I didn’t really think about the fact that I might not feel like making Korean food every day, or that what I’d end up craving about 80% of the time would be comfort foods from home (including things I never really even ate when I was still in America). But instead of making my own kimchi or perfecting bulgogi, I have been sticking to pretty basic non-Korean food.

I saw jijimi (also called buchimgae, according to my students) listed on a few menus (mostly drinking places, because apparently it’s usually a bar snack), and thought it sounded like something that was worth a try. I did a little web research, and ended up making this, which seems to be a cross between Japanese okonomiyaki and jijimi. There are numerous possibilities for adapting this recipe to include different vegetables and toppings, and I fully intend to experiment with it some more. I think it’s pretty tasty dipped in soy sauce mixed with vinegar or topped with kimchi, and of course, a nice cold beer would be a welcome accompaniment.

Recipe:
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 cup water
a generous pinch salt
2 c thinly sliced cabbage
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil

for serving:
kimchi
soy sauce and rice vinegar

Whisk together the water and egg, and gently stir in the flour and salt. Fold in the vegetables and sesame seeds. It won’t look like typical pancake batter, it will probably look more like coleslaw.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over high. Swirl the pan so the oil is evenly distributed. Pour the cabbage mixture into the pan and spread to the edges so it is evenly thick.

Cook 3 to 4 minutes each side, or until golden brown. If the bottom begins to burn but the top is still very runny, turn the heat down.

Flipping can be a bit of a challenge. If you need to, slide the pancake, cooked side down, onto a plate, and then invert back into the pan to finish cooking. When cooked through and golden on both sides, cut into quarters to serve.

Mix the soy sauce and rice vinegar in a one-to-one ratio for dipping, or top with kimchi.

I have been thinking about burgers lately. Not beef hamburgers, but about meatless patties. When I was in high school, I practically lived on Gardenburgers and Boca Burgers. Then I matured and realized that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life eating frozen, packaged food (but not until after I ate about 203948 Lean Pockets and frozen dinners in college.)

Now that I’m a ripe old 25, I decided to try and create my own burgers out of tofu. And rice. And an egg, to bind it all together. I was desperately hoping the patties wouldn’t crumble to pieces when I put them in the pan… and they didn’t! I’m so excited to try different flavor combinations using the tofu-rice-egg base.

I usually have a big pot of rice ready to go at all times. Lately I’ve been doing about a 2:1 ratio of white to brown, cooked up together in the same pot. That’s what I used here, although I’m sure purely white rice would work really well. I’m not so sure about purely brown rice, because it’s not as sticky, but I’ll leave that for future investigations (or you could try it and tell me how it is!)

These would be great on a bun with a little hoisin sauce and thinly sliced Napa cabbage, or alongside Asian Slaw Salad

Recipe
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
16 ounces firm tofu, pressed to remove excess water
1/2 cup cooked rice
3 tbsp chopped green onion
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 egg
a few tablespoons vegetable oil, for cooking

Chop the tofu into small pieces, then put into a large bowl and squeeze with your hands until smooth.
Stir in remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan. Swirl the pan so the oil is distributed evenly.
Pat about 1/3 cup tofu mixture between your hands to form a patty. (Bite-sized burgers are fun too!)
Place in the pan and cook, 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden and firm.

Makes 6-8 burgers.