By Susan Rosser

During a recent trip to Charleston, S.C. my family and I had an amazing meal at Xiau Bau Biscuit. It’s a small, unassuming place in a renovated gas station. But wowza, their small plate dishes pack some punch. The menu draws on influences from all of Asia. When we got home, I googled them to see if any of their recipes were available online. Thankfully, I found the Japanese vegetable pancake recipe. I tweaked it just a touch — hey, I had to make it my own. These babies were so good, we ate them hot as they came out of the pan. It’s a very versatile dish. You could serve these for breakfast, lunch, appetizers or dinner and they would be perfect.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 head of a purple cabbage, sliced as thin as you can. This would be a good time to bust out that mandoline — or an even better excuse to buy one.
2 carrots, peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
3 leaves of blue kale, cut chiffonade style
2 scallions, sliced thin on the diagonal
3-4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup all purpose flourcanola oil for fryingspicy mayo (see praparation below) and soy sauce and vinegar for serving

PREPARATION

Place all the vegetables in a large bowl. Add the eggs and stir to combine. Sprinkle the flour on top and stir until just combined.

Set a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil to coat the bottom. Add 1/4 of the batter to the pan and flatten out the pancake into a circle so it’s 1/2 inch thick. You can use the back of a big spoon or a spatula. When the edges of the pancake begin to brown (about 3 minutes) wait another 30 seconds and then flip the pancake. Cook until the reverse side has brown edges. Give it another 30 seconds and then remove from pan onto a plate. Add oil to the pan if needed and repeat with remaining batter. You can keep the pancakes warm in a 325 degree oven until they are all cooked. Or eat them as they come out of the pan.

Serve with spicy mayo (combine mayo and sriracha —you decide how hot you like it), and a combination of soy sauce and vinegar — mix 2 parts soy sauce and 1 part rice wine vinegar together.

For more practical ideas for cooking at home, follow Mrs. Kossenfloffer on Instagram @mrs_kossenfloffer. It would bring her such joy!