Although not all pancakes are eaten on Pancake Day and adhere to the Christian tradition from which our day here in the UK occurs, pancakes are one of the world’s oldest forms of prepared food. According to every amateur baker’s best friend, Betty Crocker, the humble pancake could date back to as far as 600BC in Ancient Greece. Despite this, the origin of Shrove Tuesday, in around 1100AD, brings about pancakes as we know and love them, as a way to use up dairy products before the religious period of Lent. History may be contested, and pancake variations may differ but, one thing is clear: pancakes have been indulged in for millennia, and as a pancake enthusiast I’m happy to say that their culture continues to be taken very seriously wherever you find yourself around the world.
We all know about the French crepe, North American buttermilk towers and viral souffle pancakes, but this year why not celebrate Pancake Day with some other international influences, what better excuse do you need to elevate your next stack?
Here are some of my favourites:
For a savoury pancake twist, these Japanese pancakes come from the Japanese ‘Okonomi’ for ‘what you want’ and ‘yaki’ meaning fried. Popular toppings include pork belly, spring onions and a sticky combination of teriyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise.
A happy mistake in the form of a kitchen experiment in the royal court of Kaiser Franz Joseph gave way to this unconventional scrambled, caramelised pancake mix. Eaten with dried fruit, nuts with icing sugar and apple sauce, if it's good enough for the royals it must be good right?
Popular across India and Sri Lanka, the batter of these pancakes is actually made from fermented rice and lentils, creating a characteristic thin and crispy texture. Dosas can be stuffed with spicy curry and daals to create many variations on the most popular ‘masala dosa’ or combined with sweet combinations to suit any taste.
Maybe a little harder to achieve in a student kitchen, traditional Danish aebleskiver pans give us a spherical pancake addition to add to the list. These Scandinavian favourites, however, can be made in a standard frying pan and enjoyed with an array of toppings to create your own sensation of Pancake Day ‘hygge’.
It is common knowledge that Kimchi is good for our gut health, so why not combine it into Pancake Day and explore this tasty Korean classic. Combined with, meat, vegetables, spring onions and various sauces, Kimchijeon are completely customisable to any pancake cravings.
Although, made from a dough and not a batter, contesting a pancake definition, China’s savoury pancake option is packed with spring onions and accompanied by a soy sauce based condiment. Their texture is flaky and chewy, but of course all round highly satisfactory.
