Emeril’s Korean Scallion and Mushroom Pancakes

I don’t know if other foodie bloggers find themselves, looking for new recipes, rather than making old favorites.  I do.  I love to try new recipes and see what turns out.  No matter what the recipe tells me is going to happen, I really never know what I am going to turn out.  By now, you know, I tend to make changes in recipes.  Oh, I have good reasons, like not having a necessary ingredient, or I may not like a particular ingredient or time causes a change in the method.  The fun is in the doing and meeting new challenges and seeing the results.  This is one of those recipes.  The final results are definitely not what Emeril had in mind, not what I had in mind.  Despite this, the results were filled with flavor and had an unexpected texture.  

Emeril’s Korean  Scallion and Mushroom Pancakes    (now doesn’t that sound good?)  (Click on the recipe title and it will take  you to a video of Emeril making this recipe.) 

Ingredients:For the sauce:
3 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce -  gluten-free 

2 tablespoons rice vinegar 

2 teaspoons honey 

1 frozen chili cube 

1 teaspoon garlic                                                                                                        powder                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           2 teaspoons lightly toasted sesame seeds                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Above:  Note how pale the batter is, at the beginning, of cooking.

½ teaspoon sugar 

 pancakes:
9 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 bunch scallions, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 2 inch lengths
4 ounces mushrooms, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups gluten-free flour mixture
1 ½ cups water
2 eggs 

 Make the sauce by combining the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, chili, garlic powder, sesame seeds and sugar in a small bowl, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside while you make the pancakes. 

In a medium sauté pan over medium high heat, add 1 teaspoon of the vegetable oil. 

Next, add the  scallions and mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms begin to wilt, about 3 minutes. Set aside and let cool.                         

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, water, and eggs and mix gently until just combined.                                                                                                                                                   

Add the cooked scallions, mushrooms,  and salt and fold together briefly just to combine.                                                                                                                                                  

 Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and, when hot, coat with 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil.                                            

Add ½ of the pancake batter and use a spoon to spread into a 6 to 8-inch circle, trying to get the filling ingredients as evenly spread out as possible. 

Cook the pancake about 4 minutes. 

Once the pancake has begun to set and is golden brown on the bottom, flip the pancake to the other side, pressing with a spatula to compress ingredients. 

Cook until golden brown on the second side, about 2 minutes longer, transfer to a warm plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm while you prepare the remaining pancakes. 

 Once all the pancakes have been cooked, cut into wedges and serve warm with the dipping sauce in small bowls for dipping. 

 Yield: 4 large pancakes, 8 to 10 appetizer servings 

 Where I went wrong:  Four minutes is a long time to cook a thin pancake and mine did not even change color at four minutes.  I had this pale, emaciated pancake staring at me and telling me to cook it longer.  I did.  When it changed to a golden color, I turned it and cooked the other side until it became golden, also, longer than the prescribed two minutes.  What happened, was those soft pancakes, hardened and became deliciously crisp.  I know , this is not the way, they should be, but they were almost like a favorable cracker but not that crisp.  The veggies were soft so I ended up with a crispy pancake with soft vegetables.  Everyone ate them and my husband did his usual, mentioned that they were spicy.  They were from the chili cube.  Spicy is good in this recipe but if you are not a spicy lover, eliminate the chili flavoring.  I am getting more and more used to spicy flavoring and like some of them.  I have to say, my hubby was a doll, and took seconds.  I am hoping, in time, he will adjust to a bit more spice, in his food.  In the meanwhile, I modify, most times.  

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