south koreaTheSpiceOdysseyJuly 25, 2021

Haemul Pajeon

south koreaTheSpiceOdysseyJuly 25, 2021

Starting off the next series — South Korea with one of our favorite savory snacks Haemul Pajeon. This is a savory egg-based pancake made with assortments of seafood, a lot of green scallions and peppers.

Pa means scallion, and jeon means battered and pan-fried. Jeon can be made with ingredients such as fish, meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetable, and be served as an appetizer, a banchan (side dish), or an anju (food served and eaten with drinks). The most popular variation is made with seafood (haemul), hence the name haemul pajeon.

When it comes to seafood, you could add any single one of your preference or a combination of them — shrimp, crab, calamari, clam, mussels, oysters, baby octopus, the options are endless! I always have shrimp, squid and imitation crab in the freezer so I can whip up this snack in no time.

Jump To Recipe

Stay Up To Date

History

Traditionally these savory pancakes were cooked on the lid of a Gamasot, a big cast-iron pot used to steam rice. Once cooked you tear the pancake with your chopsticks and dip the pieces into a light soy sauce mixture. Of course, as is traditional in Korea, the pancake is also served with some side dishes otherwise known as banchan.

It is also typically served with makgeolli —milky rice wine . Makgeolli is a drink with humble beginnings, created by poor farmers who were servants to Korean nobility, called “yangban” The yangban drank clear filtered rice wine (similar to Japanese sake), but the farmers drank the raw (unrefined) rice wine.

The custom of enjoying pajeon and makgeolli together in the rain came from Korea’s agricultural history. On rainy days farmers couldn’t work in the fields, so wondered how to spend their time. An inexpensive snack with a homemade drink and each other’s company seemed like a perfect solution.

Part of the thinking was, that on rainy days people may tend to be a little more “blue” than usual. The carbs from the pajeon and a little alcohol can be a good pick-me-up. Another Korean tradition says that the raindrops sound similar to the sound of pajeon grilling in the pan.

Source

Buchimgae vs Jeon

There are two types of savory Korean pancakes - Buchimgae and Jeon, and their names are used interchangeably. But what differentiates them from each other is their cooking techniques. For buchimgae, all ingredients are mixed in a large mixing bowl and then they are scooped out with a ladle, then pan-fried. For jeon, the ingredients are individually coated with the flour mixture, then placed onto the skillet separately, maximizing the flavor and texture of the individual ingredients.

Types of Pajeon

There are three types of Pajeon. The difference between them are the base ingredients in the batter.

Pajeon - pancake batter made of Buchimgaru
Dongnae Pajeon - batter made of sweet rice and glutinous rice flour
Nokdu Pajeon - mung bean batter also known as bindaetteok. Lol who remembers that episode about Umma’s bindaetteok being the best from Kim’s Convenience?

Hello, World!

Recipe — Haemul Pajeon

Serves: 2

Traditionally Haemul Pajeon is served with a soy bean based sauce whereas Dongnae Pajeon is served with gochujang (red pepper paste) based sauce. I like both so I am sharing their recipes. But to be honest with you, pajeon is so delicious on it’s own, it hardly ever needs a dipping sauce. The best way to prepare this dish is to make the sauces first, then prepare all the ingredients and finally pan-frying the fritter.

Also, haemul pajeon is often paired with makgeolli (Korean milky rice wine) in Korean culture. I wasn’t able to grab some but you should totally get makgeolli next time you’re at your local Korean market. Koreans also have an unspoken tradition that when it rains outside, you should just stay home and enjoy some pajeon and makgeolli. Just like the West has pizza and beer, South-Asians have fried food and chai, Koreans have pajeon and makgeolli.

Recommended Cookware and Utensils

Recommended Pantry Ingredients

Two Types of Dipping Sauce

Spicy + Sweet Sauce | Chogochujang

Gochujang - 1 tbsp
Rice Wine - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 1 clove
Honey - 1 tbsp
Sesame Oil - 2 tsp

Whisk everything in a bowl and set aside

Sour Soy Sauce | Cho Ganjang

Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Water - 1 tbsp
Sugar - ½ tsp
Sesame Seeds - ½ tsp
Green Onion - 1 tbsp, sliced

Whisk everything in a bowl and set aside.

Prepping the Raw Ingredients

Mixed Seafood - 6 oz, chopped
Kosher Salt - 1/2 tsp
Ground Black Pepper - 1/4 tsp

Use any seafood combination of your choice. I used shrimp, squid, imitation crab meat and clam. If the seafood mix are frozen, thaw them in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

Wash the seafood well then drain excess water. Pat them dry with paper towel - Wet ingredients will make pajeon soggy.

Combine the chopped seafood, kosher alt and ground black pepper in a small bowl. Mix it well and set aside.

Green Onions | Scallions - 12

Trim the roots and top of the green onions. Wash them really well making sure there is no dirt, drain excess water, again use paper towel to blot them dry. Cut the scallions in half crosswise. Cut the white part of the scallions lengthwise if thick.

Red Long Hot Pepper or Fresno Pepper - 1

Remove the pith, clean and slice the peppers.

If you can’t find any of the red peppers I mentioned above, you can use bell pepper or any other mild red hot pepper, unless you want it spicy then you can add Thai red chilies too, but please in moderation. The highlight of this dish is the green onions and seafood, we do not want the hotness of the pepper to take away from the dish, tis just a mere garnish.

Egg - 1

Whisk the egg in a small mixing jug or bowl (preferably one with a spout), then set aside.

Making the Batter

Water - 1 cup
Hondashi - 1 tsp

Bring the water to a boil. Add the hondashi and whisk until dissolved. Set it aside and let the stock cool down

Buchimgaru (Korean Pancake Mix) or Tempura Batter Mix - 3/4 cup
Corn Starch - 1/4 cup
Kosher Salt - 1/2 tsp

Combine the pancake mix or the tempura mix, corn starch, dashi stock, and salt in a large bowl. Mix with a whisk until smooth. You may add more flour mix or stock until you reach a single cream consistency.

Note

If you can’t find dashi stock, you could use chicken stock, vegetable stock or just good ol’ filtered water.
If you can’t find Korean Pancake mix or Tempura batter mix, you could also do 3/4 cup AP flour + 1/4 cup corn starch. The pancake/batter mix just makes the pajeon nice and crispy so I highly recommend it.
Make sure the mixing bowl is wide enough to drench the green onions.

Frying the Pancake

Vegetable Oil - 4 tbsp

Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large (10 or 12 inch) cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and swirl to coat evenly.
Note: You may use a non-stick or stainless steel skillet or frying pan, but I love the char and the crispness of the pancake from the cast iron. Besides, traditionally pajeon was made on the lid of a big cast iron pot. Also if you don’t have a wide skillet, you may split the ingredients to make two smaller pancakes instead of one large pancake.
Now we are going to drench the green onion and then the seafood in the pancake batter we made earlier.
First the green onions. Add the green onions to the batter to coat them. Using tongs or your hand, place them side by side in the skillet, alternating white end to green end, so they form a neat rectangle.
Then the seafood mix. Add the seafood to the leftover batter in the bowl. Using your hands or tongs, spread the battered seafood on top of the battered green onions frying in the skillet. Scrape out any excess batter remaining in the bowl.
Add the sliced red pepper in any pattern you like. Then slowly pour the whisked egg in a zig-zag or swirl pattern over the top of the pancake.
Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 6 minutes, until the bottom is light brown and crispy. While cooking, move the pancake in a circular motion from time to time, so the pancake doesn’t get stuck to the pan.
Turn the pancake over with a large spatula. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil around the edges of the skillet. Lift one edge of the pancake with your spatula and tilt the skillet so that the oil flows underneath the pancake. Cook for another 3 minutes until nicely browned and crisp.
Turn the pancake over again. Turn up the heat to medium high heat and cook for 1 minute, until the bottom turns crunchy.
Transfer to a large plate, with the egg and seafood side up. Slice the pancake into bite size pieces. Serve it right with away with the two dipping sauces.

Are you following us on Instagram?

We will be back with another South Korean recipe next week. If there is a particular dish you want me to make, do leave your request in the comment section below. Also we love your feedback so let us know what you think. Bye for now! Annyeonghi Gyeseyo!