A few weeks ago, I went on an oriental hunt, in search of Coptis: a chinese bitters. Even though I didn’t have much luck finding it, I stumbled upon a variety of oriental greatness. My first stop was at a Korean Market. I had so much fun asking just about anyone who would respond, if they spoke English. I needed someone to explain what these authentic Korean items were, and what method was used to prepare it. The was definitely similarity between Jamaican and Korean foods. I am aware that the Asian influence is massive in Jamaica, and has been for a very long time. I noticed that they had lots of salted and dried fishes, and meats. Most of the packaged vegetables were pickled/brined.
They also carried lots of grains, including barley and I purchased a huge bag. I was really fascinated by the variety of rice, especially the black rice. I just had to have that. I found brown rice, sweet brown rice and I hadn’t seen these short grain rice since leaving Jamaica. There were no long grain rice here. There seemed to be a special rice for sushi and everything else. There was also a trio package with what seem like, brown, sweet and wild rice. My brain was busy absorbing the new finds while at the same time, taking a few snapshots with my camera. I was in total awe. I knew I would be visiting more frequently.
One thing really caught my eye and was such an inspiration that I knew in my heart, I had to emulate: A vegetable pancake! There were some that were pre-made to eat, and I should have tried it but I didn’t. There were also a few pre-packaged ones similar to a pancake mix, and I really wasn’t going to buy that either. I just don’t do pancake mixes. At least not anymore, because I know better now. I took one look at this treat, knew it would be d’luscious and told myself: “I can replicate that.
The inspiration behind this Korean pancake, is my version of a Vegetable Fritter. It started out as a pancake (I ladled it on the griddle and flipped it) and it tasted really superb. However, I adore pint sized, fried treats, so I decided to whip out my cast iron skillet, and some coconut oil, and fry me up a batch…..and boy was it divine! Highly seasoned is an understatement. You would never be able to tell that there is actually zucchini or onions included. It’s a blast of herbs and spices in a batter. Wow!!!!!
This is totally crazy….,each time I sit down to blog, I get hungry, as soon as I begin to give details. I really need to stop. Seriously, right now I just feel as if I need to put away the laptop and fry me up another batch. I totally surprised myself on this one. I had no idea that a fritter without any kind of meat would be this deserving, satisfying, d’luscious, mouthwatering and everything to write home about.
Thank God I like to play with my food!