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is good and hot, film with grease, and drop small spoonfuls of batter onto the griddle -- just enough to spread to an approximately 2 1/2-inch round. When a few bubbles appear on top of the pancakes, turn them over and cook briefly.

My note: If you have a nonstick griddle, as I do, you may be able to skip the "film with grease" step. They are very obedient on my griddle and slide off easily. I certainly don't need the extra calories from the grease, given the amount of sour cream that goes into these!