Kimchi pancakes, or kimchijeon, are a beloved Korean savory pancake that is often served crispy and thin. This article explores a keto-friendly version of this classic dish, perfect for those seeking a flavorful, low-carb alternative.
What is Kimchi?
Kimchi itself is a staple of Korean cuisine, and is made of salted, fermented vegetables. Though it usually begins with cabbage as its base, dozens of varieties of kimchi exist using other vegetables, such as radish, cucumber, or onion. Napa cabbage kimchi is the main ingredient. The fermentation process that kimchi goes through adds to the health benefits with it’s abundance of probiotics. The flavor deepens as the kimchi ages and turns more sour. For less spicy version, rinse kimchi in water, remove excess liquid and cook the same way but omit gochujang.
Why Keto Kimchi Pancakes?
Traditional pancakes, with their flour and sugary syrups, can be high in carbs and sugar. These savory pancakes (aka fritters) made with Kimchi offer a nutritious and lower-carb option. They are also good cold if you want an easy lunch or snack. Serve them with a soy sauce dip or add a touch of wasabi sauce mayonnaise to the top of the cake and roll it up. For dinner anything goes, but fish is always popular with kimchi.
Keto Kimchi Pancake Recipe:
This recipe utilizes a high-protein pancake mix to further enhance the nutritional profile.
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Kodiak high protein pancake mix (may need a little more for preferred consistency)
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ½ Cup chopped Kimchi (Homemade or store-bought)
- ¼ - ½ Cup Water (The amount depends on your preferred consistency)
- 1 Tablespoon Oil (or bacon fat or butter)
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, with a wire whisk or slotted spoon, stir together Kodiak mix and 2 eggs
- Add 1 cup Kimchi and and stir everything together until thoroughly mixed
- Add a little water or pancake mix to get the cakes to your desired consistency.
- Let the batter rest about 5 minutes. While resting warm up 1 Tablespoon of bacon fat or butter over medium heat in a large skillet. You can use oil instead of butter, but butter will make more golden brown cakes.
- Add about 1/4 cup of batter to the heated oil in the skillet for 3” cakes and 1/2 cup for 4-5” cakes.
Tips for the Perfect Keto Kimchi Pancake
- Use well-fermented kimchi: The funkier, the better. Aged, sour kimchi that’s deeply fermented works best. The flavor intensifies when cooked. The more sour it is, the better the flavor.
- Drain the kimchi: Drain the kimchi first before adding it to the batter. Tip no. 1 and I’ve said this several times…please drain the kimchi first! The regular pancakes use flour so the batter can soak up more liquid. The batter should be thin and not thick. Place a sieve over a measuring cup that’s just big enough to hold the kimchi. Use the back of a spoon to press out as much liquid as possible. Save the kimchi juice.
- Don’t overmix: Like most pancakes, they can be either fluffy or dense. The key is more in the process of making the batter rather than they type of mix. A few key tips:1. Don’t overmix the batter2. Let the batter rest 5-10 minutes before cooking3. Separate the egg whites out and beat them before adding to mix4. Only flip once
- Get the pan hot: Sizzle: Get the pan hot before adding the batter. Use ½ cup of the batter per pancake to keep it thin and crispy.
- Crispy edges: Look at that crispy edges!
Serving Suggestions
Kimchi pancakes are also good cold if you want an easy lunch or snack. Serve them with a soy sauce dip or add a touch of wasabi sauce mayonnaise to the top of the cake and roll it up. For dinner anything goes, but fish is always popular with kimchi. This dish is super versatile. You can serve it as an appetizer, a savory snack or a side dish. You can go all out with my Paleo Korean recipes for a kimchi feast or make it a finger food party theme with more appetizers like Asian chicken lettuce wraps, air fried lemon chicken bites, Chicken yakitori, Grilled tsukune meatballs (Japanese chicken meatballs), bang bang shrimp, or air fried Thai chicken wings. To make it a lighter supper, pair it with my keto egg drop soup, gluten-free wonton soup, or Chinese hot and sour soup.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Variations
- Spice it up: Variation: You can also mix-in a few teaspoons of my Whole30 gochujang paste! Variation: if you want a bit more spicy, try adding a few sliced jalapeno peppers and let the sauce sit at room temperature for a few hours for the flavor to melt.
- Dipping Sauce: If using, combine all ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
- Squid: As I researched about Kimchi pancake, I found most recipes add an egg and also squid. I don’t ever remember having squid in my kimchi pancake growing up but must be a fancy variation. My kimchi jeon recipe is without egg or squid. I’m sure squid will add a good chewy texture and flavor to it so you are welcome to try adding it.
Can You Freeze High Protein Kimchi Pancakes?
When cooled, place pancakes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and place tray in freezer until pancakes are completely frozen, about 4 hours. Once frozen, transfer pancakes to a zip-top freezer bag or other freezer-safe container and store frozen for up to 2 months.
Can You Find Kimchi In The Grocery Store?
Yes, it is most often in the produce section of the grocery store in glass jars.
Kimchi Fritters
I walked into my local neighbor Beaumont Market to talk to a friend and the only way to go in is left by the cheeses and some odd refrigerated items. A jar of kimchi with a REDUCED sticker on it caught my eye immediately. Gads, $2.00? For a fermented food? It’s never going to go out of date so I grabbed it as quickly as I could. Now, I eat kimchi relatively regularly so this is nothing out of the ordinary. I ate a serving with Kassler Rippchen and still had enough left over to make these keto carbalose kimchi fritters. The thing I didn’t realize as I picked up the jar was; the word MILD on part of the label. I have never heard of “mild” kimchi so I had to go with flow and added some garlic chili paste. Assuming you know what you are doing, unlike myself, you will buy a spicy flavorful kimchi to make these low carb carbalose kimchi fritters. I have it pictured with Asian Dipping Sauce because they go so well together and you can certainly use anything you would like or…just eat them plain. Beat egg, tamari, water, & kimchi juice. Chop kimchi and add. Slice onions and add ½ reserving the rest for garnishing. Heat large sauté pan to medium, add about 2 T oil and when hot, drop batter into oil. Immediately spread with the back of your spoon to size (About a 3½” diameter). Don’t get ahead of yourself-be patient. These take a little time to brown and set before you flip them-at least 4-5 minutes. Turn and finish cooking.
High Protein Pancake Mix
A typical pancake from a mix has an average of 2.4 grams of protein, whereas most protein pancakes contain around 10 grams. The extra protein can come from dried eggs, oats, flax seed, protein isolates extracted from whey, milk, or soy, or some combination of all of those ingredients, depending on the brand. Based on my son’s recommendation, we tried the Kodiak Cakes that have about 14 grams of protein (per 1/2 cup). The ingredients are primarily whole grain wheat flour, whole grain oat flour, and protein isolates from wheat, whey, and buttermilk. A serving of two medium Kodiak pancakes will end up giving you about 15 carbs. While that doesn’t really qualify as “low carb”, the protein cakes make up for it with a high protein, low sugar nutritional analysis. They will also be very satiating, which means you will get full faster and stay full longer. All of these considerations need to be taken into account on a low carb lifestyle. I took a look at a wide range of protein pancakes recipes and from a health standpoint, I think the Kodiak mix won. The thing that brought the homemade recipes down a notch in my opinion is the sugar. Many of them used bananas to keep the batter moist and bananas are really high in sugar. Homemade recipes also used a range of different protein powders. Protein powders can cover a wide variety of ingredients, and there is a great deal of debate on the “health” of some of the powders. With respect to “taste”, I don’t have a good sample size. The only thing I can say is the Kodiak pancakes were crispy, savory and awesome. I believe the kimchi filling or the topping you choose would determine the tastiness more than the cake.
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