Jul 23, 2008

Pancakes with Garlic Chives and Ground Pork - 韮菜肉餅

Have you ever had garlic chives before?
They look almost like scallions and chives,
Thanks for Wikipedia, you can learn more about garlic chives on its website.

The most common place to see garlic chives is --- inside a dumpling,
It's like one of the all time favorite flavors for dumplings among Chinese people,
There's only one reason I can think of if I don't wanna order garlic chives flavored dumplings in a restaurant,
I don't wanna scare people away!
But why?
You should be able to figure out the reason,
"Garlic" chives,
Just like garlic, garlic chives taste so good but yet people will definitely know if you had it for lunch.
So what do you do if you're really craving for garlic chives?
Just make all your friends to eat it with you,
Now that everybody smells the same, no one will have the rights to complain!

Anyhow, after such a long talk about dumplings,
I decided to use that idea about garlic chives stuffing and give it a little twist,
Instead of dumplings, let's make a big pancake with garlic chives and ground pork!-


Ingredients?

1 lb of ground pork
1 egg
1 small bundle of garlic chives (about 10 stems, chopped into small pieces)
1/4 small onion (chopped into small pieces)
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
Soy sauce
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
1 tablespoon of cornstarch or tapioca starch
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
Thai chili sauce

How?

Let's marinate the ground pork first with some soy sauce (about 1 tablespoon),
Mix them well and set aside for at least 15 minutes.

While waiting for the meat to absorb the flavor from soy sauce,
We can go ahead and start chopping all the ingredients.

After you're done with all the knife works,
Have a big bowl ready,
Toss in chopped onions, grated ginger, chopped garlic chives, and marinated ground pork,
Don't forget to add the egg, cornstarch, and all purpose flour.
Sprinkle some salt (about 1 teaspoon) and black pepper (I used a lot),
I also added one more tablespoon of soy sauce into the mixture.

Here, please use your hand to combine everything together,
Sometimes hands work way better than food processor,
Don't be scared, just close your eyes and dip your hand into the mixture,
It's not that hard, just a little bit sticky.
Keep your hand there and start mixing!
You'll know it's ready when every little bits of flour are combined well with other ingredients,
Set aside,
Now, go wash your hand.

Have a skillet ready,
Drizzle some olive oil, or you can substitute it with cooking spray,
Just make sure your pancake mixture won't stick to the skillet later.

Wait till the skillet turns really hot,
Pour in the mixture and spread it out evenly,
Cook for about 3 minutes or slightly browned on each side.

I was gonna make a big round pancake instead of breaking it up into smaller pieces,
Sadly, there was this little accident in the kitchen,
..............................................
Ok fine, it was my fault,
I tried to flip the pancake over and the next thing I know..
My one big round pancake turned into pieces of uneven-shaped pancakes,
With some smaller bits scattering on the stove and on the counter....
Hey, practice makes perfect yeah?
Until the next time.

Serve with Thai chili sauce.
The crunchy edges definitely give this pancake...ok these pancakes an irresistible kick!
Makes a perfect snack to munch on!

Cindy's Rating: 7

24 comments:

  1. This asian style pancake is so unique and looks 100% yummy. I'm pretty scared of garlic chives though my mum absolutely loves it. If I make this, I'll substitute with normal chives, spring onions or parsley :D

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  2. i am so gonna try this...maybe tonight? hehe my sous chef will go crazy! hehehe

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  3. To Noobcook~
    You can substitute it with Chinese cabage too!

    To Mochachocolata Rita~
    Haha let me know how it goes!

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  4. Garlic chives make me kinda queasy! I like it when they've been yellowed (chlorotic). More texture and the flavor is more oniony than garlicky.

    Thanks for the recipe, though!

    I.

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  5. To Ivan Chan Studio~
    Haha I guess people either love it or hate it!
    Maybe next time I can try to make something out of garlic chives' flowers!

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  6. Ahh, they look so good! Could it be made vegetarian???

    !

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  7. To c. aramel~
    Yeah of course,
    You can substitute meat with firm tofu or just simply use more flour instead of ground pork!
    If you don't like the strong taste of garlic chives, use Chinese cabage instead!

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  8. oh these look divine. i keep passing the picture on tastespotting and everytime i look at it my mouth waters beyond all reason!

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  9. To Crunchbot~
    Haha yeah,
    All these foodie websties make me hungry all the time!

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  10. Looks pretty good.

    I was thinking, if you're gonna serve it with Thai chili sauce, why not add some finely minced kaffir lime leaf to the recipe?

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  11. To Nate-n-Annie~
    Wooo that sounds like a good idea,
    Maybe I'll give it a try next time,
    But I rarely work with lime leaves tho.
    Thanks for the idea!

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  12. Cindy. I want YOU to cook for ME! Deal?? I'll pay you with 10 lbs of chocolate. When, when? hehe

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  13. To Zen Chef~
    Woooooo 10 lbs of chocolates,
    Sounds so tempting!!
    Should I take the risk and do it!?
    (my scary food might scare you away tho~)

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  14. Ooh, love garlic chives! This sounds pretty yummy.

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  15. To Kevin~
    Thank you so much,
    If you're not afraid of garlic chives, this can be a pretty dang good dish!

    To Jessica~
    Thank you girl!

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  16. Looks fantastic. Interesting concept, I would have never thought of this combination. Great job!

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  17. To Jeanine~
    Thank you so much~
    Give it a try sometimes!

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  18. this definitely looks much easier than making the dumplings!

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  19. To Tigerfish~
    Haha yeah less cleaning too!
    Maybe next time I'll make them into meat balls!

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  20. Hey Cindy!
    I hope you don't mind, but I posted a modified version of your recipe on my blog. I linked back to your though and credited you. They were divine!

    Arika

    http://rawforamonth.blogspot.com

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  21. To Arika~
    No problem!
    As long as you provide the link, you're always welcome!

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  22. Very nice recipe - tasted soooo good. Thank's for posting it.

    Greetings from Denmark

    Karenglad

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  23. To Karenglad~
    You tried it?!!?!
    I'm so glad you like it!!!
    Thank you so much!

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