Spring onion pancake

Some people keep photo journals to remember their travels.

Some people use word associations to remember people or places they know.

For me, many of my most vivid memories of the places I’ve been or the people in my life are tied with delicious food.

Like when I think of home, I think of biking to Steveston Village with my dad to buy fresh fish from the wharf to bring home for my mom to make clear fish soup.

Or when I think of my trip to Lima, I think about the restaurant across the street from the hostel we stayed and the meals we had there. Each meal had a potato base and I remember being amazed by their ingenuity to be able to use such a simple ingredient in so many different and delicious ways; potato pie, stewed potato, curried potato, stir fried potato...

I remember walking around Beijing holding three lotus bulbs (still proud for having bargained down the equivalent of 25 cents for them) and popping out the fresh seeds to eat as a refreshing snack in the blistering summer heat. 

And I will forever associate dipping French fries in ice cream with the time I went to Cuba and in a stubborn refusal to leave the beach after escaping from the minus 20 Montreal winter, sat in the sand with a cup of ice cream and French fries in my straw hat and called it a meal. 

 

Or like when I look at these pancakes, I think about this summer when my high school friends from Vancouver came to visit Montreal for the summer. This was the first meal we made together and devoured while catching up on the candlelit patio. Based off a Korean pancake, this pancake is simple enough, healthy and can pass for a lunch or light dinner.

Makes 2 small pancakes or 1 large pancake (easily doubled)

Pancake:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 bulbs of scallions/spring onions (about a cup loosely packed)

1 small carrot

Handful of spinach (optional)

Sauce:

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 

Sesame seeds (optional)

1. Mix together the flour, salt, egg and water.

2. Cut up scallions into about 2 inch segments and cut lengthwise into strips. Make carrots into strips with a vegetable peeler, and tear up spinach if using

3. Add the vegetables into the batter mixture until all the vegetables are covered. (Mixture should be thin, if not add a little bit more water).

4. Heat a pan with a thin layer of oil and add half the mixture (or add the entire mixture if using a bigger pan). Spread the mixture out evenly making sure the pancake has no holes but is also not too thick. Cook until the bottom is golden brown (about 3 minutes) and flip over with a wide spatula. Cook for another 2 minutes

5. Slide onto a plate. If making these for a couple people, you can stack the pancakes and serve each person a “slice”. Serve with the sauce. Sprinkle on sesame seeds if using. I also like to drizzle on some hot sauce.