Rumbling Tummy: Hwajeon 화전 (Flower pancake)

Ever since I injured my shoulder and couldn't bake, I took up a new interest. Yes call me a late bloomer, after Da Chang Jin, I refused to watch anymore K drama until recently as to distract myself from feeling frustrated as to not able to do many things at ease. For me, I am not crazy over Korean cuisine. Unlike many of my friends who like Ddeokbokki I would rather choose their cold buckwheat noodle anytime.

I am also not very adventurous with their kimchi selection. According to hubby's Korean friend, Korea has over 200 types of kimchi. I guess the more well known to us is those made from cabbage.

As for their dessert, unlike Japanese, Korean has very limited sweets.

Something that caught my eye is this pretty pancake Hwajeon 화전. They were so pretty and dainty that I know I must try making it.

I don't know where I can find edible flowers so the next closest is from my garden. I guess blue pea flowers can be eaten since we used it to dye our nonya kueh.

Verdict: The batter to form the dough was seriously a sticky task. After resting the dough, I dust my hand with flour and was able to form the pancake then.

As for the texture, if you like mochi, you might like this one too. Overall, I think this is nice especially with the syrup. Do remember not to stack them as in American pancake as it will stick together.

I think this makes a really pretty dessert if you are able to find assorted edible flowers.

Do not pan fried too long as you want a white background to enhance the flower.

Source: Maangchi

What you need:

68g glutinous rice flour

a pinch of salt

¼ cup boiling water

Syrup

3 tbsp sugar,

3 tbsp water

vegetable oil for frying

5 edible flowers

Method:

Place glutinous rice flour and a pinch of salt in a large bowl.

Add hot water little by little. Mix it well with a wooden spoon as you pour in the water.

Knead the mixture for 5 min. Let the dough rest while you prepare the syrup.

What you need:

½ cup glutinous rice flour

a pinch of salt

¼ cup boiling water

Syrup

3 tbsp sugar,

3 tbsp water

vegetable oil for frying

5 edible flowers

Method:

Place glutinous rice flour and a pinch of salt in a large bowl.

Add hot water little by little. Mix it well with a wooden spoon as you pour in the water.

Knead the mixture for 5 min. Cling wrap it and let the dough rest while you prepare the syrup.

Cut the dough into 5 pieces and roll each piece into a ball

Cover the remaining dough while you work.

Heat up a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Drizzle some vegetable oil on it (½ tbs).

Press each rice cake ball into a disc about 5 cm in diameter.

Place each disc-shaped rice cake on the pan and cook it. Press with the spatula to flatten further. (please refer to video for demo).

When the bottom of the rice cake is cooked, turn it over to cook the other side. It will take about 3-4 minutes to cook.

Once the 2nd side is cooked, place an edible flower and quickly flip over, press with the spatula and remove.

Place pancake individually on a plate. (do not stack).

Drizzle syrup over and serve.

Make syrup:

Mix sugar and water in a small pot.

Simmer over low heat for about 5 min, then remove from the heat.