Some people were asking me questions recently about my vegetable pancake recipe.
They were having trouble because the middle of the pancake was too soft. I decided to try it again myself and have jeon for dinner.
Before starting making cooking videos, I never measured anything when I cooked. Also, I never failed! Koreans never measure anything with cups and tablespoons when they cook. But for my videos of course I need to explain how to make these dishes.
So I watched my own video and followed my steps. I found out that it was exactly right! I had a wonderful pancake for dinner. It was nice and crispy.
Even this time I didn’t use any seafood. I put an egg in the middle and it turned out really nice.
So my advice is that if you are having trouble with these recipes, please just follow the recipe as close as you can. Sooner or later it will turn out fine.
Here is the exact recipe, which I wrote down while cooking:
Ingredients:
½ cup of flour, 2/3 cup of water, 1ts salt, 1 egg, vegetables: green onions, chives, zucchini, chili pepper), 2/3 cup of chopped scallop and shrimp, vegetable oil
- In a big bowl, place ½ cup of flour, 1 ts salt, 2/3 cup of water and mix it.
- Chop ½ cup green onions and 3 cup of Asian chives, and shred zucchini to make 1/ 2 cup. Total cups of vegetables will be 4 cups
- Put chopped vegetables into the mixture of flour and mix it up.
- Chop 2/3 cup of shrimp, scallop, or squid (optional)
- In a big heated pan, put some oil and spread the vegetable pancake batter thinly and lower the heat down to medium.
- Place the chopped seafood over the top and press it with a spoon or spatula.
- When the pancake is cooked about 80 %, beat one egg and spread it in the center of the pancake and turn it over using spatula or flip it
- Add more oil if needed, and serve it hot with dipping sauce by mixing 1 tbs of soy sauce and ½ tbs of vinegar.
*Tip: To make it crispier, add oil more generously and spread the pancake mixture thinly. If your pan is not big enough, I suggest making 2 pancakes.
This is an Awesome recipe
My friend led me to your website it is fantastic
Thank you anonymous!
It’s very easy to make.
If you make it, let me know how it goes later.
Maangchi, what vinegar did you used for the dipping sauce? I used the cheap white vinegar and the sauce I made tasted very different from those yummy ones from the korean restaurant. Can you take photos of the one you used please. Thanks.
ruth
I use “apple vinegar”(sa gwa sik cho). Ok, I will post the picture of the vinegar in my ingredient blog soon.
Thanks, I saw the photo you put up already.
ruth
This is a nice, easy-to-make recipe. The egg at the end is essential and really makes the recipe. I used buchu, and deleted the squash. In one of my baches, I also added artificial crab and a little baby shrimp. Thanks Maangchi. I love your website.
Hi,
Your “jeon” sounds like colorful and delicious. Than you for letting me know about your successful cooking.
Chives pancake
No egg version
http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!fRcxarKTFxY5k6QGsJ605Q–/article?mid=273
Aga suka,
You made amazingly delicious looking pancake without egg!
I would like to taste it. : )
I’m korean, but i dont know how to make very much korean food :(
Thank you for starting your website! Now i can start cooking what i never learned from my mom.
And my american husband will love it!
Thanks unni!
candice,
I would like to encourage you to cook a lot. Cooking is fun! : )
Thank you!
Maangchi,
I’ve tried your “jeon” recipe and it was wonderful. It reminded me of my stay in Korea. Als your recipies on chabchae and bibimbab worked out wonderful. I’ve ordered some more ingredients throught the internet to prepare Kimchi. Thanks to share your delicious knowledge.
Kurt - Belgium
Kurt Van Vlaenderen
Congratulation!
You have already made jobchae (stir fry noodles with vegetable) and bibimbap! These 3 dishes take some time to cook, but you made it! You must be good at cooking.
I am sure your kimchi will turn out well too.
I just made this! It is so yummy! I don’t think i layered it thinly enough in the pan, so its not that crispy. Still good. Thank you!
Resa
Thanks for letting me know about your pancake making,
Practice makes perfect! : )
Would it be ok to put kimchi in it as well?
Chidori,
yes, you can use chopped kimchi to make kimchi pancake.
My husband loved this!!
Thank you so much for your recipes! My husband and I met in Korea and just adored the food, which is hard to find where we live. I was at the point where I would have killed someone for good cucumber kimchi when I found your site! Thank you, thank you. I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow. Also, I have never seen a recipe for the chive pancakes that looked like it would work, so I’m excited to try yours tomorrow!
안녕하세요 망씨~~~ I try your reciepe for 해물파전 but I when I put ½ cup of flour, 2/3 cup of water, it seems to be not enough flour and too much water… I don’t know maybe I’m wrong because I have other mesure in switzerland and I’m not used to cups… but when you said 2/3cup of water is it 2 time 1/3cup?!? it’s the only cup I have here and just ½ cup of flour or 1 and a half cup?!? I will try again tonight anyway it turn out good but not like the I ate in summer when I was in korea…
감사합니다 언니~~^^
Catherine,
I use the mixture of flour and water to help ingredients stick together. If the mixture is thick, I won’t be able to put that amount of ingredients. Anyway, if it’s too watery for you, modify the recipe according to your taste. You can use less water and less ingredients.
Practice makes perfect! : )
I just ate the 1st buchujeon I made and it turned out perfect!!! I even did the flip… haha I was so nervous.
I didn’t have the Asian chives so I used 3 cups of green onions and 1/2 cup of regular chives (plus the zucchini and chili pepper) and it was sooooo delicious.
Your tips on spreading them thin, smashing them with the spatula and making more than one for a smaller pan helped alot. (I made 3 pancakes from the recipe.) The batter is thinner than what alot of people are used to for a “pancake” batter. The consistency was more like a crepe batter so it makes a thinner, more delicate, & less “bready” pancake. Yummy!!! Thanks for teaching me!
pho50,
Congratulation on your successful flip!
I hope everybody reads your tips for this pancake.
Very smart! : )
I make this recipe all the time ever since I saw you on youtube. It’s simply wonderful. Thanks for helping me expand my everyday recipe book. You are so adorable to watch - such a delightful, fresh personality!
Janet,
Thank you very much! Your comment is very encouraging!
Hi Maangchi,
I recommended your website to my dad and he made this recipe! Also, I sent a link to your website to a radio show I like about food. Check it out, it’s pretty interesting.
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/gf
Maya,
It’s very interesting website. I bookmarked it, too.
Thank you very much!
maangchi? isnt that korean for hammer? I asked my mom how to make korean food and she’s not very specific (like you said, koreans dont measure anything). I’m getting the hang of not measuring but I rather make food I’ll eat! thanks alot. I live in New york City too!
gaesong,
yes, maangchi is hammer in korean. : )I hope I can see you in my next meet up event.
hello! i love your recipes! do you have a bindaeduk recipe? (mung bean pancake?)
Allison,
sure, bindaedduk is one of upcoming recipes requested by others, too. Thank you.
hi 망치,im trying this instant mix.. for pancake cj.co.kr brand? can u advise me how much water to mix ratio to use? or if i should add anything else? im also going to try this recipe. how to make it
해몰파전?
마리,
I have never used the flour mix, but I think 2 cups of flour mix and 1.5 cup of water will be ok. Anyway leave your question on the forum http://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/general-discussion You may get better answer from others.
Are you interested in making seafood green onion pancake? Someday I am going to post the recipe.
Check my another vegetable pancake here
http://www.maangchi.com/recipes/ya-chae-jeon
hi mangchi it lok like ah hammer “mangchi” right,, by the way because of your many upload dishes, its great to know how to cook korean food, actualy right now im working here in korea, when i use to eat on our canteen i was wondering how to cook this vegetable pancake,, and so suddenly i saw it on your site and wath it woww your the great chef…. anyonggggggg
망치, thank you for the suggestion :) i will try that. and also the other recipe. yes, id be interested in seafood green onion pancake im looking forward to ur posting in the future :D
Hi Maanchi! I’m so happy I found your site. Today, I made Jeon. I used what I had in my house, so that meant no chives, but green onion and spinach and squid and crab stick - oh! and spelt flour. I have bad news though. Since I don’t have a non-stick pan, I chose a stainless steel frying pan rather than my trusted cast iron skillet, and ended up with mush, which I then transferred to the cast iron pan and fried again to make a crispy pancake. In the end, it was very tasty…. I hope my posting will help other people not make the same mistake I did.
Once a month my friends and I get together to make a whole bunch of food we can freeze and eat throughout the following month, and I’m thinking mini jeon! Do you think they would freeze well?
Rhonda,
Thank you for sharing your experience about cooking jeon. : )
Yes, you can freeze it!
Maangchi씨, you mentioned pepper in the video at around 1:18, what kind of pepper is that and where can I get it?
Do I use any special kind of flour?
정함,
check my ingredient blog here,
http://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/chili-peppers
I said flour which means usual all purpose flour.
네 알겠어요! 망치씨, 가르쳐 주셔서 감사합니다. 저녁을 맛있게 부추전을 요리할래요!
Please correct me if my Korean is not up to standard. I started learning Korean 2 years ago but it is still not up to standard. It was only recently after watching your videos that I took an interest in Korean cooking.
This recipe is great! I have a question on the sauce in which you eat this with..how do I make it? Thanks
maangchi, cooking this buchujeon was a complete failure. I think I added too much water but I was sure I did follow your instruction of 1/2 cup of flour and 2/3 of water….haiz…
정함,
oh, I wish I could help you cook perfect buchu jeon!
Don’t give up. Practice makes perfect. You already seem to know what you are supposed to do next time you make it. : )
Lexi,
Mix 2 tbs soy sauce and 1 tbs vinegar! Thanks,
maangchi, this is the first time I post but I have been a fans of you! I have tried making Bibimbap, Soon Du Bu, Yugechang, kimchi, and buchujeon! and I am looking forward to try more of your recipe! I love it now our family enjoy our weekend using your menu =) Thank you thank you thank you!!! You are sooo awesome!
however for buchujeon, i have still not succeed, it s very soggy and it did not even movable on the pan. it was a complete failure for me too =(
Does using electric heat make a different result compared to using gas for cooking it?
I will try again next time though =) thanks Maangchi =)
melsamom,
wow, it sounds like you are already good at Korean cooking! Your buchujeon is soggy and didn’t move on the pan? hmm, the mixture of flour and water may be too watery. Put more flour or use less water so that the mixture is going to be thicker.
To make your pancake crispier, add oil more generously and use your spatula to lift the edge of your pancake so that vegetable oil can reach the center. Press the pancake slightly with your spatula.
Don’t forget to use a non-stick pan,
Let me know how your new try turns out.
we made the same mistake and realized you can’t use american flour(bleached) you have to use the korean wheat flour. we discovered how much chewier and crispier it is!
dear christina, wow thanks for that information! yes I checked again and I did use the bleached american flour! no wonder why i fail miserably!
dear maangchi, I tried your recipe one more time using all purpose flour and indeed it turns out great!!!! thankssss!!! *HUGSSS!!!*
Fantastic Recipe!! I love to watch your cooking for years and your buchujeon and kaktookee were my home’s favorites.
Thank you for sharing.
(Buchujeon was my first dinner in Seoul… that made me thinking about you)
^-^
Araya,
oh, yeah? : ) Thank you very much!
Hi Maangchi,
Even though my soondubu turned out great, my vegetable jeon was pretty much a failure. I followed the recipe exactly, but it turned out too soggy. I don’t know if the flour that I have is the bleached kind or all-purpose kind. I should have read all the comments before trying. I’m going to try again using the Korean pancake mix this time. Wish me luck!
gabieolie,
If the jeon is too soggy, I suggest adding more flour in the mixture.
I’m copying and pasting my reply made for someone else on this page.
“To make your pancake crispier, add oil more generously and use your spatula to lift the edge of your pancake so that vegetable oil can reach the center. Press the pancake slightly with your spatula.”
I use all purpose flour. Good luck with making vegetable jeon!
Maangchi, thank you for this amazing site. I’ve been working with your videos for the last month now, and it’s been a great experience. I don’t feel so intimidated about cooking Korean food anymore, and that’s huge for me! Thank you for giving me the confidence to try it! I tried this recepe, and got a tad excited and put some kimchi in there that made it too salty. Next time, I’ll omit the kimchi, or if I do use it I will omit the ts of salt. Thank you again Maangchi for all of us Koreans that only know how to cook western foods. You’re amazing!
Wow, I’m so happy to hear that! Especially the part where you say “I don’t feel so intimidated about cooking Korean food anymore..” makes me feel terrific!
Made my first jeon last night and they were delicious. I used my usual Organic Unbleached All Purpose flour (American lol) and it was just fine. I am not sure what Christina and Melsamom are referring to about having to use Korean wheat flour. The bleaching process does make gluten more available in the flour as well as making it appear whiter, so maybe the gluten could be a factor in crisping? At the market I forgot to buy green onions so I used extra zucchini to compensate. Also used a little cayenne pepper for subtle heat as we can’t eat very spicy food. It was great with the dipping sauce!
Don’t do what I did for the first pancake, though, which is add too much oil. The prevented me from flipping it safely and successfully - hot oil would have gone all over! The second time the pancake and flip was perfect.
Melsamom, the electric burner should not make a difference as long as your pan was properly preheated. The major differences are response to heat change. When you adjust the flame on a gas burner it responds very quickly and the opposite is true for electric. A trick I saw once is to have two burners going so that if you are doing something more delicate you can switch back and forth from a low burner to a med-high burner. And just as in cooking meat, you must leave the food alone for a time for it to release itself from the pan. So in Maangchi’s recipe the 80% cooking on the one side aids in release. You can also slide a spatula under the cripsy pancake to help it release then shake it before flipping to make sure it has released.
Hope this helps!
Thank you, Dominique! You are a very smart cook!
Ah, I was trying to figure out why the link to the recipe + video wasn’t working… it’s linking back to this page. I think it should be this one, though: http://www.maangchi.com/recipes/ya-chae-jeon
안녕하세요 Maangchi,
I am Brazilian and live with my Korean husband in Korea. This site is wonderful for me because now I know several cooking traditional food that my husband likes and soon I will get my husband parents here in Korea (theys lives in Bolivia) and hope to please these wonderful dishes.
감사합니다.
I’m glad to hear that you like my recipes! Keep checking my updated recipes and make a lot of delicious Korean dishes!