Bindaetteok (빈대떡, Mung Bean Pancakes)
Joanne Lee Molinaro
Photo by Joanne Lee Molinaro
- Serves
- 8 to 10
- Prep Time
- 4 Hours 15 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 Minutes
Bindaetteok is something we grew up eating all the time and, as a result, I sort of took it for granted. It wasn’t until college (when Omma’s cooking was scarce) that I became excited about seeing it on the menu of a restaurant on campus or even in the prepared foods section of a local Korean grocery store. What sets bindaetteok apart from other Korean pancakes is the texture—it’s made out of mung beans, instead of flour, and therefore, neither the batter nor the finished product is smooth. Rather, it has the mouthfeel of a potato pancake. You can purchase mung beans already dried and peeled, so that all you have to do is soak them, which makes them soft enough to blend into a thick batter.
Ingredients
Bindaetteok
- 2 cup dried, peeled, split mung beans
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts
- 1 cup baechu (cabbage) kimchi plus 2 tablespoons kimchi liquid
- 8 to 10 scallions, cut into 2- to 3-inch lengths
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 5 to 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoon egg replacer (preferably JUST Egg), plant milk, or aquafaba (canned chickpea liquid)
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Spicy Soy Sauce Dressing
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon gochugaru
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
- 1 shishito pepper or jalapeño, sliced
- 1 Fresno pepper, sliced
- 2 tablespoon brown rice syrup or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Featured Video
Bindaetteok (빈대떡, Mung Bean Pancakes)
From The Korean Vegan Cookbook: Reflections and Recipes from Omma's Kitchen by Joanne Lee Molinaro, published 2021 by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. © 2021 Joanne Lee Molinaro.This recipe was featured on our cook-along podcast Play Me a Recipe. Listen as Joanne cooks through this recipe.
Directions
Bindaetteok
- Step 1
Soak the dried mung beans in cold water until softened, about 4 hours. Drain and set aside.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling water, blanch the mung bean sprouts for 1 to 2 minutes, then run them under cold water to stop the cooking process. Transfer the mung beans to a large bowl, add the kimchi (without the liquid), scallions, garlic, mushrooms, soy sauce, and sesame oil, and marinate for at least 30 minutes (but no more than 4 hours).
- Step 3
In a blender, combine the soaked mung beans, salt, black pepper, egg replacer, kimchi liquid, and 1 to 1½ cups water (however much it takes to make the blades turn). Blend until a slightly orange batter forms. If your blender is not large enough to accommodate all the mung beans at once, work in batches.
- Step 4
Pour the batter into a large bowl and mix half of the marinated vegetables into the batter.
- Step 5
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Spread a piece of the marinated kimchi, 4 to 5 pieces of scallion, and a couple slivers of garlic and mushrooms onto the pan. Then spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of the batter over the vegetables in the pan. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancake and cook until both sides are evenly cooked, an additional 2 minutes. Continue to make more pancakes, adding extra oil as necessary.
- Step 6
Serve with the spicy dressing.
Spicy Soy Sauce Dressing
- Step 1
In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients together. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Shake well before serving.