Pancakes – how does everyone else do them?

As Pancake Day only comes around once a year you can just about be forgiven for not diverging from the typical British pancake – topped with a dash of lemon juice, sprinkled with sugar and drizzled in golden syrup.  Should you fancy mixing it up a bit this year, however, I’ve compiled some bizarre pancake ideas from around the globe:

Vietnam

Banh Xeo – meaning “sizzling cake”, these savoury pancakes are stuffed with slivers of fatty pork, shrimp,and bean sprouts, and then pan fried. They’re then stuffed with mint leaves, basil and other herbs,wrapped in mustard and lettuce leaves, and finally dipped in a fish sauce.

Sweden

Raggmunk – this is a savoury potato pancake fried in butter and served with thick slices of fried pork or bacon and lingonberries, no less.  The more crispy and buttery the pancake is around the edges, the better it apparently tastes.

Japan

Dorayaki – a sweet pancake filled with red bean paste.  In Japanese, dora means “gong” and legend has it that the first Dorayaki were made when a samurai named Benkei forgot his gong  upon leaving a farmer’s home where he was hiding.  The farmer subsequently used the gong to fry the pancakes.

Thailand

Roti Gaeng Karee – this is a crispy pancake done Muslim-style, served with coconut-milk based curry and spices.  If you like ’em savoury, this one’s for you!

Korea

Pajeon and Bindaetteok – we don’t know much about these, other than they’re made with seafood, chilli paste, and lots of vegetables.  Possibly the healthiest pancake ever?

India

Dosa – made from rice and black lentils and traditionally from southern India, these thin crispy pancakes can be served with anything from chutney, Indian pickle, chicken, mutton or fish curry, depending on the region and taste.

Better than all of these, though, is Russia – where, thanks to Maslenitsa, I can enjoy pancakes for a whole week, guilt-free…

Pancake Poll

We’ve also conducted our own pancake survey here at Travel PR Towers.  It seems we’re a boring bunch. While the classic (and still fairly brilliant I would say) lemon and sugar combo won whisks-down, only a handful were brave enough to choose another topping…

Camilla Colley