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
- Clean, wash, and drain a handful of wild green onions (or about 10 stalks of normal green onion).
- Cut them into 5 inch long pieces.
- 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.
- Place a non-stick pan on the stove and heat it up.
- Add about 3 tbs vegetable oil to the heated pan.
- Put the green onion on the pan parallel to each other, in the shape of a rectangle.
- 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. - While the pancake is being cooked, keep patting it, pressing it slightly, and keeping it in a nice shape with your spatula.
- A few minutes later, when the bottom of the pancake turns crispy and golden brown, turn it over.
- Cook a few more minutes until the bottom of the pancake turns crispy and golden brown again, and flip it or turn it over.
- Cook another minute and transfer it to a serving plate.
- 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.
I just tried making this tonight for my sister and I! I made a double batch of batter, just in case I messed up. Turns out that was a good decision on my part because the first one turned out awful and I had to scrap it. But the second one turned out FANTASTIC. The sauce was delicious, too. I didn’t get to take any pictures because we kind of ate it all in 2 seconds…
You learned so fast how to make crispy pancake! Smart!
Hi, Maangchi! I’m having trouble with steps 7 and 8. When I pour the batter the green onion/seafood scatter to the edges plus I have trouble flipping it. The pancake just kinda falls apart. What am I doing wrong and how can I fix it? Thanks!!
The batter must be too thin. How about adding a little more flour to the batter.
I made these green onion pancakes using the thicker, store-bought green onions. I sliced them into thinner strips so they would be easier to chew when I make them. I also used salt instead of soy bean paste but it was still very delicious! I had this pancake and the delicious sauce with kimchi soup for dinner. Thank you, Maangchi, and I will definitely make this again!
p.s. I love all of your recipes and have tried many!
Thank you for sharing your modifications of this recipe! Sounds great!
I have a question about the doenjang soybean paste, is it okay if I use the Japanese white soybean paste?
yes, you can use it in this recipe. Good luck!
HI I love all your recipes and my son loves green onion pancakes with leek kimchi we bought…my question is WHICH soybean paste? There are several I know of and only 2 that I have…the dark brown ( used in soups etc) and chili pepper paste or Gochugang ( which we always have) do you mean one of these or the light brown soybean paste ( cant remember name , but I don’t have any handy)..Thank you and I hope you will respond quickly! Love everything you make!
Hi Stacy,
Here is the soybean paste you need: https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/doenjang
I love this!! It’s so yummy! I was never much of a fan of green onions, but man Koreans know how to use these! So good!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you maangchi!
Great great! Happy cooking! : )
Hi Maangchi! Thank you for posting these recipes with videos, and for making Korean cuisine something that everyone can try at home. I didn’t grow up learning to cook Korean food, so I usually go to Korean restaurants in my area. Learning to cook Korean, however, gives you more of an appreciation for the complexity of ingredients and balance of flavor characteristic of Korean cuisine. I love your website! Keep up the great work!
Awesome! Welcome to my website! Happy cooking!
Oh I love this recipe. This year, summer in Germany is soo rainy and cold, so I decided to make my own Makgeolli wich is just wonderful with Pajeon. Pajeon and Makgeolli on a rainy day. Just awesome :)
Thank you really much! :)
I love all of your vegetable pancake recipes! They are really great to make in the summer, when there are fresh vegetables everywhere. I forgot to add sugar into the batter but the onion tasted so sweet I didn’t even notice it. :) Your wild green onions are so cute!
I must be doing something wrong.. ;T__T Every time I make this, no matter how long on how low of a heat I cook it, the batter never cooks fully. Instead, it just absorbs a ton of oil and becomes gross …
” it just absorbs a ton of oil ..” I suspect your stove is not hot enough.
Can I check if any kinds of floor is possible?
Yes, use all purpose flour.
I absolutely love this recipe! It makes really crispy pancakes. I add abt 1/2tspn of baking soda to the flour mixture to make it more crispy. I don’t have doenjang at home so I used miso instead. Once I replaced it with soy sauce as my friend was vegetarian and it worked out really well. It’s definitely best eaten hot and crispy! When I have the chance, I shall try adding seafood to the pancake!
Hi Maangchi, thank you for the receipe. I have just successfully completed cooking my pajeon – one round with green onions and another round with puchu…and both taste just as good! My husband is coming home now, guess he will be my best food taster because he is a korean!
Maangchi,
If I dont have soybean paste, what can I use to replace it and where can I get it? Thanks!
You can skip soybean paste if it’s not available. Use soy sauce or salt.
hi maangchi! i recently found your website and i love it. i can’t have gluten and was wondering if rice flour would be a good substitute for all purpose flour for this recipe. thank you!
Maangchi, My daughter introduced me to your web site. I am so glad that she did. I will really enjoy it.
I would like to add to your recipe —- fine chopped up jalepeno ( if any one liked a little spicy food)
Hey, nice meeting you! Happy cooking!