This tuna pancake is a type of lunch box side dish in Korea. I think that some foods match better with others for taste, texture, or nutritional value. Canned tuna is a great match with sesame leaves (perilla) in that point. So, the tuna, sesame leaves, and mayonnaise (or ketchup) are sometimes used together in some Korean dishes. Simply mix the tuna with some other vegetables and fry, and then dip in ketchup or mayonnaise for a great taste. 😀
Yield: 2 Servings
Short Korean Lesson
- KkaenNip (깻잎) = Perilla (Sesame Leaves)
- ChamChi (참치) = Tuna
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- ½ Cup Canned Tuna
- 6 Sesame Leaves (Perilla) or about ¼ Cup
- 2 Eggs
- ½ Cup Onion
- ½ Tbsp Hot Pepper (Optional)
- 3 Pinches Salt
- Some Mayonnaise, Ketchup, or Mustard for Dipping
Directions
Prepare ½ cup of tuna from the can. Break it with a fork to make fine pieces.
Finely chop 6 sesame leaves (¼ cup), ½ cup of an onion, and ½ Tbsp of hot pepper.
Combine the tuna, chopped vegetables, 2 eggs, and 3 pinches of salt.
Mix them all together.
In a generously oiled and heated pan, place a spoonful of the mixture and make a round shape.
Fry them until both sides of the pancakes become golden brown on medium-high.
Depending on your tastes, dip the pancake in mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, or a combination of each. Enjoy! 😀
That’s mine, Aeri. =D
Hi Lisa,
SURE ~~ 🙂 hehe thanks
Hi, Aeri! This pancake looks so good, but I have a question: where can I buy sesame leaves.. are they available at Korean/Asian grocery store? Thank you!
I’ve been reading your blog for a while. This week I’ve tried your recipes for Jeyuk Bokkeum and DakBokkeumtang, and they were both really delicious!! So, so perfect, especially for a spicy food lover like me.
hi Bubbles,
Usually you can find the sesame leaves in a Korean grocery store..but it has season.. you will not find it in the late fall and winter.. thanks 😀
OH EM GEE ~ i LOVE this!!! this is perfect for my daughter’s lunchbox! she’s getting tired of the sandwiches i make for her jkjkjk :p 🙂
one question though…do you drain the water/oil from the tuna first?
love you!!! xo
hi farleen,
haha.. Oh Em Gee… I like that..
Teach me how to make sandwiches for school lunch box … so I can make bryson get tired of it too… hehe yes.. I drained the water or oil.. ^^ love you.. xo xo xo
I have a Perilla (sesame leaf) plant in my garden with huge leaves! I might try this for my lunch. Hm… tuna…
Can we also use the Red Sesame leaf (perilla), or only the green one? I have both in my garden.
hi sirdanilot,
Common Korean sesame leaves are green.. so try with green ones.. WOW..I envy you.. you have lots of sesame leaves in your garden.. one of my Korean friends gave us 3 plants of sesame leaves 2 years ago.. first year it was okay..but the next year ..it didn’t grow that healthy..and this year we didn’t get any… huk..@.@ We need new plants…hehe
aha..another way to use perilla leaves. my girl will love this….cos you have tuna in this recipe!!
I made this today for my family and they loved it!
wow i want to try this …. thanks for sharing us
Aeris,
Another winner! Not only is it a winner because it tastes great, but because there’s no flour (I can’t have four) and so both my husband and I can enjoy this together. Thank you.
Looking forward to more recipes.^^
hi Rebecca,
That’s great.. thanks for your review. I will think of more recipes that you don’t need flour then.. how about rice flour. you can’t eat that either ??? ^^
this looks great! just a question, instead of perilla leaves is there another subsititute if i can’t find those leaves?
hi Cynthia,
Perilla leaves make this dish tastes good and unique..but since you can’t find them… hm.. green onions.. garlic chives.. minced garlic.. or green hot peppers.. (my husband just said..”mint”-I’m not sure about that because I’m not familiar with herbs..but he thinks that can be good substitute..;) ) ..if you like kimchi.. you can add some chopped kimchi also. thanks
You don’t need any kind of 가루 mix for this? The egg is enough to hold it together?
I think I’ll try this. Mahalo!
hi kushibo,
You are right.. the egg is enough to hold it together.. try it someday.. ^^
Hi Aeri! I tried this one, and it was really great! I didn’t find sesame leaves so I used Petchay (Chinese white cabbage) instead.
I posted a picture of what I came up with on my blog and linked back to your website for the recipe.
http://periwinkleconfessions.blogspot.com/2010/09/yummy-tuna-and-veggies-fritters.html
Yummy! Thanks for sharing! 😉
hi cathy,
Thanks.. loved to see your picture. You have a very cute website. ^^ please try more of my recipes and share your pictures with me. hehe
I made it, it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe! I added some flour because my cakes kept falling apart. ^.^
hi Lily Kim,
Hehe.. thanks 🙂 I’m happy you liked it. Try other recipes too… and i will love to see your Korean food pictures too.
which can tuna are you using water or oil?
hi Dominque,
I used can tuna in sunflower oil..but you can use both water and oil..