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Green onion pancake

Pajeon 파전

Ever since I blogged about a pancake I made with wild green onions I picked in Central Park, many people expressed interest in the recipe through my blog, email, and Facebook page.

So I decided to take another field trip to pick more wild green onions and mugwort to make video recipes with the ingredients. I still have one more video to post from Mexico, but I’ll post it later. In the spring these wild vegetables are soft and tender. Soon they will get tough, and anybody who wants to pick them wild shouldn’t do it too late in the season. My next video will be a soup and snack made with wild grown mugwort. Then the last video that I filmed in Mexico will be released.

You could use green onions from a grocery store for this recipe.

Ingredients (for 1 rectangular pancake about 6×7 inches)

Green onions, flour, water, soybean paste, sugar, and vegetable oil.

Directions

  1. Clean, wash, and drain a handful of wild green onions (or about 10 stalks of normal green onion).
  2. Cut them into 5 inch long pieces.
  3. Make batter by mixing ½ cup flour, ½ cup water, 1 ts soybean paste, and ½ ts sugar in a bowl. Mix well until the batter is smooth.
  4. Place a non-stick pan on the stove and heat it up.
  5. Add about 3 tbs vegetable oil to the heated pan.
  6. Put the green onion on the pan parallel to each other, in the shape of a rectangle.
  7. Pour the batter over the green onion evenly.
    *tip: If you want some seafood (chopped squid, mussels or  fresh oysters) in your pancake add it on top of the green onion before pouring the batter.
  8. While the pancake is being cooked, keep patting it, pressing it slightly, and keeping it in a nice shape with your spatula.
  9. A few minutes later, when the bottom of the pancake turns crispy and golden brown, turn it over.
  10. Cook a few more minutes until the bottom of the pancake turns crispy and golden brown again, and flip it or turn it over.
  11. Cook another minute and transfer it to a serving plate.
  12. Serve hot with sauce.

Sauce:
Mix these ingredients in a small bowl:
2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs vinegar, 1 ts sugar or honey, chopped onion, chopped green or red chili peppers, and 1 ts roasted toasted sesame seeds.

Posted on Wednesday, March 30th, 2011 at 9:58 pm. Last updated on July 29, 2021.
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71 Comments:

  1. Calineczka Poland joined 4/18 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 21st, 2018 at 3:03 pm | or create a profile.

    Hello, Maangchi-nim! I made my very first pajeon just a few minutes ago and I’m just so excited I wanted to share this picture with you! It was crunchy and tasty, thanks for the recipe!


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  2. SamanthaL56 Hawaii joined 4/18 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 18th, 2018 at 6:17 pm | or create a profile.

    I tried the recipe because I love Korean pancakes and Korean cuisine! Needless to say, I was very excited to cook and taste the green onion pancakes. It was delicious with the sauce- I did use a small hawaiian chili pepper, and honey instead of sugar as suggested. It inspired me to make my own version of green onion pancakes that I will likely post on my Youtube channel.
    Also, in the photo, I mixed the green onions in after placing them in a row the first time. I liked the way it turned out that way as well! :D All the best, Maangchi! -Samantha L., Youtube: Samantha’s Music Renditions


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  3. MUCOUS SE GEORGIA joined 4/18 & has 3 comments
    Posted April 17th, 2018 at 6:00 pm | or create a profile.

    tried this twice because i realized i messed up on the preparation and cooking. my first attempt, i used regular sized scallions, sliced thinly but to length(they curled up after rinsing), 1/2 CUP sugar, not 1/2 teaspoon(it caramelized in the batter), NOT a non-stick pan with not enough cooking oil….. which is why the first batch came out terribly.

    the second batch i did after re-watching the video, using EXACTLY the same sized wild onions(farmer’s market), the correct amount of sugar, the correct pan and the correct amount of cooking oil. I also added ‘salad’ sized shrimp.

    it was wonderful. very simple. very tasty. it’s a keeper.

  4. CARoppel Florida USA joined 1/18 & has 1 comment
    Posted January 21st, 2018 at 3:08 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi! Love your blog and your You Tube videos. I also have your book :)
    Can you please tell me what is the best flour to use when making Pajeon? Should I order Korean pancake batter/mix on-line (I don’t have a market near me)?
    Thanks so much!
    -Christy

  5. deeherxwb Minneapolis, MN joined 11/17 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 15th, 2017 at 12:38 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi, I look to your recipes for all of my Korean inspired dishes! I have an allergy and try to make pajeon gluten-free, but struggle with making them crunchy. :(

    Do you have any recommendations? I like to keep dishes authentic as much as possible.

    Thanks,
    Dee

  6. CrispyBottom71 Germany joined 7/17 & has 1 comment
    Posted July 10th, 2017 at 12:31 pm | or create a profile.

    Hello Maangchi, I’m a 14 years old kid from Germany! I’m interested in Korean food and I love your recipes soo much, they are amazing. :D I made pajeon several times, but the pajeon today were actually better than the other attempts! This time it was really crispy and delicious! I didn’t have soybean paste, so I used a bit salt. My previous ones were either burnt or not crispy…haha. Lots of love from Germany!


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  7. littlemissdia Makati City, Philippines joined 5/17 & has 1 comment
    Posted May 23rd, 2017 at 7:27 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi! I’ve been an avid fan of uours and been trying out most of your side dishes! Too bad I didn’t take photos of ’em so now, I managed to snap a pic before we finish all the green onion pancakes. I love your blogs and your Youtube channel. Our cuisine is much different from yours however, my sister and I prepare Korean food in an almost everyday basis. And your blog has been our guide. Bless you!


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  8. K.Spyte Boston joined 11/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 16th, 2016 at 8:20 pm | or create a profile.

    These are just how I remember from Korea – thank you for this delicious recipe! They turned out so good, we didn’t even have time to take a picture! My boyfriend was skeptical, and said “those aren’t scallion pancakes…” But didn’t have much to say after he tried a bite ;-)

  9. chamelean75 United States joined 10/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted October 16th, 2016 at 2:16 pm | or create a profile.

    What type of vinegar do you use for the sauce? Is it rice vinegar or white vinegar or another type? Does it matter?

  10. rick0305 Malaysia joined 3/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted March 17th, 2016 at 9:34 pm | or create a profile.

    Can i replace soybean paste with other ingredient??

  11. Sara Alice joined 7/15 & has 8 comments
    Posted August 19th, 2015 at 1:48 am | or create a profile.

    I actually made two big seafood green onion pancakes. The ingredients are a bit different but it came out so good, very tasty!!! I also used unbleached all purpose flour, so the coloring may look off and I forgot to take a picture of the sauce, oh well, happy cooking!!!


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  12. lifeasadaisy United States joined 12/14 & has 1 comment
    Posted December 7th, 2014 at 9:40 am | or create a profile.

    Due to food sensitivities and allergies, I am not sure what I can substitute for some ingredients in your recipes. I can’t have things made from soy and wheat. This also includes things like sou sauce but at least with soy sauce I can replace with coconut aminos. The flour in the recipe I can replace with an alternative floor like coconut, arrowroot, almond or rice but the soybean paste I’m not so sure of. Any suggestions? I think maybe a challenge for you could be to come up with alternatives for some ingredients so they are allergy free like instead of soy sauce use coconut aminos.

    • tweewin USA joined 8/11 & has 10 comments
      Posted January 27th, 2015 at 11:15 pm | or create a profile.

      I didn’t have bean paste. Only used 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of water, flax seeds, and a bit of sugar. Came out perfect. You don’t have to follow the recipe to the exact T to get pajeon to be correct. Just make sure you use non-stick pan and oil when pan frying it. =)

    • Boganis joined 6/15 & has 1 comment
      Posted June 4th, 2015 at 11:37 pm | or create a profile.

      Use rice flour, in place of your wheat flour, it is a true traditional Korean pancake ingredient plus it will make the outside of your pancake crispier. In place of soy sauce use Vietnamese fish sauce, both of these options are both authentic and should help you avoid your soy and wheat allergies.

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