Korean Kitchen Hacking: Cheese Blintzes… Forget IHOP

Okay, this is another one of those ultimate do-it-yourself survival recipes for the foreigners living in Korea. Where can you get great Sunday breakfast food like decadent cheese blintzes other than an expensive hotel in Seoul?

I mean, this is a city where few restaurants serve western style breakfasts. And when they do, they charge almost as much as you would get charged for a steak dinner back home.

Let’s face it. Korea isn’t a bacon and eggs kind of country (yet).

I personally am not a big breakfast eater. Yet I do miss the fine products of Waffle House and the International House of Pancakes.

One thing you can make is a classic sexy Cheese Blintz. You can add this to the list of romantic ways to treat your honey on White Day (or the morning after).

A blintz is basically a crepe burrito. And a crepe is basically a very thin pancake. I myself am no expert at making crepes. Yet I’ve been able to pass off some decent ones. An advantage to them being so thin is that you can make a lot of mistakes, and it won’t even put a dent in your batter.

Let’s get started.

Crepe Batter
1 cup Milk
3 Eggs
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Butter, melted
3/4 c. Flour, all purpose is best

Cheese Filling
2 cups Mock Ricotta Cheese (remember, this stuff is easy to make)
1 Egg yolk
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Butter, melted
2 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla (if you have it)

Topping
Macerated Strawberries

1. Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients for the Crepe Batter separately. Then combine them. Let them sit in the fridge for 20 minutes.
   
2. Mix the Cheese Filling ingredients. Chill them too while cooking the crepes.
   
3. In a frying pan on medium heat, melt a little bit of butter. Drizzle around 2 Tablespoons of Crepe Batter in the pan. Tilt the pan to spread it around. Slightly cook the bottom and move to a plate. DON’T FLIP. We don’t have to cook the other side yet. Just cook as many crepes as you need and pile them on a plate. Note that the first crepe is usually the “garbage” crepe. It likely won’t turn out.
4. Turn a crepe cooked side up. Put a dollop of Cheese Filling on the cooked side. Fold the sides and roll it up, cooked side in.
5. Cook both sides of the blintz in the frying pan with butter. Not too long. Just let it brown a bit.
   
6. Serve on a plate with heated Macerated Strawberries.