Crisp Edges, Plenty of Scallions: Make Pajeon at Home

The first pleasure of pajeon is the edge: a little browned batter, a piece of green onion and a quick dip into something salty and sharp. You do not need a restaurant-sized griddle to get there. A nonstick frying pan, a wide spatula and a clear patch beside the stove make a sensible starting point.

For Part 2 of our practical Korean cooking series, we move from gyeran-mari, the Korean rolled omelette, to scallion pancakes. The name pajeon (파전) puts the onion at the center. The Academy of Korean Studies describes it as a jeon made principally with green onion, and its account also records versions with meat and shellfish. There is room for more than one style at the table.

Choose one recipe before heating the pan

Recipe: Stephanie Cho for King Arthur Baking. Photographs are illustrations, not a K-Life test batch.

Ingredients and timing

Four pancakes; one hour total, 40 minutes hands-on.

For the batter:

• 350 g scallions
• 90 g all-purpose flour
• 28 g cornstarch
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Rounded ½ tsp table salt
• 227 g cold sparkling water
• About 75 g neutral oil, divided

For dipping:

• 28 g soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp gochugaru

Cook

1. Trim roots; thinly slice scallions diagonally.
2. Whisk dry batter ingredients, then water. Fold in scallions.
3. Over medium heat, heat 1½ tbsp oil in a medium nonstick pan. Spread about ½ cup mixture thinly, 15–20 cm wide.
4. Fry 3–4 minutes per side until golden-crisp; increase heat to finish if needed. Repeat with more oil.
5. Drain on paper towel over a rack or plate. Mix sauce ingredients; serve immediately.

Refrigerate airtight, maximum two days. Reheat on a rack above a tray, in an oven/toaster oven.

Measure the small things, too

Use measuring spoons rather than cutlery. The sugar and baking powder are small quantities: King Arthur’s weight chart makes one teaspoon of sugar approximately 4 g and half a teaspoon of baking powder 2 g.

Set out the sauce bowl, serving plate and spatula before the oil gets hot. That is ordinary kitchen organization, but it leaves your attention free for the part that matters: lifting an edge and checking the underside. A timer can remind you to look; it cannot tell you how your particular stove is behaving.

A different pajeon is still pajeon

If you have watched someone lay long green onions side by side in a pan, that is another approach. Maangchi’s green-onion pancake uses long pieces, a rectangular shape and a batter seasoned with doenjang, or soybean paste. Her official video below demonstrates that version. Watch it for the handling and turning, but keep its batter separate from the measured recipe above.

Seafood pajeon, or haemul-pajeon, is a further variation. Maangchi publishes a separate recipe with seafood and egg. If that is the dish you want, follow the complete seafood recipe rather than adding raw shellfish to this batch and assuming the same timing will work. The seafood photograph shows that variation, not an extra step in today’s recipe.

When the pancake needs a little help

• Breaking during the turn? Use a broad spatula rather than tossing it. Maangchi gives that warning for her heavier seafood pajeon; it is also a sensible handling precaution here.

• Crisp edges, soft center? In her vegetable-pancake guidance, Maangchi recommends lifting an edge and carefully tilting the pan so oil reaches underneath. Do not tip hot oil toward yourself.
• Wet batter inside? Keep cooking before serving. A browned surface does not cancel the FDA’s warning about raw flour. Avoid tasting the uncooked center to check it.

Substitutions and allergy checks

For your first batch, keep the flour and starch as listed. There is no tested gluten-free substitution specified here. Cornstarch means the fine starch, not coarse cornmeal. Choose a neutral vegetable oil you already use for frying; check its label against your own dietary needs.

The listed batter contains wheat. The dipping sauce contains soy and sesame, and ordinary soy sauce commonly includes wheat. This particular ingredient list has no egg, dairy or seafood, but that does not make every restaurant pajeon or packaged pancake mix suitable for the same diet. Check every packaged ingredient and avoid cross-contact when preparing food for someone with an allergy. Skipping an unsafe sauce is safer than assuming a differently named sauce has the ingredients you need.

Finish the meal safely

Even an egg-free batter is not safe to taste raw. The FDA’s flour guidance explains that flour can carry harmful bacteria. Keep it away from ready-to-eat food, and wash hands, utensils and work surfaces after preparing the batter. Follow the cooking instructions; if a pancake still has wet batter inside, continue cooking before serving.

Put leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate within two hours, or within one hour if the surrounding temperature is above 32°C. Keep the refrigerator at 4°C or colder. Follow the storage limit above. FoodSafety.gov advises reheating leftovers to 74°C throughout; check with a food thermometer. Browning alone is not a reheating safety test.

Bring the dipping sauce to the table separately. Start with a corner, then decide how much sauce the next piece needs. Pajeon is a good reason to leave the pan nearby and let the meal arrive one pancake at a time.