KOREAN RECIPES: Garlic Chive Pancakes, Garlic Chive Kimchi, Seasoned Wild Chives, and Wild Chive Dipping Sauce

Kimchi is highly rich in vitamins hence is an important source of them for Koreans during long, long winter when vitamin-rich plants are scarce; especially, pickling and fermenting may also improve the nutritional value of Kimchi introducing B-vitamins produced by bacteria. As spring draws near, though, this one-time palatable food suddenly seems old, boring, and unappetizing to our whimsical palate; and here come these spring herbs come to our rescue! You can easily stimulate the appetite by using these flavorful first herbs of spring which contain fresh nutrients we become deficient in during winter.

For more information on their nutritional value, click KOREAN FOOD: Korean Garlic Chives & Wild Chives (1) and KOREAN FOOD: Korean Garlic Chives & Wild Chives (2)

1. Garlic Chive Pancakes (Buchujeon , 부추전)

Whenever I can’t think of anything for dinner or lunch, don’t have time to make dinner, or have nothing to eat in the house, Jeon (전), Korean-style pancakes, always solves my problems. (Click to learn more about Jeon.) It takes less than 30 minutes (including prep time) to cook it yet the dish is loaded with beneficial nutrients. Even though most people love to add seafood (such as chopped squid or calamari, shrimp, clams, mussels, or scallops) to plus the flavor, texture, and protein to the dish, my family, especially my son, loves the dish with no seafood in it to enjoy the herb’s refreshing and invigorating aroma and flavor as is.

A plateful of garlic chive mini-pancakes (Buchujeon or Buchu jeon)

INGREDIENTS: ● 1 cup garlic chives, chopped

● 1 cup seafood (squid or calamari, shrimp, clams, mussels, or scallops),

chopped (optional)

● ½ cup flour*

● ½ cup water

● grape seed oil or perilla seed oil

● salt to taste

[Dipping Sauce]

● 1 TBSP soy sauce

● ½ TBSP sugar

● ½ TBSP vinegar

● ground pepper to taste (optional)

*I recommend you to buy Gompyo (or any other Korean brands)
all-purpose flour at Korean grocery stores for best results, i.e., to have
crepe-like, not bread-like, pancakes. If you’re a health-conscious cook,
then just mix half all purpose flour with half whole wheat flour in your
recipe.

1. Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. The batter will turn out quite runny.

2. Place a large frying pan over medium heat and pour enough grape seed or perilla seed oil to generously coat the pan.

3. Scoop the batter with a spoon onto the pan and spread it out thinly and evenly as you do to make French crepes.

4. Check the bottom of the pancake by lifting it with a spatula. Don't turn if it’s not golden brown, or the pancake will come apart.

5. Cook both sides until golden brown.

6. Serve with dipping sauce or wild chive dipping sauce (Dallae Yangnyeomjang, 달래양념장; scroll down for the recipe.)

2. Garlic Chive Kimchi (Buchu Gimchi , 부추김치)

Even though this garlic chive dish is called Kimchi, it tastes more like “spicy” salad as it’s not fermented and can be eaten right away. This dish is very easy to make stimulates your appetite as it tastes and smells very refreshing, and really goes well with Samgyeopsal Gui (삼겹살구이, "barbecued/grilled fresh bacon"), Galbi Gui (갈비구이, "barbecued/grilled beef short ribs"), or Doejigalbi Gui (돼지갈비구이, "barbecued/grilled pork short ribs").

Fresh made garlic chive Kimchi (Buchu Gimchi)

INGREDIENTS: ● 1 bunch garlic chives (approx. 2.2 LBS)*

[Marinating Sauce]

● ¼ cup gochugaru (Korean hot chili pepper powder)*

● ½ cup saeujeot or saewoo jeot(salted and fermented tiny shrimp)*

or fish sauce if you don’t mind MSG

● 1 TBSP minced garlic

● ⅔ or 1 TBSP sugar

● ½ TBSP sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

(*You can find the ingredients in your local Korean markets.)

1. Wash garlic chives thoroughly in water and drain. Cut them in halves or if too long in thirds.

2. Put garlic chives in a bowl and sprinkle saeujeot or fish sauce evenly over them.

3. Pour marinating sauce over garlic chives and mix well extra-gently

3. Seasoned Wild Chives (Dallae Muchim , 달래무침)

Muchim is one of the most popular cooking methods in Korean cuisine which yields “spicy” Korean version of fresh salad. Thus this dish can be called either seasoned wild chives or spicy wild chive salad. Just like garlic chive Kimchi, this dish is very easy to make stimulates your appetite as it tastes and smells very refreshing , and really goes well with Samgyeopsal Gui (삼겹살구이, "barbecued/grilled fresh bacon"), Galbi Gui (갈비구이, "barbecued/grilled beef short ribs"), or Doejigalbi Gui (돼지갈비구이, "barbecued/grilled pork short ribs").

Fresh made seasoned wild chives (Dallae Muchim)

INGREDIENTS: ● 1 bunch Korean wild chives (approx. 2.2 LBS)*

[Marinating Sauce]

● 2 TBSP gochugaru (Korean hot chili pepper powder)*

● 1 TBSP soy sauce

● 1 TBSP vinegar

● ⅔ or 1 TBSP sugar

● 1 TBSP sesame seeds, toasted

● 1 TBSP perilla seed oil* or sesame seed oil*

(*You can find the ingredients in your local Korean markets.)

1. Since the whole wild chive including roots is used in cooking, you have to wash garlic chives thoroughly in water and drain. Cut them in halves or if too long in thirds.

2. Put wild chives in a bowl. Pour marinating sauce over them and mix well extra-gently

4. Wild Chive Dipping Sauce (Dallae Yangnyeomjang, 달래양념장)

This very refreshing, invigorating dish can be used as dipping sauce for Jeon or served with plain cooked rice with roasted and crushed Gim (김, aka Nori, “dried laver seaweed”), with Kongnamulbap (콩나물밥, “rice with soybean sprouts”), or with plain cooked rice with Biji Jjigae (비지찌개, “Korean style okara stew with chopped Kimchi”).