This week’s #SundaySupper theme is Home for the Holidays hosted by Beate Weiss-Krull at GalactoPDX. We’re sharing holiday food traditions or our family favorite recipes.
Growing up, the “American” portion of Christmas dinner was always a repeat of Thanksgiving dinner – the big Butterball turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. The “Korean” portion of the dinner included a little more variation. Some dishes made a regular appearance, like jap chae, deep-fried mandoo, and of course kimchi, but new dishes emerged every couple of years. Like haepari naeng chae (cold jellyfish salad with a spicy mustard dressing), steamed squid with a side of red pepper sauce, or jok bal (braised pig’s feet) to name a few. And guests never came over empty-handed. Needless to say, Christmas dinners were always a huge spread and there was always an overflow table to accommodate the overabundance of platters. Guests came over ready to eat and my parents always invited those who had no plans for Christmas. These folks were always families who managed to find there way to this little remote town, thousands of miles away from their home country of Korea or graduate students who were studying at the nearby college town. Even back when they were living in New York City in the late 60’s, my parents always welcomed friends over to their small apartment and always with a generous spread of home cooking.
This year, my side of the family had plans to gather together at my parent’s house this season, but it all fell through (they have been enduring a drawn-out renovation/repair to their house). This year it’s just the four of us so there will be no big, loud, noisy feast. But if there were, I would bring these bindaetteok or mung bean pancakes to the table.
A few notes on the recipe
Typically, hulled mung beans are used for this dish giving the pancakes a more golden color. You can find hulled beans at your local Asian market. I used unhulled mung beans (from Whole Foods Market) since I couldn’t find the golden hulled beans. I also didn’t bother to peel them after they’ve been soaked overnight. It’s a real pain to unhull these babies. The hulls are completely edible, but the pancakes will take on a browner shade. It will not affect the flavors of this dish.
Older or more matured (read: more stinky) kimchi works best here. The tang of the aged kimchi works perfectly with the nutty flavors of the mung bean. Also, feel free to substitute the pork with beef or omit it altogether if you want to make this vegetarian.
You can eat the pancakes as is or serve it with a simple dipping sauce of 2 parts soy sauce to 1 part white vinegar.
Bindaetteok (mung bean pancakes)
Makes about 15 pancakes, 4 inches in diameter
2 cups dried mung beans
1/4 cup rice flour
2 cups kimchi, chopped
8 ounces pork tenderloin, chopped
1-2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 red pepper, cored and sliced thinly lengthwise (totally optional)
cooking oil
1 – Soak the beans in 4 cups of water for about 6 hours or overnight.
2 – Drain and rinse the beans, but save the reserved water.
Left: before soak, right: after soak.
3 – Put the beans in the food processor and purée.
4 – In a large bowl, add the bean purée and rice flour. Add enough of the reserved water to reach the consistency of a thick pancake batter. If you’re planning to use this later, keep the purée refrigerated until ready to use.
5 – Add the kimchi, pork, salt, and sesame oil. Mix thoroughly.
6 – Heat a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat.
7 – If you’re using the red pepper to make the pancakes extra fancy, place 3-4 strips of the pepper into the pan. Immediately scoop or ladle about a half cup of the bean puree over the pepper. Cook until light brown and the edges dry up a bit, about 2 minutes. Repeat.
8 – Flip the pancakes and let cook for another 2 minutes or until done.
9 – Repeat until you have used up all the bean puree mixture.
Here is what the rest of the #SundaySupper gang is bringing to the table! Happy holidays!
Breakfast
- Eggs Benedict by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Holiday Cream Cheese Tea Ring by That Skinny Chick can Bake
- Orange Refrigerator Rolls by The Wimpy Vegetarian
- Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake by Small Wallet Big Appetite
Appetizers & Snacks
- Chicken Liver Pate by Tora’s Real Food
- Bindaetteok {Mung Bean Pancakes} by Kimchi Mom
- Crab and Asparagus Soup by The Urban Mrs.
Sides
- Potato Salad {Schwaebischer Kartoffelsalat} by Galactopdx
- Italian Orange Salad by Shockingly Delicious
- Sweet Potato Casserole by Magnolia Days
- Carrots au gratin by Juanitas Cocina
Main Dishes
- Char Siu Bao – Chinese Roast Pork Buns by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
- Savory Crepe Cake by Vintage Kitchen
- West Indian Curried Goat by The ROXX Box
- Pot Cheese and Potato Cheese Pierogies by Cupcakes and Kale Chips
- Seafood Gumbo and Grilled Oysters: A Louisiana Christmas Tradition by the Catholic Foodie
- Mom’s Paella by What Smells So Good?
- Portuguese inspired Chorizo Crown Pork Roast by Family Foodie
- Dorie’s Chicken in a Pot by Gotta Get Baked
- New Year’s Eve Buckwheat Noodles with Mochi by The Ninja Baker
- Mile High Lasagna by Cravings of a Lunatic
- Crab Cakes for Christmas Eve by Daddy Knows Less
Desserts
- Pizzelles {Italian Wafer Cookies} by Chocolate Moosey
- Fudge by Dinner Dishes and Desserts
- Crescent Cookies by Cookistry
- Christmas Stollen by Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
- Pfeffernussen by The Foodie Army Wife
- Creme De Menthe Cake by I Run for Wine
- Panettone Bread Pudding by the Country Girl in the Village
- Spiced Gingerbread Gooey Butter Cake | A twist on a St. Louis Favorite by Daily Dish Recipes
- Chocolate Gingerbread Cake with Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting by Crispy Bits and Burnt Ends
- Jamaican Christmas Pudding by Lovely Pantry
- White Chocolate Cranberry Santa Cookies by Mooshu Jenne
- Christmas Tree Cookies by Damn Delicious
- Old Fashioned Lady Fingers {Creamhorns} by The Meltaways
- Rose Milk Almond Falooda {Indian Dessert Drink} by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
Drinks
- Wine Pairings by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
- Cinnamon Infused Hot Chocolate with Southern Comfort Whipped Cream by Mama Mommy Mom
