I can take no credit for this creation, despite how pretty it looks, because Dave was the chef. This is a very classic recipe for pajeon (Korean savoury pancake) which is adapted from a recipe in my current favourite cookbook Our Korean Kitchen. Jeon – or pancake – is a popular dish in Korea and I’ve tried it two ways – as haemul pajeon (seafood pancake) and as kimchi jeon (kimchi pancake).
Serves 2 as a snack or 1 as a main:
Ingredients:
Pancake:
- 2 eggs
- 100g plain flour
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 5 spring onions
- Fresh sliced red chilli – as much or little as you want
- 2 fat garlic cloves
- Salt
Dipping sauce:
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed or finely diced
Method:
- In a bowl, mix the flour, one beaten egg, sesame oil, 1/4 tsp salt and the garlic.
- Slowly whisk in 150ml cold water into the bowl until you have a runny batter (the book suggests the consistency of pouring cream).
- Place a 22cm frying pan on the heat with a drizzle of oil and when hot, ladle two-thirds of the batter in. Making sure the batter is evenly spread, lay the spring onions down into the mix and scatter with the chilli.
- Drizzle the rest of the batter on top of the spring onions so that they are encased in the middle of the pancake.
- Cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes on both sides until crispy and golden all over.
So – there you have it, a basic Korean savoury pancake recipe. You could play around and add some different ingredients to it – adding prawns would make it a classic seafood pancake. Or you could add other vegetables, kimchi or even (not strictly authentic) strips of cooked chicken.
When cooked, slice it into squares and eat with the dipping sauce. You could also use sweet chilli or sriracha to dip but I prefer the salty tang of the soy sauce.
If you like this, why not try a few more of my Korean inspired recipes?
I've never heard of anything like this before, it looks like something I would really enjoy eating! 🙂
Wow, these look amazing – love the vegetables 'hidden' inside the pancakes, what an awesome idea.
What a gorgeous idea… I particularly like the idea of the dipping sauce and would probably add some marinated tofu for my veggie husband. Yummity yum!
Oh my, that looks so good. Weirdly I have the book, but it seemed very meat orientated, so I've not actually used it. Will have to look again now.
Yes, Korean food is very fish / meat oriented and even seemingly veggie things often have fish sauce in them. Lots of meaty things in this book!
Yep, the dipping sauce is a must, this is meant as a snack or communal food 🙂
Thanks Jemma – you'll have to give it a try! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
And I reckon you could experiment with these and add things like mushrooms. Hidden veggies! Good for kids and fussy other halves.. 😉
I had never seen a recipe like this, it has intrigued me, sounds tasty!
Lots of my fave flavours in there. Loving this Gingey. MAKE IT MEEEEE when I come visit please. I was a Korean feast x
Just pinned this- it looks amazing.
Ooh thanks Helen 🙂