Seafood and Scallion Pancakes

Recipe by Tara Deshpande

Ingredients
1 cup stock
2 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
1/2 small-sized onion, peeled
2-3 inch anchovy fillets or tinned bamboo shoots
1/2 tsp Thai fish sauce or soy sauce 1 tsp yellow miso paste
12 small clams in their shells, scrubbed clean
3 cups water

For the pancakes
11/4 cups maida or all purpose flour
1 tbsp rice flour
1/2 tbsp corn flour
1/2 tsp soy sauce salt to taste cold water as required

For the filling
2 eggs, whisked
6 baby/tender/spring garlic chives, approximately 5 inches long with garlic cloves at the end
6 onion chives, 5-6 inches long
3 scallions bulbs, finely sliced into rings
1/2 cup oyster/enoki/white mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely shredded
2 tbsp sprouted mung beans

For frying
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the sauce
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 tsp white sesame seeds, roasted
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 inch ginger, peeled and julienned
1 red bell pepper, quartered
1 yellow bell pepper, quartered
2 Thai red chillies, finely chopped
2 tsp yellow miso paste (optional)
1-1.5 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1-1.5 tsp honey

Method
For the sauce
Combine all the ingredients for the Korean dipping sauce. Taste for sweet, spicy and salty and adjust to your taste by adding more salt, honey or vinegar. Cover and let sit in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight for flavours to develop. Serve the sauce cold with hot pancakes.

For the stock
Heat 3 cups water with the garlic, onions and anchovy over high heat.
When it reaches a boiling point add the clams and switch off flame.
Remove the clams in less than 1 minute.
Cool them. Discard any that are not open.
Restart the flame on medium under the stock.
Open and remove clams.
Return some of the shells to the stock and cook until it reduces to one cup.
Drain and cool stock completely.
Wash the clams and remove any dirt and membranes.
Squeeze dry and reserve.

For the batter
Combine cooled stock and all the dry ingredients for the pancake to form a batter.
The batter should be thick but easily spreadable so add more cold water a 1/4 cup at a time as required.
You want a consistency like a pancake batter rather than a crepe batter. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
Wash tender garlic shoots and remove roots.
Snip off any parts that are yellowed.
Use an 7-8 inch non stick skillet.
Add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and sesame oil mix and heat on a low flame.
When oil is warm but not smoking pour 1 cup of batter into skillet and quickly swirl to spread.
Keep the heat on low so the pancake can cook slowly otherwise the otherside burns and the inside remains undercooked.
As the bottom cooks lay all the green vegetables and mushrooms over the pancake and gently press into the wet batter.
Lay the chives lengthwise, scatter the scallions, mushrooms or sprouted beans about and finally the clams if you are using them.
When the bottom is crispy and completely cooked drizzle half the whisked egg over the uncooked side of the pancake facing you.
Then drizzle a teaspoon of sesame and vegetable oil over the egg.
Then slowly turn the pancake over using a wide spatula.
Allow the wet side of the pancake to cook fully until golden brown.
Use another skillet and just turn the pancake over into the greased pan -this reduces spillage.
Drain pancake over paper towels, pat dry and slice into 6 pieces.
Serve with the accompanying dipping sauce.