Yachaejeon is a crispy, healthy, delicious, and simple Korean vegetable pancake with lots of flavor and plenty of room for variation.
I introduced this recipe to you in 2007 when I first started YouTube, but it wasn’t exactly yachaejeon because I used seafood. The video is here if you’re interested to see it. This time let’s make a real yachaejeon!
We’ll use a couple different kinds of vegetables and you can add your own, too. I didn’t use perilla leaves (kkaenip) or asian chives (buchu) this time, but they work well in yachaejeon.
Vegetable options
You can use almost any vegetables you have on hand, such as thinly sliced cabbage, carrots, or bell peppers. Slice them into thin, narrow strips so they cook quickly and evenly. I don’t recommend cucumber because its high water content can make the pancake soggy.
In Korea, mothers and grandmothers make yachaejeon for their families all the time. It is one of the easiest Korean dishes to make and something almost everyone can enjoy. I made it often for my own family, too. Sometimes I invited friends from the neighborhood over, and we enjoyed it together. When I was growing up, if the weekend was cloudy or rainy and my mother started making yachaejeon in the kitchen, the whole family became excited. The ingredients were easy to find, and sometimes she used only one or two vegetables and still made a wonderful snack. It was inexpensive, too, because there were always a few vegetables in the refrigerator.
Once she mixed the batter and ladled it into a hot, sizzling oiled skillet, the delicious aroma filled the house and made us eager to eat. When she brought the finished pancake to the table on a large plate, hot and crispy, it tasted almost indescribably good. Outside the rain was falling, while inside our home felt warm and cozy with the wonderful aroma of the pancake cooking.
Ingredients
Serves 2.
Makes one large 12-inch pancake.
Cooking time: about 12 minutes.
About 2½ to 3 cups of sliced vegetables:
- 4 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
- ⅓ cup leek (optional), thinly sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 3 ounces zucchini matchsticks (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 green chili pepper (or jalapeño), optional, sliced
- 3 ounces onion, sliced
- ⅓ cup sweet potato
- 1 fresh mushroom (white, baby portobello, or shiitake)
Also, for the pancake:
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup water
- vegetable oil
For the dipping sauce:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru), optional
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Directions
Make dipping sauce:
- Combine soy sauce, vinegar, hot pepper flakes (if using), and sesame seeds in a bowl and mix it well with a spoon. Transfer it to a small bowl. Set aside.
Make batter:
- Combine green onions, leek (if using), zucchini, green chili pepper (if using), onion, and sweet potato in a bowl. Add flour, salt, and ¾ cup water. Mix it well with a wooden spoon.
Make a pancake:
- Heat up a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. I use my 12-inch non-stick skillet to make one big pancake, but if your skillet is small, you can work in batches to make smaller ones.
- Add about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and swirl it around to coat the skillet evenly. Add the batter to the skillet and spread it out evenly.
- Turn down the heat to medium and put the sliced mushroom on top. Gently press them in with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the bottom turns crunchy and light golden brown. Grab the handle of the skillet and twirl it around so the pancake moves and is cooked evenly underneath.
- Flip the pancake over.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil along the edges of the pancake. Lift up one edge with your spatula and tilt the skillet so the oil flows underneath the pancake.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until both sides turn light golden brown, occasionally pressing down with the spatula.
- Flip it over one more time and cook another 2 minutes.
Tips for a crispy pancake
Use a generous amount of vegetable oil and cook over medium-high heat. If the edges are crispy but the center is not, lift one side with a spatula and tilt the skillet so the oil flows underneath and reaches the center. If the heat is too low, the vegetables will release water and the pancake won’t become crisp.
Serve:
- Transfer it to a large plate and serve right away with the dipping sauce.
How to reheat leftovers
Refrigerate leftover yachaejeon. To reheat, warm a skillet over medium heat, add a little vegetable oil, and cook the pancake until it is hot and crispy again.
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Had many types of vege in refrigerator and inspired by your vegetables pancake. It’s so easily made and tastes delicious. My baby rejected the salmon rice I made and chose this pancake instead. Made with Malaysian leek, cucumber, carrot, cabbage and mushroom. This recipe is amazing as we can possibly throw in any vegetables we have in the fridge. My house has no kosher salt so I used same amount of bamboo salt, but it’s under-seasoned. Will try to add more salt if I use the same salt next round. Will definitely make this again. Thank you Maangchi
You made this gorgeous pancake so thin and used very little oil! You’re right, Korean vegetable pancakes can be made with any vegetables you have on hand. I’ve never used cucumber before, but you mentioned adding it to this pancake, which is very interesting. Keep making and enjoying delicious Korean dishes!