Balanced Fusion: Korean Pajeon Enchiladas with Chipotle en Adobo Sauce

This morning, the sun’s golden rays graced New York City with the first true day of Spring. Donning a summer dress & flip flops, I pranced out of my apartment eager for the first taste of 75+degree weather. As I took in the sights of scarlet red tulips, golden daffodils, and pretty-in-pink magnolias blossoming all around us, I stared in amazement at this seemingly sudden arrival of Spring. Surely this transformation didn’t happen overnight, but when one has been as absorbed in work as I have been in the past few weeks, it’s easy to let the world slip past you in the blink of an eye.

It was at that moment when I decided to reclaim the balance in my life, to make sure that I pay proper attention to things I love and enjoy – cooking up a storm, blogging up a bigger storm, curling up with a good book, and taking the time to just be.

My balance comes from my freedom to unleash my creativity, to draw inspiration from things I see, hear, smell, and taste, and create something that I can call my own. So it is with the same explorer’s attitude  that I cook up this Korean-Mexican fusion with Korean Pajeon pancakes, and Latin-flavored fillings and sauce. The flavors are nothing foreign to me, but the combination of smoky, spicy veggie fillings wrapped inside a rice-flour crepe-like pancake instead of the usual corn-flour tortilla introduced a new refreshing twist to an old favorite.

Recipe:

This is a 3 part recipe, which may seem daunting and complicated at first glance, but once you get the prep work out of the way, it’s very straightforward and easy to put together.

For the Pancake:

Ingredients:

• Instant Korean Pajeon pancake mix – follow directions on measurements of mix + water
• Or if you have time, 1/2 cup allpurpose flour, 1/2 cup rice flour, 3/4 c seltzer water, 1 egg, salt & pepper. (Notes: The rice flour gives it that transparency and lighter texture, the seltzer water makes it fluffier – found this tip from various bloggers and the kitchn)
• a small bunch of scallions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cucumber, shredded
• 1/2 carrot, shredded
• 1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce, more or less depending on your taste

Directions: Mix the batter together until well integrated and texture is smooth. Throw in the veggies and herbs, soy sauce, and in batches, spoon out batter onto an oiled frying pan. Spread out batter so it is about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick, turn heat to medium-low and when batter sticks together, flip to the other side and cook until pancake is crispy and gives off a golden brown hue.

For the Veggie Filling:

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg of cremini or portabella mushrooms, sliced about 1/4 inch (you can play around with different varieties like shitake, chinese black, button, enoki, morel and oyster)
• 2-3 medium sized carrots, peeled and diced roughly 1/2 inches thick
• 2-3 medium sized zucchinis, diced into 1/2 inch thick medallions
• 1 bell pepper (red, green, orange, or yellow), cut into strips that are about 2 inches in length and 1/2 inch in width
• 14 oz can of diced tomatos
• 1-2 handful of Morningstar Veggie crumbles (this is optional, but I love the texture they add)
• Salt & pepper
• A pinch of the following dried herbs: Rosemary, Oregano, Parsley, Basil

Directions: Saute the veggies, starting with carrots, which are the hardest to cook. At this time, I also add in the diced tomatoes to help flavor the carrots. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, then add bell peppers and cook for about 2-3 more minutes, then add the zucchini, mushrooms, and veggie crumbles last. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, adding in salt, pepper and herbs until veggies are cooked through and well-flavored

Chipotle Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Chipotle en Adobo sauce (you won’t need to use it all)
• 8 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1-2 tsp paprika
• 1 dash of champagne vinegar

Directions: Take out 1-2 chipotles out of the can of chipotle en adobo sauce (plus a few spoonfuls of the thick sauce itself). I find these extremely spicy so you should only need a couple to get that smoke and spice into the sauce. Finely chop the chipotle, or process in a small food processor. Mix it into the tomato sauce, add paprika and the vinegar and mix well.

Putting it all together:

Option 1: Spoon in the filling into the pajeon pancake, roll it up and place it upside down on a dish, repeat until you fill an entire casserole dish, drizzle with the chipotle sauce

Option 2: (My preference because it’s more fun) Lay a piece of the pajeon pancake on a plate, fill will the veggie filling, drizzle with the chipotle sauce, and then roll it up like a burrito and eat right away

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Sunday Supper: Spectacularly Simple Succotash

There was a time in my earlier twenties when I shed my structured, organized life in exchange for spontaneity. During that time,  the thrill-seeker in me longed for adventures and allowed myself to be seduced by the unknown. Each weekend brought about endless possibilities; each work project offered the promise of exotic travel locales. I loved that I didn’t have to report my whereabouts to anyone, and could pick up at a moment’s notice if Jetblue was offering flight deals.

As I cultivated that relationship with myself over the years, I have also come back full circle to my original roots. Naturally a Type A planner,  I’ve come to embrace the new routines of my more settled life. Work, weeknight dinners with the girls, indulging in Gossip Girl and American Idol, dragging myself to the gym, and then….welcoming home my man every Thursday night as he dependably lands in Newark Airport at 9:36pm.

Weekends still offer exciting variations of dinner parties, birthday gatherings and double/triple/quadruple dates, but the one “couple tradition” we hold very near and dear is our lazy Sunday of gym, laundry, catching up on HBO shows, and enjoying a simple meal of leftovers or a creation inspired by ingredients leftover from the week.

This succotash features corn and zucchini as the star ingredients. While it may not be the most traditional, the crunch of fresh veggies drenched in creamy sweetness will transport you into a world of ease and relaxation. It takes but minutes to put together and it’s exactly what we needed to wind down the weekend and welcome in another busy week at work.

Sunday Succotash Ingredients:

• 1-2 cups of corn kernels
• 1-2 zucchinis, cut into 1/4 inch disks
• 1 red/yellow/orange/green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 handful of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup of fat free half & half OR 2 tbsp of creme fraiche + 1/4 c. of veggie broth
• 1 – 2 tsp soy sauce
• (optional) fresh basil, cilantro, or parsley – whatever you have in your fridge, or substitute with dry herbs

Lazy Sunday Instructions:

1. Throw all the ingredients into a frying pan and stir fry until all veggies are just cooked, about 5-7 minutes (doesn’t get any easier than this!)

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Cauliflower Miso Mashed Skulls and Hairy Spaghetti Squash Monster

As a child, I could never contain my excitement every time Halloween rolled around. I loved the mystery of not knowing what candy “swag” I would find in my bag at the end of the night, visiting the houses with the most terrifying Halloween lawn decor, and the costumes lovingly (though perhaps not skillfully) made by Mom.

20 some odd years later, this excitement has not faded, but my anticipation for candy has been replaced by an eagerness to brew up new spooktacular recipes, the lack of horrific suburban lawns has been made up by my proximity to the NYC West Village Halloween Parade, and the role of costume seamstress has passed on to me, making me realize that Mom was a much better costume maker than I ever will be.

To get ourselves in the mood for the fright-fest, I conjured up a few savory Halloween delights to start our night:

Cauliflower Miso Mashed Skulls (the orange edition)

Eye of newt, and toe of frog:

• 1 full cauliflower head
• 2 carrot fingers (peeled)
• 3 tbsp of miso paste “blood”
• 1/4 cup milk of a cow
• eye and lips of nori (a sheet of sushi seaweed)

Round about the Cauldron Go

1. Chop the cauliflower head and carrot fingers into pieces and drop into scalding, boiling water
2. Boil and torture the head and fingers until soft and tender.
3. Drain liquid, and add salt & pepper. Mix with a spatula.
4. Transfer the ingredients into a blender or food processor, add in miso paste and milk and puree until desired smooth consistency is reached
5. Shape the mash into skulls and bones.
6. Take the sheet of seaweed, and with a small knife, cut out circles (for eyes) and thin strips (for a “X” shaped lip).
7. Serve warm

Hairy Spaghetti Squash Monster with Mozzarella Eyeballs

Double Double Toil and Trouble:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 3-5 fresh mozzarella balls
• 3-5 green  olives, pitted
• 3-5 black olives, pitted
• 1 strip of roasted red pepper (or sliced fresh red pepper, or anything that is red and resembles a mouth, such as beets)
• Morningstar Veggie Crumbles
• 2 Tbsp Oil of Olive
• 2 Tbsp Mixed Herb Seasoning (I used a blend of dried rosemary, marjoram, oregano, basil, and tarragon)

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble!

1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, rub with herbs and olive oil, and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 min.
2. Using a fork, scrape off the meat of the squash (once cooked and tender, it will come off easily in strings)
3. Mix 1/3 of the squash with veggie crumbles to create a worms/maggots in hair effect
4. Cut off the edge of a green olive (it should be dome shaped with a hole in the middle). Stuff a bit of black olive in the whole and balance the olive on top of a mozzarella ball (repeat to make multiple eyeballs)
5. Arrange the squash to create a round face, framed with worm-infested hair, stick a couple of creepy eyeballs on top and around, and garnish with a fiery mouth.

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