Pa Jun

Good news all you Kim Jong Il fans. Korea has a pancake and its got his name on it. Or you can call it simply: Pa Jun. As a lover of all-things-dipped-in-soy-sauce, I love this pancake. Try it tonight!

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon corn, grape seed, canola or other neutral oil, more as needed
5 scallions, green parts only, cut into 3-inch lengths and sliced lengthwise
20 chives or 5 chopped scallions
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
1 small yellow or green squash, trimmed and grated
1/2 pound chopped shrimp, optional
1 tablespoon rice or white vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

1. In a medium bowl, mix flour, eggs and oil with 1 1/2 cups water until a smooth batter is formed. Stir scallion greens, chives, carrots, squash and shrimp, if using, into batter.

2. Place an 8- inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, then coat bottom with oil. Ladle in about a quarter of the batter and spread it out evenly into a circle; if first pancake is too thick to spread easily, add a little water to batter for remaining pancakes. Turn heat to medium and cook until bottom is browned, about 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

3. As pancakes finish, remove them, and, if necessary, drain on paper towels. In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Cut pancakes into small triangles and serve with dipping sauce.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

You're wondering: is this from the Kim Jong Il Cookbook? I wish there were such a book! Ship it to me if there is. It's from a great fellow at they NYTimes.com called "The Minimalist." His less-is-more cooking style is refreshing. He's dull on video. And he cooks a mean pancake. If you try this recipe, you will be delighted to see that just once in your very own lifetime you, too, can experiment and have your result look exactly like the picture.