Not your average pancake
Though it’s true that I’ve blogged these Korean savoury seafood pancakes before, it was in the early days of this blog when I didn’t have much of an audience, so I thought I’d write a new entry giving them the glory that they well and truly deserve.
Now this dish is by far one of my all-time favourite snackfoods, with its fried frittery goodness which contains the mild oniony goodness of spring onions, the flavour of the sea all dipped into a simple soy & vinegar sauce to combat the oilyness, its a way of enjoying pancakes that I know not many people have had the luck to try!
Although they are pancakes in the literal sense, if you’re expecting anything remotely like the airy, fluffy breakfast pancakes or lace-thin crepes we’re used to in Western cuisine, you’re in for quite a surprise. No, these Korean delights are absolutely nothing like their Western counterparts - the batter is flat and doughy with not even the hint of aeration from any kind of rising agent. This is definitely not the kind of pancake you serve for breakfast. In fact, its far more common to see this served as a light meal or snack during the day, or even as an appetizer or ‘banchan‘ (side dish) during a full meal.
Whatever time of day it’s served doesn’t change the fact that these taste best immediately off the frying pan, when the dough is soft, the brown bits crunchy and the pancake is best able to absorb the dipping sauce to elevate the flavour just one more notch.
This is a quite a ‘common’ recipe, and very far from haute cuisine - its often served in snack food houses alongside ddukbokgi, where its used to mop up the leftover thick, sweet and spicy sauce leftover from the rice cakes, so I recommend serving the two dishes side by side if you’re up for it - together they make for a flavoursome and pretty quick meal…and though its not exactly the healthiest of dishes (mmm, carb city!), what’s wrong with a little indulgence every now and then?
Oh, and a word of warning - the dipping sauce is strong, so when you’re eating the pancake, only give the piece that you’re holding the briefest dip to about 1/3 or halfway…any more than that and you might be reeling! But if that happens, or you drop your piece IN the sauce (which, believe it or not, happens to the best of us), don’t worry too much - just fish it right out and dot the sauce-laden piece over the other pieces of the pancake. Its not exactly perfect table manners, but it’ll save you from having to toss the piece!
And besides - what’s a little sauce-sharing between friends, hey? 
Hae-mul Pajeon
(Korean Seafood & Spring Onion pancakes)
Pancake ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups water
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 large bunch of spring onions, washed and cut into thin 1.5 - 2 inch strips *
1/2 - 1 cup chopped baby shrimp **
1/2 - 1 cup finely chopped clams
1/2 - 1 cup finely chopped squid
Dipping sauce ingredients ***
4 tbsp white or rice vinegar
4 tbsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp finely chopped spring onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
* You can replace the spring onion with garlic chives cut into the same length for a slightly different flavour, or use about 1 cup of julienned zucchini to for a much milder taste
** To make a vegetarian version, just remove the seafood and you will have plain ‘pajeon’ 
*** When it comes to making the sauce, if you can’t be bothered getting fancy, then just make a simplified version of equal parts light soy sauce and white/rice vinegar, its just as good and just as common in Korean households!
1. Mix together flour, water and egg bit by bit, making sure to beat out any lumps - this should be only a tiny bit thicker than thin pancake batter as you will still need the mixture to spread out on the frying pan, so add more water or flour accordingly.
2. Add the chopped spring onions and seafood to the batter, then mix thoroughly to incorporate all ingredients evenly.
3. Heat a frying pan and add some oil, when it’s nice and hot, ladle a big spoonful into the pan. You want this to be about 4-5mm thick, any thicker and it won’t cook through well. Fry until the batter is half-cooked (i.e. not liquid) on top and the bottom is nice and crisp and golden.
4. Carefully flip over and fry other side till golden, then remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Oil frying pan and repeat with remaining batter.
5. To serve, mix vinegar, soy sauce, chilli, spring onion, sugar, sesame oil and garlic and pour into a sauce bowl. Chop up the pancake into approx. 4cm x 4cm squares, then serve side by side with forks or chopsticks.
Technorati Tags: Korean food, recipes, savoury, pancakes, fritters, seafood, snacks, appetizers, Asian
As for this random, out of place picture? Well, this is the original photo from the first post I did on this particular dish.
I’m still using a point-and-shoot camera, but isn’t it amazing how much your work can change in 12 months? Well, that and learning how to use your camera, of course!
If you think you’d like to learn more about how to use your own point-and-shoot camera, you can do so from this series of posts that I’ve written on how to use digital compact cameras.
Oh, and I’ll be beginning my series of posts on digital photo editing in a fortnight, so don’t forget to come back then for that!
People who have tried this recipe:
- Indigo from Happy Love Strawberry
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Comments
autumnmist I’m so excited that you’re doing these Korean food recipes… I LOVE eating these pancakes when we go out for Korean food and I can’t wait to try it at home. One thing though, it’d be nice if you could make your article titles include the name/title of the food you’re making… otherwise if I’m sitting there and thinking "hmm I want to make that seafood pancake recipe" it won’t work for me to search "seafood pancake’ since the title is "not your average pancake"
MyKitchenInHalfCups Ellie this looks incredible. If I was at home now, I’d be in the kitchen to make this.
And yes your photos are light years better.
Ellie Indigo - Aww shucks, thanks hon I hope you enjoy the tutorial! I think this is a great recipe to begin with purely because its very fast and easy, super tasty and a great intro to Korean cooking
Kalyn - Thanks Kalyn 
Autumnmist - Thanks hon! And as I always put the title of the dish at the beginning of the recipe, if you do a search using the search bar on this page, the recipe that you’re looking for will turn up Dunno how it fares when doing a generic google search though…
Clumsy - No worries!
Tanna - Thanks hon, I hope you do eventually give this a try as I think its a wonderful little dish to have in one’s repertoire!
Lizzi yum! a few years ago i went to my friend’s family’s chinese new year party and ate something similar. i’ve been meaning to recreate it ever since, and when i saw this post i experienced the most intense, extreme, insaneeee craving for it. and proceeded to immediately make it for lunch (without the seafood or the sauce… i just needed plain oily pancakey goodness, stat!). it was so awesome. so thank you!
C(h)ristine Love it! So glad you posted about pa-jun…it is one of my very favorite "snacks" and a great comfort food for me. Yum yum!
Graeme I was sure I’d seen this done somewhere before, but never with the beautiful photographs.
Serving etiquette advice is a nice touch too.
John P Haemul pajeon is the best! I like it really crispy, so we practically deep fry when we cook it.
Connie hahaha i eat them for breakfast sometimes!! 
i love it with galbi, because that is so sweet and savory and garlicky(the way my mother makes it) and the pajeon is still savory in a sense, but lighter in flavor and kind of ‘cleanses’ the palatte
Ellie Lizzi - Thank you so much for your wonderful comment! I’m so glad that this post tempted you to head to the kitchen and give it a try and that it fulfilled your expectations There is no greater compliment, so thank you for letting me know!
Cristine - Glad to hear that you’re amongst the pajeon-lovin’ ranks I agree, it does make a wonderful comfort food!
Mandy - Hurrah! I hope you get the chance to give this a try
Graeme - Hehehe, its a common dish so I’m sure there are quite a few recipes floating around the internet, but thanks for the lovely compliment about the photos And yes, I thought it would be quite handy to include the note about the sauce…just in case
Dinner Belle - Actually, its thrown in raw…the idea is to chop it small enough and cook the pancakes long enough that the seafood would be cooked whilst the pancake is fried
John P - I agree, it’s (one of) the best And it sounds like you eat them like my brother, he is already to fight everyone for the crispiest bits 
Connie - Nothing to blush for, I have ‘em for breakfast sometimes too All I meant was that people who are unused to having ‘bap’ in the morning would find it too heavy I’ve never had it with galbi, but I can definitely see how the pairing would work (and yes, sweet & savoury & garlicky is how my mom makes it too!)
Callipygia Oh my gawd I love these with oysters!!! Will have to make some & for breakfast? Perfect-
Mrs. W Mmm. Pajeon was one of my favorite street foods when I lived in S.Korea in the early 90s. I remember eating a plate of these in Seoul’s Itaewon. Yum yum yum. I can taste it now. And hear the traffic!
I’ll have to try this recipe to recreate the memory in my own home. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
bri I didn’t know there was a Korean version of green onion pancakes. I’ve just had Chinese ones. My husband makes them, and uses beer for leavening instead of water. These always go over big in our house and we certainly gobble them up quick. They are such an easy dish to make, it’s a great addition to a stir fry or some simple dish like that.
Ellie Callipygia - Mmm, never had oyster in them before! I’ll have to give that a shot!
Mrs W - Ahh, good old Itaewon oh, the shopping! And all the cute G.I.s, hehehe! I hope this helps bring back fond memories
Bri - There are a few Korean versions of Chinese dishes…though with the history of the region, who can say where exactly the origins of those dishes actually are
autumnmist Hi Ellie,
Forgot to check back for your response to my comment about recipe titles and searching… I’m not using Google or your site search; I subscribe to this blog via RSS/Atom and when your posts show up in the feed, they only show up as, for example:
Not your average pancake
A frozen nose, a burnt tongue and a sweet, sugary memory
Leave your table manners at the door, and please take a napkin
A summertime seaweed soup
Not quite a chipmunk, but can I still like acorns?
I’m totally nuts for nuts!
As you can probably guess, this makes it kinda hard to figure out which entry has the recipe I want to make. Obviously I can and do come to the site to search, but it’d be a lot more convenient if the actual recipe title was included in the entry title.
Ellie Hi Autumnmist - I can see how that would be a little frustrating, but in the end I could change many things about this blog to make each reader who complains about something happy and yet just as many wouldn’t be happy with the new changes implemented (e.g. I’ve had some complaints about the page layout - both that its too small and too big!). I’ve considered the titles, but to be honest, it could get a little difficult with some of the Korean dishes when the English translations can get quite wordy and long and may be somewhat unappealing to those who aren’t familiar with the dishes that I’m discussing, so a shorter, catchier title works in favour in that consideration
May Hi Ellie,
I was introduced to Korean food when I was at High School. There I met a Korean friend and her family and get nuts about their mom’s cooking. I have had some attempts to have her recipes, but the answer that I get every time is "this are family recipes", so… Surely with the years I have get to know some basic Korean, but the translations between Spanish, Korean and English only made the research for recipes very dificult. Thanks for sharing this recipes, I have been remembering some egg rolls that sound very alike to your pancakes, but they were made with beef. I tried yours and is very yumy .Best regards.
Ellie May - From what I’ve learnt from my mom and other family relatives, there are no ‘hard and fast’ recipes in Korean cuisine, dishes can vary greatly from family to family and from region to region, so recipes are rarely written down and generally passed on through the generations, which can make finding translated recipes difficult I’m glad you enjoyed this particular one
Firstly I feel the need to point out that your photography is stunning and I’m going to have a look at the tutorial series now…
Secondly, while I’ve never eaten Korean food (that’s pretty bad, isn’t it?) I’m saving this recipe to have a go at when I get the chance; it looks gorgeous!