Korean Pancakes
Bindaetteok
Gina Lee tells her Korean Pancakes story:
“She was a fabulous cook. When Scott and I were first married she would often bring Korean dishes over to our house, including these wonderful savory pancakes. I would ask her: What is this? It’s so delicious. I’m good at figuring out the ingredients in a dish. What’s in the batter? Is it egg, or corn meal? I’m Italian, I thought about polenta…What makes it yellow?
But my mother-in-law would just smile.
Korean.
Pancakes.
I gave up trying to figure it out and just enjoyed them over the years. Fast forward, my husband made Korean pancakes at home as a test for our restaurant menu. And it was then I finally learned the secret. Mung beans? Mung beans and water. Really?”
Mung beans soaked in water then pureed in a blender produce an awesome mind-boggling pale yellow pancake batter. No wonder my friend Gina was baffled for all those years. Kimchi juice adds a rich golden hue and the unique seasoning.
Scott Lee Teaches Us How to Make Korean Pancakes Bindaetteok
Rinse (dried, peeled) mung beans. Soak them in water for approximately 6 hours. Ladle beans into a blender with some of the soaking water and blend to a smooth consistency similar to pancake batter.
Julienne vegetables:
- zucchini
- yellow squash
- carrot
- leek
- mung bean sprout
- and tiny broccoli florets too
Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a non-stick sauté pan, add the vegetables and cook until lightly caramelized. Then add sliced cabbage kimchi and some of the kimchi liquid. Cook the kimchi another minute or so. Spread the vegetables evenly around the pan and ladle the mung bean batter over the vegetables. Tip the pan to spread out the batter. Cook until the bottom starts to brown. Add a bit more oil to the side of the pan and using a spatula, loosen the pancake. Flip the pancake and brown the other side.
We enjoyed our bindaetteok with a side of kimchi and a dipping sauce made with soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar. After Scott demonstrated making several pancakes, Gina and I took our turns practicing and perfecting bindaetteok. I’m especially grateful to Scott and Gina for the cooking lesson and the stories…what a fun and delicious way to spend the afternoon!
Later in the week when I was on my way to work, I took a detour to the Korean Market World located on Sepulveda Boulevard in search of Scott’s recommended brand of kimchi, my cell phone rang. It was my own mother who has recently retired in Las Vegas.
“Hi Ma, I think I’m part Korean.”
“No Dear… your ancestry is English, German, Russian, and Romanian.”
“I know Ma, but nothing else can explain this kimchi emergency. And I’m addicted to bindaetteok.”
“???”
My dear friends Scott & Gina Lee are the proprietors of Gina Lee’s Bistro in Redondo Beach, California. Their wildly popular neighborhood restaurant has been serving exceptional Cal-Asian cuisine nightly, Tuesday through Sunday, since 1996.
Gina Lee’s Bistro
211 Palos Verdes Blvd.
Redondo Beach, CA
310-375-4462
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I just saw this post and it’s September 2025. I was searching for the famous Evelyn Dawn’s Crusted Salmon recipe to share with a friend. So thankful to find it and to you Lori for sharing it – and of course, Scott and Gina. Like Evelyn, I ordered it almost every time we ate at Gina Lee’s. We miss them and the restaurant. Feels like we ate their once a week. We’ve never found anything else like it. I hope Gina and Scott are doing well!
Warm regards to you , Scott and Gina,
Tom Z.
Hi Tom – great to hear a comment on this recipe after all these years. Makes me so happy that (my grandmother-in-law) Evelyn Dawn’s Potato Crusted Salmon lives on! I hope you make it at home and let us know how it goes. Scott and Gina are doing well, I will definitely share your sentiments with them.
LL
oooh fantastic!!
Got these at a crazy lady in Kangaroo island a few years ago and have been trying to find the recipe ever since. I think this is it!!!