Pancakes are one of my favorite breakfast dishes. Whether it’s making them at home on a weekend morning or finding them with some interesting filling at a restaurant, I sure do enjoy them. However, almost every pancake that I have made has tilted toward the sweet. Zucchini bread pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, and (my children’s favorite) chocolate chip pancakes are all meant to be served warm with butter and maple syrup. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I can’t try branching out to a new flavor.
So it happened that last week I dipped my toe into the pool of savory pancakes. Having seen a recipe in Food & Wine magazine for egg custard, I wanted to try a Tapas Monday menu with a Korean flair. To include vegetables in the menu I created a cucumber salad with Asian flavoring; I just needed a third dish to round out the menu. Eggs, veggies, and what? With one or two pieces of shrimp garnishing the custards, I decided to find another way to present more shrimp. This produced the idea to try a savory pancake.
The shrimp pancakes were quite enjoyable. I made them small, so that they were more of an appetizer size, but they definitely could be made bigger and served as an entrée. The bite of the shrimp and crunch of the scallion gave the pancakes a great amount of texture and lots of flavor. For those of you who enjoy kimchi (such as my husband), it makes an excellent topping. For those who aren’t so found of that pungent condiment, a thin layer of cream cheese adds a nice element to the dish.
I wouldn’t suggest trying these as a breakfast dish, as they may shock your diners. However, as either a side or main dish in your next Asian-themed dinner they are certain to delight.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1 cup seltzer
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 – 1/2 pound cooked shrimp*
- 5 scallions, chopped
- olive oil
- Combine flour, egg, seltzer, oil, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Chop shrimp into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Add shrimp and scallions to batter; stir well.
- Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat.
- Coat bottom of pan with olive oil.
- Pour a 1/4 cup of batter in pan.
- Add additional batter to make more pancakes, as your pan allows for space. (I was able to cook 3 at a time.)
- Cook for 3-4 minutes or until bubbles appear.
- Flip and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Pancakes can be wrapped in foil and placed in a 200 oven to keep warm while cooking remaining pancakes.
- *Depending on how much shrimp you like.
