When I visited a delicious Korean restaurant by chance, the Korean owner smiled and said:
“Do you know why this chijimi tastes so good? It’s because we use rice flour!”
Inspired by that, I decided to create this recipe at home.
Compared to the traditional wheat flour version, using rice flour makes the pancakes much lighter—you’ll find yourself eating more than you planned!
I also used dango flour (a mix of rice flours) to give it a nice chewy texture.
Ingredients
| Rice flour (※I used dango flour, but regular rice flour is fine.) | 100g / 3.5 oz |
| Water | 110 ml ~ 140ml / about 3.7–4.7 fl oz(※Adjust depending on how watery your kimchi is.) |
| garlic chives (substitute: green onions or scallions if unavailable) | 3 stalks |
| Kimchi | 3–4 tbsp |
| Onion | 1/2 |
| Sesame oil | 1 tbsp |
| 【For the dipping sauce】 | |
| Soy sauce(I used Kikkoman, but any brand is fine.) | 2 tbsp |
| Vinegar(I used Mizkan rice vinegar. Apple cider vinegar works too.) | 2 tbsp |
| Sesame oil | 1/2 tsp |
| Brown sugar (substitute: white sugar if unavailable) | 1/2 tsp |
| Gochujang (Korean chili paste) | 1 tsp |
| Red pepper powder | to taste (optional; skip if you don’t like it spicy) |
How to Make
1⃣ Prepare the Vegetables
Cut the garlic chives into about 3 cm (1.2 inch) lengths.
Thinly slice the onion.
2⃣ Make the Dipping Sauce
In a small bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
3⃣ Make the Batter
In a large bowl, add the rice flour.
Gradually add water while stirring with a whisk.
- Tip: Kimchi will add moisture too, so don’t add all the water at once.
When the batter becomes smooth and slightly runny, add the cut vegetables and kimchi. Mix well.
4⃣ Cook the Pancake
Heat sesame oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
Pour the batter into the pan and spread it out.
Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
- Seafood mix (squid, shrimp, clams, etc.)
- Thinly sliced pork
- Julienned carrots
Feeling adventurous?
Try toppings like mentaiko (spicy cod roe), mochi (rice cakes), or even a drizzle of mayonnaise, similar to Japanese okonomiyaki!
When I was living in Australia, I shared a house for a while with a Korean girl.
She once told me,
“I’m not good at cooking, but I can make chijimi!” and taught me her version.
In return, I taught her how to make oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl).
Even though we lost touch over time, making chijimi always brings back those fun memories of sharing meals and cultures with new friends.
please feel free to share it on Twitter/X!
And if you actually try making it, tag me—I would love to see your creations! ✨
