Every year I choose a different culinary tradition to model our Holiday dinner around. We’ve done Victorian England, with Roast Goose and Christmas pudding, we’ve done Shanghainese Soup Dumplings, once visiting my Sister and Brother in Law we did Puerto Rican Christmas. Bringing in these varied traditions helps to educate me as a cook and to educate my children with the many flavors of our abundant human experience. I can’t remember which year we chose to cook traditional Hanukkah treats but now Latkes always make an appearance in our home around this time of year. So simple and so good. And I love how the story of Hanukkah resonates especially around the time of the Winter Solstice. As the nights get longer and the days get shorter the story of Hanukkah meditates on finding a miracle of light in the darkness and finding freedom in the midst of oppression. And of course the tradition of eating fried foods to celebrate the miraculous oil that lit a single lamp for 8 days… a holiday that celebrates with fried food!!!! That is a wonder for sure!
This year I can’t believe that I’ve never thought to replace the onion in the Latke recipe with kimchi before. It is simply amazing! You can add more spiciness, more chiles or gochugaru to the mix if you like. I doubt you can make these and not fall in love.
Wishing you all a great miracle this Hanukkah.
Kimchi Latkes
2 cups shredded potatoes (I like em with skin on but either peeled or not is fine)
½ cup of kimchi that has already had all the juice squeezed out of it.
3 eggs
3 heaped Tablespoons flour
Salt and Pepper
More chiles/gochugaru (optional)
Oil for frying (we used peanut oil but your choice of high heat oil)
Put shredded potatoes in cheesecloth or nut bag and squeeze as dry as possible.
Cut the squeeze dried kimchi into small dice or tiny strips.
Beat eggs.
Combine potatoes, egg, kimchi, flour, (gochugaru if you want), salt and pepper.
Heat a heavy skillet with a ¼ inch of oil on the base to medium high heat.
Press heaping spoonfuls of potato mixture onto the hot skillet squashing the pancakes down to ¼ – ½ inch thickness. Cook until brown on both sides… approximately 3 minutes each side.
Serve hot with apple sauce and sour cream – YUM.