Korean Pancake: Pahjun, Pa Jun, Pajeon?!

crispy on the outside

Whatever the correct name for these guys is, there’s absolutely no question that they are mind-boggingly delicious!  They’re kind of like the okonomiyaki I wrote about a while back, but they rely on scallions as their base and contain more batter than their Japanese counterpart…therefore being more like pancakes rather than pizza.  They are just as customizable and you can just about make them any way you want.  Since Dan mentioned that the version he’s used to contains seafood, I decided to make mine with shrimp and cabbage, combining the NYTimes version of the recipe as well as David Lebovitz’s.  I didn’t go out of my way to buy rice flour, which is supposed to make the pancakes lighter, but think that the all-purpose flour accomplished this and made them perfectly moist (I also used seltzer water to fluff up the batter).  My online research gave me the impression that using a pre-made dry mix results in pancakes with an even better consistency.  While I’m completely satisfied with the final result, I sure will be on the lookout for some to see if such a thing is possible. 

stir frying filling

Korean Pancake

adapted from the NYTimes and David Lebovitz

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (125ml) ice-cold seltzer water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 bunch of scallions, chopped green parts only
• 1 Tb soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped cabbage (I actually used cole slaw mix here with red and green cabbage and carrots)
• 1/2 cup cooked shrimp, chopped

Dipping sauce

• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• pinch of  sugar
• splash of sesame oil (optional)
• red pepper flakes 

1) Mix flour, seltzer water, and salt. 

2) Heat vegetable oil in non-stick skillet on med-high heat.  Cook scallions until soft.  Add soy sauce to season. 

3)  Add cabbage and shrimp to the pan and toss with the scallions.  Cook just enough to warm up. 

4)  Add beaten egg to flour, seltzer, salt mix to create the batter. 

5)  Add the cabbage, shrimp, scallion mix to the batter in order to evenly coat. 

6) Pour batter back onto non-stick skillet (more vegetable oil can be added and heated on med-high heat before adding batter) and cook till browned and crispy on the bottom, about 2 minutes. 

7)  Flip the pancake by sliding it onto a plate, placing another plate on top, flipping, and next sliding it back onto skillet (which may need more oil).

8 ) Cook another 2 minutes till bottom is browned again. 

9)  For dipping sauce: combine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, red pepper flakes.  Serve with sauce while still warm. 

can make one large, or several smaller pancakes

moist on the inside