[Savory] Pancakes for Breakfast--gf black sesame pancakes

Drunch-- no not drunk brunch, but the word my friend and I came up with as the word to describe a meal standing in for all three meals of the day, a late brunch rolling into the realm of dinner. Yeah I know, we're genius.

Nevertheless, I was getting some drunch vibes this morning as the sun streamed in from the kitchen window thanks to DLS. That and the very practical quest to make an appetizing breakfast with what was on hand at my friend's house. This consisted of the last of a box of Mochiko sweet rice flour and some black sesame seeds from having made a pot of black sesame 汤圆--a sweet dessert dumpling stuffed with a liquid black sesame filling meant to be eaten in the company of friends and family as the 15-day celebration of lunar new year draws to a close. Tang yuan sounds like 团圆--tuan yuan, or reunion or the state of being united, something hoped for by all families. 

Not my finest moment in food photography--but liquid filling waits for no one, and I wasn't about to let it go to waste. This was gone in the next bite. 

This morning, I found a bit of tomato sauce, some kimchi, and fresh basil. Eggs, an avocado and onion along with some carrots would complete the meal. Starting with the pancake batter, which I will admit assembled without the use of any measuring utensils, came together in a jiffy. After committing to the idea of a savory breakfast, I decided to spice up the batter with couple good shakes of smoked paprika scavenged from the communal spice cabinet. The pancakes turned out perfect, light and fluffy with enough salt to balance the richness of the sesame. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they weren't at all chewy, a quality I was expecting given the rice flour. However, Mochiko sweet rice flour isn't quite as sticky as glutinous rice flour. This was something I didn't appreciate until now as I've rarely voluntarily used Mochiko because I always assumed it was just another brand of the glutinous rice flour. I mean, it also makes mochi...and has the word mochi in its name for goodness sake. Either way, it worked well for these pancakes.

To finish the meal, I combined the onion, carrots, tomato sauce and kimchi in an effort to make a shakshuka-esque dish, but ended up with too little liquid to poach the eggs in, so instead opted for sunny side up eggs with a dash of paprika for good measure. Fresh avocado, carrots and basil finished the dish. From start to finish, this took about 30 minutes, but could easily take the half the time with two people. I loved that these pancakes are not only packed with flavor but also B vitamins, minerals, fiber, omega-3s and even some protein. But I won't wax poetic on the health benefits, because the reason I used them in the first place is because of their satisfying nutty flavor. Happy brunch/drunch-ing!

||Savory Black Sesame Smoked Paprika Pancakes||

Ingredients

For the pancakes~

• 1/2 cup ground black sesame seeds*
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp. each baking soda and baking powder
• 1/2 cup Mochiko sweet rice flour
• 1.5 Tb. vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup milk (I used almond)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. salt
• Sesame oil for cooking

For the sauce and garnish~

• 1/2 cup kimchi, chopped
• 2 small carrots, julienned
• 1/2 large yellow onion, sliced into 1/4" strips
• 2/3 cup tomato sauce
• 2-3 springs fresh basil
• 1 small avocado
• 2 eggs

*If starting with whole seeds (better flavor and nutrition), pulse for about a minute until ground finely

Directions

~Make pancakes: 

Combine first three pancake ingredients and mix thoroughly to ensure even distribution of leavening agents. Add next three ingredients and mix well before adding the egg and salt. Give it a final stir, batter will be thin but thicker than usual pancake mix.

Heat a pan with some sesame oil over medium high. When hot, add about 1.5 tablespoonfuls of batter per pancake to the pan. With a large enough pan, it's certainly doable to make 2-3 at once! Flip when bubbles have reached the middle and edge begins to lift, usually within a minute. Leave in pan for another 30 seconds to a minute to cook fully.

~Make sauce/garnish:

In a separate pan, sauté half the carrots and onion with a bit of sesame oil over medium high heat until onions soften and begin to become translucent. Add kimchi and tomato sauce and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes. Transfer out of pan and set aside, and feel free to reuse the pan to cook the eggs sunny-side up, or however you prefer them, finishing with a dash of smoked paprika. Meanwhile halve, peel and seed the avocado. Laying a half pit side down, slice thinly, then gently fan them out enough to curve them to form a crescent shape. Repeat with other half.

~Assemble:

Top 2-3 pancakes with sauce followed by fresh carrots and avocado crescent. Add the egg and finish with basil chiffonade (rolled up leaves sliced thinly into ribbons). Serve and enjoy! Preferably on a sunny outdoor patio.