Viet-Inspired Pork/Kimchi pancake

Again, the whole blog post and nothing but the blog post

Viet-inspired Pork and Kimchi Pancake


Oh my, this time he is all over the map, yes indeed. I went to the Japanese food store and found some great groceries, which gave me an idea. Actually, several ideas came up, so I bought quite a varied selection of things. Including Spam. Here are the groceries.
Hey! That is that I see...
Yes, I bought a small package of Macadamia Nut Chocolates. Yes, I have the self-control of a 3 year old. What can I say. Oh well, back to dinner. Pork inspired by the flavors of Vietnam, minus the lemongrass, which I could not get at the Japanese food store, but, I got garlic chives, time to riff I suppose. This particular store always has great thinly sliced kurobuta pork all ready for use. I bought a couple of packs to be marinaded in this stuff.
I know, what is all that stuff? Well, here is the recipe...


Viet-inspired Pork marinade

1.5 lbs boneless pork chops
2 teaspoons freshly ground Red Boat black pepper
1.5 tablespoons minced garlic
1 halved lime rind
3 tablespoons Red Boat Fish Sauce
1 medium-sized sweet lime (squeezed to obtain juice)
1 medium lime (squeezed to obtain juice)
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 teaspoon sesame oil


Pretty straightforward here, just combine and add pork. Allow to marinate for 2 hours. At this point, it is just going to go on a very hot grill and cook until the pork is done and a little charring shows up.
While the pork was marinading, I set up the kettle with lump and some Royal Oak briquettes to get it all fired up. I happened to smoke some Spam at this time, but, that is another story all together. I did prepare the batter for the kimchi pancake and some baby carrots for grilling as well. The carrots just got a good scrubbing, some olive oil and a sprinkling of Red Boat Black Pepper and some smoked salt. These went straight to the grill over the hot charcoal for just a few minutes. I hate over-cooked carrots.
On to the kimchi pancake, this is something I learned about just a year ago, not sure how I can have been eating in Korean restaurants for years and never had this dish, I can barely stop eating when I order it. Here is what I did...
Kimchi Pancake
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Rice Flour
1 Cup Well Fermented Kimchi, chopped in 1” chunks
4 stalks garlic chives, chopped
1/3 Cup Kimchi Broth
2/3 Cup Water
1 Egg
1-1/2 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt


Mix dry ingredients, Premix liquids and add, mix to pancake consistency, add chopped kim chee and scallions, mix until pancake batterish. Fry until edge is dry, then flip and finish. I wish someone was here when I flipped this, it was a thing if daring and beauty. Once this was done, it was time to plate. First, a little slicing and a look at the texture of the pancake.
The plating was just a matter of getting a couple of the slices from the pancake, a few slices of the pork and some carrots on the plate. I think this ends up being a decent plate of food. I normally would not each this much starch, but, like I said, I love kimchi pancakes. Oh, I added a little Tonkatsu sauce to add another layer of flavor to the plate.
The pork was grilled nicely, very tender as could be expected from the kurobuta sourcing and with a lovely salty/sweet flavor profile with the expected herbal and umami flavor that forms the backbone of many Southeast Asian foods. The black pepper was much more subtle than I expected, while the caramelized portions of the meat and carrots spoke of live fire. And, I think this kimchi pancake recipe was very close to what I wanted it to be. I think I will add more liquid and make the pancake a little thinner next time.
Just a parting shot of a really nicely cooked pork dinner inspired by the flavors of Vietnam, with support from Korea and Japan. Actually, this would also have gone very well over rice or rice noodles as well.

Did Tim give you your bottle back? You should demand a bottle of the 40N from him instead. :becky:

I used a bistro pan, no long handle. So, I grabbed the pan handle and flipped. It was perfect!

No, it was not even close to To Hyang, I have no illusions. I look forward to eating there again soon. On the other hand, these would be incredible with a couple of fried eggs, some bacon and a little Vietnamese coffee for brekkie.

J Don, I have a recipe for Kimchi, BRB.

Quick KimChee
And by quick, I am omitting the weeks buried in a crock in the ground here.

1 medium head cabbage ( I prefer nappa, or Chinese cabbage here)
1/2 cup salt
2 cups water
1 tablespoon fish sauce (Red Boat is best)

lots of red pepper flakes (1 tsp to start)
1 clove very finely minced garlic (can add more)
1/2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp chopped green onion whites
salt and sugar to taste

Shred cabbage and wash thoroughly. Dry (I use a salad spinner now). use 1/4 cup salt and rub into sliced cabbage. Using remaining 1/4 cup salt and water, soak cabbage for an hour. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Add and mix spices into cabbage. Now, you can place in a sealed jar, tightly packed, or, as we used to do, put it in a non-reactive bucket, place a piece or wood on top and weight it with a smooth clean river stone. Shove it into fridge to age (ripen) for 2 to 3 days.

Kim Chee 2
2/3 pound Napa Cabbage (1/2 a large head)
1/2 pound Daikon radish *
1 large Cucumber *
1 medium Turnip *
1/2 cup salt
3 Spring onions (chopped)
12 Garlic cloves (minced)
4 teaspoons Fresh ginger (grated)
1 tablespoon Dried chili flakes
3 teaspoons fish sauce (I prefer Red Boat, I know, surprise!)

1 cup Water
4 or 5 Thai Dragon hot peppers (super optional)

* Peel daikon, cucumber and turnip, and slice 1/4" thick.

Layer whole cabbage leaves, sliced daikon, cucumber and turnip in a
large bowl. Between layers, liberally sprinkle with 1/2 cup salt. Cover
with water and place a wide plate or pot on top to submerge them. Leave
overnight or at least 12 hours. Drain & Rinse vegetables in a colander.
Julienne each vegetable into a uniform shape. return them to the large
bowl, and add spring onions, garlic, ginger, chili flakes, soy/tamari,
salt and 1 cup water. Toss to combine.

Spoon the vegetables with liquid into a large crock or clean jars.
Cover tightly or cap. Refrigerate for 3 days before opening. Everyday,
turn jars upside down a couple of times to distribute spices, or stir
vegetables in the crock. Store in refrigerator.


A note on these, there is a product called kimchi starter than can be purchased from many Asian stores, this makes the process a little more consistent. Also, to really do this right, what you need to do is pack the vegetables into plastic jars and make sure there is no air in the jar. This is easily done by salting and then mixing the vegetables vigorously so that the moisture from the veggies is released. At this point, jar up and loosely cap. Do not cap tightly, as fermenting stuff in a tightly sealed jar can really explode all over your kitchen. Don't ask how I know this.


Here is the weird part, you need to leave it out at room temperature for two days. It will begin to bubble and out gas, it may have a strong odor. It will ferment and get the true sour flavor of kimchi. Either of the two versions I show above will work for this method as well. The refrigerator method is more like a pickle, which is a little easier for beginners, but, produces a milder flavor. By the way, this is a live culture kimchi, never cap it tightly.