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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what an awesome flip! you make it look so easy, maangchi… i made kimchi jeon last night but i drank too much so when i tried to flip it, the pancake broke… ><
http://atherosclerosis.blogspot.com/2009/03/kimchi-pancake.html
omg. how’d you do that flip? hahahha.
i’m gonna cook this often now that im alone studying in canada. eating out is too expensive, and i really miss the good korean food at home!
Sa,
I used seafood in this recipe. You don’t like to eat it, then just skip it. It will still be delicious.
Hi Maangchi,
I love your website. I came across your website through google search. I’d like to try this recipe except that I don’t eat meat. Do you have any suggestions on what I should add instead of shrimp?
Erika,
I’m in love with you, too! haha! Yachae jeon can be made with any kind of leftover vegetables. I like to use green onions or Asian chives (buchu in Korean)
Hi Maangchi,
I found your site while looking for korean cooking sites this weekend. I never expected to run into such a comprehensive, fun site filled with all my favorite korean dishes and not only are the recipes included there’s video also!! I am in love with your site, so expect to see me here often ^.^. I can’t wait to try making yachae jeon, it’s always been a little intimidating to me! Once again thanks and I’ll let you the results!
Camilla,
hmm, it will be unusual pancake if you add chicken to it. But anyway, try it out. Why not? : )
Hi Maangchi
thanks for all the good recipe for korean food.
can i use chicken insted of seafood for the pancake
love
Aaron,
You need special care for your pan for pancake. It’s very simple! Don’t use the pan for many kinds of different dishes. My pan for pancake is never used for other purpose.
Maangchi,
I’ve been making the pancake successfully for a few weeks and then all of a sudden the mixture has started the stick to my pan. Could it be my pan, which I only bought a few months ago, or could it be my mixture? Ahh prepping the pancake for 20 minutes and then having it turn into a shrinked out pile of mush can be very frustrating albeit not very tasty.
And I did it! I made perfect Jeon- twice and they were good! I didn’t use seafood as I did not have any, so I used some leftover roast chicken. Thank you for the recipe and video!
Today I made bimbimbap from your recipe but without the special dried veg as I cannot find it here. It is delicious. :D
Ju,
Thank you, I am sure you will make the most delicious vegetable pancake sooner or later. : )
I tried this tonight, it was good but it had a slight squidgy centre, so next time I think I will put less veg, I think I was over generous with the veg! :)
Next time it will be perfect and crispy all the way with no squidgy centre!
I love this blog, recipe and the videos! I only wished I had a better Korean shop around for ingredients.
Keep up the good work and do add more recipes and videos, Maangchi! :)
You can flip now! Congratulation!
I finally did the pancakes complete with the flip and it tasted great. Thanks Maangchi. Now i’m more confident with my flip = )
this i can’t wait to try. i’ve viewed this video more than 5 times and i still get awed everytime you do the flip. in fact i’m practicing the flip using a pot holder. i hope when i do the real thing, i can catch it.
Oatmeal lover,
Thank you very much for your nice comment!
Can you leave the information about the grocery store “Where do you buy your Korean ingredients?” in Forum section? It will be big help for those who are looking for Korean grocery stores in your area.
Hi Maangchi
You safe my life in a small town. Before I found your teaching VDO clips, I drove 2.5 hours to Nashville where is the closest Korean restaurant. Now I cook Korean dishes myself!!! I watch your website every morning before cooking my lunch and then again in the afternoon before cooking dinner. I’m your true big fan!! Thank for your great works.
jessica,
The sauce is made by mixing 1 tbs soy sauce and 1/2 tbs vinegar.
for the pancake what kinda sauce is it?
james,
We must be sitting at the computer at the same time!
Your expression “inner han guk”(korean spirit) makes me emotional. Thank you!!
aww! yeah, i miss my mom a lot, and when i do i cook something that reminds me of her. when i go visit her, in el paso, tx, she alway give me tons of bulgogi, chapchae, jeon, mandu, and kalbi to take home with me. i live in austin, tx. i’ll have a freezer full of good food for weeks.
over the years, i’ve taught myself how to make many of my favorite korean foods, mostly from memory, now from food blogs like yours, or i just call mom and ask, “how do i make this . . . ?”
like you, i love to cook. i’m half korean and i don’t speak korean, so for me cooking korean helps me to express my inner hanguk.
p.s. it also give me a way to impress my friends with my culinary skills.
james,
oh, you are missing your mom! So do I! : )
yeah, certain food makes me remember my favorite people,too.
My mother living in LA called me yesterday to say she was missing me badly while she was eating some raw fish with sauce with my other siblings. She knows I love raw fish! Your mom must be not only a very generous person but also a good cook!
i made kimchi jeon the past couple nights. growing up we’d called them korean pancakes, all my friends loved them. some would even come over and beg my mom to make them. so she would and give them a 1/2 dozen wrapped up to take home with them. they actually freeze really well, all you have to do is defrost then reheat them in a pan.
my mom also made them with fresh soy milk that she’d have left over from making a soy milk noodle dish.
oh the wonderful food memories your site brings back!
HI Maangchi,
I just found this website a week ago, and i must say i really enjoy it. I tried your jeon recipe and all went excellent. I made jeon twice this week but one time i made my own by using shrreded carrots and black sesame seeds. I thought it was delicious. Im goign to the korean mart next week called h-mart to pickup some stuff and also for some cucumber kimchi. I have truly become such a fan!!. Keep posting recipes we all enjoy them.
Hi, Maangchi,
Made the jeon today for the first time. You would’ve been very impressed with my flip! I made mine a medium-sized jeon and they flipped perfectly! I still need to practice with the batter. I felt like mine needed to be a little more crispy. It seemed a little too wet on the inside, but it was still good. We ate it all!
Thanks.
Lidna
Truc,
I’m sure they used either food coloring or egg york.
Some of my Korean friends use the pancake mix because it’s very easy to use.
You can add any starch powder(potato, sweet potato, mung bean) which makes your pancake more crispy.
I used only plain flour in this recipe, but sometimes I mix starch powder and even sweet rice powder.
Hi Maangchi,
I have a couple of questions. I’m from London, I went to a Korean restaurant yesterday for lunch, the pancake they made was delicious and crispy and it had a very yellow colour all over. How did they do this? food colouring or korean pancake mix?
Second question, what is so special about the korean pancake mix? I read the ingredients and it has mung bean starch. Nothing to say it gives the yellow colour?
Thanks for a wonderful website.
Truc
ym, i just bought some korean pancake mix!
Keith,
Thank you for your support. I can cook, so can u! : )
Maangchi,
Yes, you can call me the “flip guy” I went from restaurants many years ago to healthcare. Now I cook because I love it. I learn something new each time I visit your website. Talk you you soon.
lol,
Keith, the flip guy
Keith,
lol, you are saying yourself as “flip guy”. : )
Oh, I did not know you used to work at a restaurant. I hope many people read your interesing instruction.
Hi Maangchi,
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip back home.
Yes, I am the flip guy for the vegetable pancakes. When I worked in a restaurant many years ago we would have new cooks practice flipping eggs with a piece of bread instead of eggs until they get the motion. The same principle holds for the vegetable pancake. It is very important to have the right type pan and also once the mixture settles to move it in the pan.
These pancakes are great and I make them all the time with different ingredients, depending on what I have in the fridge.
Thanks again for a great website and for sharing both your knowledge and your culture. UR the best!
Take care,
Keith
Christine,
Thank you for your interest in my reicpes.
I will give you tips for vegetable pancake.
Use your spatular to lift the edge of your pancake so that vegetable oil can reach the center, and
press the pancake slightly with your spatula. That’s the way of cooking the center part of pancake.
Keith,
You are the person who practiced flip with a piece of bread on a pan, right?
You are king of flip now! lol