Hangover breakfast – Kimchi and barley flour pancakes

There aren’t that many things that I like more than Kimchi and eggs in this world. Especially when I am hungover and craving something rich, spicy and refreshing at the same time. If I come home tipsy and I know that I will have a hangover the next day, I head to the kitchen and make myself a Kimchi omelette no matter how late it is. It makes me wake up with a puffy face but it also keeps me from having a splitting headache and nausea. I don’t know whether Kimchi actually cures the hangover or our brains and stomachs are just programmed that way but Kimchi is one of the most common food eaten for hangover in Korea. (As you could probably guess, we eat Kimchi for almost anything). If I forget to have a Kimchi omelette before bed and wake up feeling like a zombie, Kimchi pancake is one of the dishes that I crave specifically with rich egg yolk.

Usually we make these pancakes with wheat flour but for this recipe I used barley flour to add more flavor and nutritious fiber. Baking powder is another unusual ingredient for Kimchi pancakes. Not only it makes the batter lighter but I also realized that looking at cute air bubbles when pancake rises somehow makes me really happy, so I decided to keep it in the recipe. These pancakes are best eaten right after they’re made, but they also keep very well in the fridge for a few days. If you have a party weekend coming up, make them in advance, warm them up and top up with some fried eggs the next day. They might just save you from a world of pain 😉

• Prep time: 5mins
• Cooking time: under 1hr
• Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

• 1 cup. barley flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 1/4 cup. Kimchi, chopped bite size
• 2 tbsp. juice from Kimchi
• 1/2 cup. water
• 1 egg for pancakes
• 2-3 eggs for sunny side-up
• 3-4 tbsp. grape seed oil

Sift barley flour and baking powder into a bowl. Mix in Kimchi with its juice, water and an egg.

Heat a lightly oiled non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Scoop over a small amount of batter (a little less than a ladleful per pancake) onto the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden and crispy. You will end up with 6-7 pancakes in total, depending on how much you eat while making them ;-).

Make sunny side-up eggs and serve with pancakes.