A crispy, greasy Korean scallion pancake topped with seafood, complete with a sour-salty dipping sauce.
Needs more scallions.
– But… chef…
– MORE. SCALLIONS.
as Overheard in the kitchen
I first made and ate this dish during a trip to Seoul in 2022, while attending Hello K Cooking Class with some friends. I enjoyed the experience so much that I went again with my partner in 2024. Out of all the recipes we made, Pajeon stuck out to me due to how simple yet delicious it was, so I ended up adding it to my permanent roster back home. I love scallions, and this recipe uses a ludicrous amount – that’s not a typo in the ingredients list.
Skip the flip?
Be warned: simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy. The pancakes are fragile and easily break along the scallions running through the batter. If you try turning them with a spatula, they will almost certainly fall apart – flipping them in the air is really the only option. One pancake is quite heavy, so make sure to put some force behind it, as half a flip will certainly break it apart. The thicker a scallion, the more fragile of a breaking point it creates, so make sure to slice the thickest ones in half before use.
If this sounds daunting, there is a more beginner-friendly, less traditional variation, which a lot of home cooks opt for: Simply slice up the scallions into small pieces and mix them right into the batter. This is how we did it in the cooking class (although the video version shows the traditional way).
Jeon Dough
This is the pescatarian version of the basic Pajeon, which just means “scallion pancake” and is vegetarian – provided that you use a vegetarian broth (or just water) for the batter. If you want to explore similar recipes, look up other types of jeon, many of which are vegetarian. For instance, I recommend Kimchijeon, which is probably coming to the Hideout sooner or later.
When it comes to the broth, I’m not super precise about which one to make and how – and neither are the recipes online. If you want to be quick, just use water. I’ve made it the Korean way with anchovies and kelp, the Japanese way with fish flakes and kelp, used a Japanese powder (dashi no moto) as well as a pre-made mixture in tea bags. The Pajeon came out more or less the same.
One final note: If using frozen seafood, do not thaw it out in the open! Put it in the fridge overnight, or speed up the process by submerging it in cool water and leaving it at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Recipe credit
Like most of my recipes, I started this one out by basing it largely on existing ones, specifically the Hello K Cooking Class and Maangchi recipes. In this case, I adjusted the ratio of ingredients quite drastically, and changed up some of the steps. If you’d like to see the cooking class version for yourself, you can follow along with the instructor on YouTube. However, you’ll get the best experience by booking the class if you ever have the chance to visit Seoul!
Haemul Pajeon
Ingredients
For the pancakes
- 24 green onions thick ones count double
- 150 g mixed seafood
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 20 g potato starch
- 1 tsp table salt
- 190 ml stock (yukshu / dashi) or water see notes above
- 2 eggs large
- 2 red peppers fresh
- 4 tbsp neutral oil
For the dipping sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 0.5 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 green onion
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
Instructions
- If using frozen seafood, thaw in the fridge (~8 hours) or submerged in cool water at room temperature (~20 minutes).
- Optional: Make fish stock using kelp (dasima/kombu) and sardines (Korean) or katsuobushi (Japanese), or simply use a powder (dashi no moto) or bagged mix.
Make the sauce
- Heat up a small pan over medium high heat without any oil.
- Add the sesame seeds and toast until fragrant, moving the pan occasionally.
- Cut one green onion into thin rings.
- Mix green onion, toasted sesame seeds, and all other sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
Prep pancakes
- Roughly chop the seafood. If it was frozen, thoroughly squeeze water out of it.
- Cut red chilies into 4-5 slanted slices each. Deseed to lower the heat if desired. Set aside.
- Wash your green onions and cut off the roots. Remove any wilted outer layers.
- Trim just enough off the top of your green onions so they fit into your pan.
- Cut thicker green onions into halves lengthwise. Each half counts as one.
- Combine flour, starch, salt, and stock in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly.
- Crack eggs and beat until mixed.
Make pancakes
- Note: You can only make one pajeon per frying pan. If you're making more, I recommend using multiple pans at once. The measurements in the following steps refer to the amounts per pancake.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in your frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Line up 12 scallions in the pan. They should be parallel, with alternating orientation.
- Pour ~80% of the batter over the scallions, distributing it evenly.
- Mix seafood into the remaining batter, then pour it over as well.
- Distribute the sliced red peppers on top.
- Pour the beaten egg over it.
- Keep frying over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes.
- Make sure the pancake is separated from the pan, sliding around freely. Now flip it around – this must be a mid-air flip, any attempts to use a spatula will almost certainly break the pancake apart.
- Cook on the other side for another 5 minutes.
- Increase the heat to high, and fry for another 2-3 minutes until crisp.
- Flip it again, fry for another 1-2 minutes over high heat.
- Slide the finished pancake to the surface of your choice. I recommend a wooden board, where it can be cut into small pieces using a pizza cutter.
- Serve with dipping sauce.
