Making of Mung Bean Pancake

Pancake is one of the Koreans’ favourite foods they cooked from long ago. Pancake, along with rice cake and noodle, was a must-have food on holidays and other festive occasions.

Among different kinds of pancake the one made from mung beans is known as the most delicious one. Mung bean, belonging to the bean family, is an annual crop and is effective in stimulating internal organs, improving eyesight and urination, relieving inflammation, hastening detoxification and preserving a clear skin. When they took Koryo medicines they were forbidden to eat mung bean foods because mung beans might neutralize the efficacy of the medicines as they have a stronger efficacy than that of the medicines.

The classic Kyuhapchongso gives a detailed account about mung bean pancake. It reads: Mung beans are ground into thick,wet substance and then fried with enough oil. Boiled chestnuts are mixed with a little amount of honey and then put on a heap of ground mung beans in the frying pan. It is then covered with another layer of ground mung beans in a flower pattern to be fried with pine nuts and jujubes on it.

Usually they fried ground mung beans in oil in the pan, sometimes, mixing it with vegetables. In southern regions mung bean pancake was called pindaettok, which means food to be served to guests, or pinjattok which means food which costs so little that poor people often made for diet. Mung bean pancake from Hwanghae and Phyongan provinces is famous for their simple cooking method and peculiar taste. In Hwanghae province they mixed ground mung beans with cabbages (or kimchi) and pork to improve its flavour, and in Phyongan province they enjoyed eating mung bean pancake with a slice of pork inserted in the middle. The kind of pancake was called matbut in Hwanghae province and jijim in Phyongan province.

They used to prepare the mung bean pancake, which is indigenous to the Korean nation, in honour of special ceremonies like wedding or for a usual diet. In Phyongan province they regarded placing high plates piled with pieces of mung bean pancake on festival tables as a traditional custom. Mung bean pancake was so important that a table without the pancake was rated as plain table.

The Koreans still like to eat the mung bean pancake.

Here goes the method of making mung bean pancake. First, mung beans are roughly crushed and left in water for 3~4 hours and to let them steep. Then they are peeled off. Next, the mung beans are ground finely by means of a millstone and salted. One of the most important methods to make tasty mung bean pancake is to salt it properly. To put too much or too little salt will spoil the inherently sweet taste of the pancake. If the ground mung beans are left in water too long before frying, the pancake will lose its original colour. It is recommended to put 3 grams of salt per 200 grams of mung beans. Boiled streaky pork or fat is cut into pieces 3.5~4cm in length, 2cm in width, and 0.2~0.3cm in thickness. Pour oil on the heated frying pan, put a piece of pork on the pan, put a ladle of ground beans over the pork piece and spread it roundly. An important knack is to put oil once more before overturning the pancake in the pan. When the pancake turns yellow on both sides, take it out and serve it on a plate. The round yellow pancake with a square slice of meat in the middle makes your mouth water at a glance.