This Vegetarian Daikon Radish Pancake Is About To Become Your New Favorite Snack

Grab your spatula and watch the full video to learn how to make these easy daikon pancakes. 

If you ask me, whatever can be made into a pancake should be made into a pancake. In my time in the kitchen, I've turned chickpeas, zucchini, carrots, and other veggies into crispy savory snacks. And on this week's edition of Cook With Us, Mina Park, co-owner and chef of Baroo in Los Angeles, offers a primer on how to include daikon radish—known as mu in Korean—into a delicious stack of pancakes (or jeon).

A superfood in Traditional Chinese Medicine, daikon radish appears in many East Asian cuisines including Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. "Daikon is very healthy. It has so many vitamins and minerals," says Park. "It's really high in calcium, actually, and also potassium and folate. Folate is really great for women who are pregnant." In the United States, you can find daikon radish in Asian supermarkets or at Whole Foods.

Nutritional qualities aside, Parks says the radish has a unique flavor that makes for an anything-but-basic pancake. "This radish is slightly sweet and has a little bit of spiciness that radishes typically have, but grated, it makes a great base for a pancake batter," says Park. "So with this radish, you only need a little bit of flour and a little bit of starch to bind it, but it really is mostly radish." Apart from that, you'll just need eggs, leeks, and spices to bring this dish together.

Of course, no pancake is complete without an appropriate dipping sauce—so Park will tell you how to whip one up in no time flat. To get the full recipe, you'll just have to kick back and watch Park work her pancake magic.

Daikon radish pancake recipe

Ingredients

For the pancake:
500g daikon radish (grated)
6 green onions (chopped)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cups plain flour
2 Tbsp potato starch
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
Neutral vegetable oil for frying

For the dipping sauce:
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sesame seeds

1. Grate the radish into a mixing bowl and combine with the remaining pancake ingredients. Adjust the consistency with additional flour or water as necessary. It should be a thick pancake batter.

2. Make the dipping sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, and mix until combined.

2. Heat a generous amount of oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Test the batter by making one small pancake. Season to taste.

3. Spoon batter into rounds or make one big pancake. When the underside is golden brown, flip and cook the other side for a few minutes. Cook on both sides one more time to crisp the pancake.

4. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

This article was originally published on January 18, 2021. It was updated on February 19, 2021.

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