sk eats...빈대떡

빈대떡

Bindaetteok - Mung Bean Pancake

   Raw Mung Beans                         Mung Bean Sprouts

The mung bean, a standard ingredient in many Asian dishes, is widely consumed in South Korea.  Generally, the highest consumption comes in the form of it's sprout in soups and salads and kimchis, but it's most delicious culinary application comes in the form of the pancake, which we discovered completely by accident while exploring Seoul's Jongno neighborhood one day.   

While walking along the main street we passed a busy market mainly selling food (our favorite kind of market) so we decided to head in for a snack.  It offered the standard Korean market fare, fried things, scary cuts of pork, etc.  Luckily, it being pretty much the same food offered everywhere, we didn't make a quick decision and continued into the heart of the market.  In the center we saw lots of stalls selling a type of pancake we'd never had before.  It was thicker and looked like it wasn't flour based like most of the Korean pancakes we'd eaten.  Everyone around us seemed to be happily enjoying them, so we waited for a spot on a bench to open up so that we could get our turn.

Not knowing what they were called (or really even what it was), we just pointed to the older couple's plate next to us when the waitress came and said 'one, please.'  The couple really liked that we ordered it without knowing how to say what it was.  They didn't, however, like that we were eating our bindaetteok unaccompanied, so they ordered us a bottle of makgeolli (carbonated rice wine) to sip while we ate.  

We think they'd be proud to know that since then, we've taken many friends back to this same stall and have always ordered at least one bottle of makgeolli with our bindaetteok!

One of the table/benches in 광장 Market

Anxiously awaiting their treat

Working their magic

The batter is made of raw mung beans soaked in water and then ground with sprouts and green onions.  Once much of the water has been strained out, the mixture is ladled onto a hot, flattop grill and cooked until golden brown.  

If you are still confused about what a bindaetteok is, it's essentially a giant hashbrown fried on the flattop but made with beans instead of potatoes.  Delicious!

As a dip, you get a small bowl of soy sauce with white onions soaking in it.  The other two bowls in the picture are our makgeolli bowls!