Savory Watermelon Rind Pancakes （西瓜皮饼）

Guess what comes with summer season? Watermelon season! And with this juicy, sweet watermelon flesh, comes with another underrated component-- (no, it's not the fervid Mayweather smacking in the grocery store purposed as a ripeness investigation)-- it is actually the rinds of watermelons!

I feel like watermelon rinds go unnoticed by a hunch, despite the western food industry gravitating more and more towards organic, clean eating. Watermelon rinds, aka the bygone underdogs, carry a pack of dietary fiber, as well as healthful antioxidants, one of which being beta carotene. 

Not only do these gems portray a forgotten superfood, in recycling watermelon rinds, you too are giving mother nature a helping hand in reducing our longstanding carbon footprint. 

I could go on venting about all the reasons why you should recycle watermelon rinds, as well as all the various ways you could reuse them (in fact, I'll have a separate blog post discussing this matter here), but I'm sure we're not all here for that. I suspect most are here for the answer to the question: how exactly does one make watermelon rinds taste... good? Especially when incorporated into a comforting, savory pancake? 

Luckily, watermelon rinds are almost just as versatile as any other vegetable (except for the exalted sweet potato-- we'll save that discussion for another time). In this particular recipe, I undertook the same cooking process as always used in making Chinese zucchini pancakes--  soaking the vegetables in salt to generate a hypertonic solution, by which water seeps out the cell walls and thus yielding a softer texture. Unsurprisingly, with the addition of carrots, eggs, flour, and flax meal, watermelon rinds can easily pass this test just like any other vegetable, and can actually render a rather delicious (and nutritious) Chinese pancake! And what I love most about watermelon rinds is how they are ultimately a blank slate, so you can style it to your liking! In this recipe, I preferred my pancakes to be on the thicker side, thus I didn't add much water; however you may adjust this, alongside other assortments of seasonings, based on your personal preferences! 

I will also further explain the methods of cutting and preserving your watermelon rinds in the steps as well as notes below!

Recipe

Cuisine: Asian
Servings: 6 pancakes
Level: Medium-Easy

Prep time: 35 min

Cook time: 20 min 

Total time: 55 min 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of grated watermelon rinds*
• 1/4 cup grated carrot
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup ground flax meal (optional: for nutrition)
• 1 cup flour
• 1-1 1/2 cup water (for thinner, crispier pancakes or overall larger yield, up to personal discretion)
• vegetable oil for greasing pan
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 cup minced green onion
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder

Instructions:

1. Skin just the outer layer of the watermelon rinds until all that is left is the light green flesh. Preserve this skin for other usages.**
2. With grated watermelon rinds and carrots in a large bowl, add salt and mix until fully incorporated. Let the mixture sit for 15-20 minutes until water begins to seep out from the vegetables.
3. Mince garlic clove. Add minced garlic, eggs, flax meal, flour, green onion, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and peppercorn powder into the bowl. Mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated.
4. Gradually add water until batter reaches your desired consistency. The consistency should appear as like pancake batter; however, should you prefer thinner pancakes, a greater count of pancakes, or if the batter is simply too thick to work with, add more water.
5. Brush a stainless steel pan with vegetable oil and place on medium heat.
6. Pour desired amount of batter onto pan and cook pancakes for 3-4 minutes on each side. Repeat process for remaining batter.
7. Serve and enjoy! Pancakes should be consumed immediately; however, if not finished in one sitting, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a maximum of 2 days. Microwave or cook on stovetop with additional layer of oil to restore taste if needed.

Notes:

*around 3 watermelon slices will yield 3/4 cup, assuming they were cut into quarters and thusly divided into wedges. 

tip: start grating on the side you previously skinned, flip over and grate on the opposite side, and then finally, grate the sides of the rind. Once rind becomes too thin to handle, fold ends on top of one another to facilitate the process. Any remaining ungrated rinds can simply be thinly chopped and incorporated.

Also, don't feel the need to remove all of the pink flesh. In fact, this flesh can add some fresh summertime flavors into your savory pancake!

**you may incorporate peels into a vegetable dish, smoothie blend, or even dehydrate and grind it into a meal. Or simply give it to compost!

Also, leftover watermelon rinds can easily be stored in the refrigerator in a closed container for up to 3 weeks, during which you can decide how and when to use them!

Link(s):

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/300423715_Utilization_of_Watermelon_Rind_Waste_as_a_Potential_Source_of_Dietary_Fiber_to_Improve_Health_Promoting_Properties_and_Reduce_Glycemic_Index_for_Cookie_Making