Eat and Learn Flemish – Pannenkoeken

I’m studying Flemish again. I’ll admit that I have struggled to stay focused on my goal to learn and speak Flemish over the past two years. I’m happy to report that today marks my fourth week of dedicating 90 minutes/week to my studies. Billy also suggested that on Mondays we will only speak Flemish in the house. So tonight I’ve been nattering away while I try to translate Flemish recipes.

There are many ways to incorporate language learning into your everyday life, especially with cooking. I have a friend who once labelled most of her kitchen with the Spanish terms. She saw them while doing everyday tasks and soon memorized them.

Ingredients lists are fun to translate and I love watching video tutorials because it gives me a chance for ‘active’ language learning instead of just pen to paper. Cooking is essential in Belgian culture and I find that I learn a lot about the history and practices of the Flemish from watching cooking shows. Plus, while the chefs are often making jokes and using everyday language, I’m also listening for tone, pitch, and rhythm in the sentences.

I’ve been in the mood for pancakes. After searching for Belgian cooking shows, I found a video on how to make Pannenkoeken, which are pancakes that are thin like crepes. They are so delicious with a bit of butter and powdered sugar. I like to add a little Canadian flavour to mine and pour chokecherry or saskatoon syrup on them. The show’s host, Chef Piet, is from West Flanders so he uses a lot of slang typical to that region, like “allez!” I think it means, “Come on,” but it’s used in many situations from telling stories at the cafe or when someone is annoyed.

Pannenkoeken – SOS Piet

To give you some idea of what’s going on here, Chef Piet is teaching some university students how to make the BEST pannenkoeken. He’s in a studentenkot (student dorm) kitchen. From the four hotplates to the party decorations, it looks like a typical kot. My first 3 months living in Belgium was in a place very similar – notice the group cooking and beer atmosphere. So much fun!

Ingredients
2 el arachideolie (Vegetable Oil)
70 gr suiker (sugar)
½ litre melk (milk – I’ve used both almond or coconut milk and it worked fine)
4 eieren (eggs)
200 gr bloem (flour)
20 gr boter (butter)

Instructions
First, try to follow along in the video clip because there are some tricky Belgian cookery tips that add a bit of finesse.

1. Measure out your milk. In a medium bowl, combine flour and sugar. Whisk and make a ‘nest’ for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the flour nest and lightly whisk. Add the milk. Whisk until smooth.
2. Add a dash of vegetable oil to the batter (about 1 tsp or so) and whisk into batter. Melt butter in frying pan. Pour into batter. Whisk.
3. Ladle batter on to nonstick pan. Wait until bubbles form. Slightly lift with a silcone spatuala and flip.

Learning a language has to be fun when it involves cooking, beer, and jokes, eh?