Moon, more than a thousand year old song, and Bindeadduck (Mung bean pancake)

Back in high school, I learned about more than thousand years old song . It was song of a wife, waiting for her husband under the moon. She was asking moon to rise high enough, so her husband would see well on his way home. I loved the words for how it sounded. I loved even more to find out a lady who had same habit with me more than a thousand years ago. I often made a wish upon the moon waiting for my father to come back home in the evening.

Making wish upon the full moon is something older than this song. August 15th on Korean lunar calender, the day with the brightest full moon in the year is celebrated as Thanksgiving. There are many stories about how it began. This is the day when all of family members get together.

This year, I didn't go back. I called up my mother and relatives. Made wish for my brother. Remembered my late father and grandfathers. This was a bit of bitter sweet day for me. But certainly I made food to celebrate the day and made many wishes upon the moon. This cake brought a big smile to my housemate, who also misses her husband who is far away now. A thousand years later, we still look up the moon and look down to the moon-look-a-like. This warm pancake filled our heart as the full moon did the sky that day.


2/3 cup of dried mung bean, 2 cup cold water, 2 T vegetable oil, 1 t sesame oil, 1/8 cup mung bean sprout, 3 dried shiitake mushroom, finely chopped Kimchi 1/8 cup, 1/2 t minced fresh garlic, salt and pepper up to taste.

1. Soak mung bean in 2 cups of cold water overnight. In separate container, soak dried shiitake mushroom


2. Place bean in big and deep enough bowl and rob them between the palm, removing skin. After removing 2/3 of skin, add a cup of water and stir very gently (careful not to disterve beans at the bottom) with fine sieve, removing skin from the bowl.


3. In separate bowl, soak mung bean sprout and pour boiling water on top, let it sit for five min. Drain & finely chop it.

4. Gently squeeze shiitake and finely chop it.

5. Mix mung bean sprout, shiitake, and kimch with sesame oil, salt & pepper.

6. Blend soaked and drained mung bean in the blender. Add two table spoon or so of water if necessary. Mix blended mung bean with 5.

7. Pan fired the batter as you do with pancake using vegetable oil.

8. Serve warm with soy sauce.