Inspired by last week’s jeon mention as well as the scallions in my fridge that are quickly losing transforming from freshly crisp to nasty and soggy, I’m going to make savory scallion pancakes, or pajeon.
It’s easy and great for cleaning out the fridge of whatever you got.
Ingredients
Batter:
1/2 cup of flour or Korean pancake mix
1/2 cup water
Optional: ~1 tbsp. doenjang (fermented bean paste), ~1 tsp. sugar
Veggies:
A bunch of scallions
Any neutral oil
Other things you can add: kimchi, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, ground meat, seafood, potatoes, etc.
Sauce:
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
A little bit of sugar or honey
Optional chopped scallions, onions, or peppers
A sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds
Directions
1 - Wash and dry your scallions/veggies. Cut them into ~5-inch long pieces.
2 - Mix up your batter — the flour and the water.
If you want to get fancy with it, you can add doenjang and sugar for extra flavor. But if you’re lazy, just add flour and water. If you’re even lazier, you can find premade Korean pancake mix at the Asian grocery store that has a combination of flour and starches for extra crispiness.
Pro tip: colder = crispier. Throw a couple ice cubes in the batter if you have them.
3 - Heat up a non-stick pan and add oil.
4 - Line the long pieces of scallion in a row across the pan and let them cook for a minute, then pour the batter evenly over the scallions.
Pat it down with a spatula to make sure it’s even and flat. If you want it thinner, you can push the liquid off to the side and flatten it out. If you want, tou can flatten this out to the point where it’s practically a scallion chip.
5 - Once it’s crispy and brown underneath, give it a flip. Add some more oil to the side and lift up the pancake to let it get under.
I did the whole wrist-action pan-flip with no spatula for the first time today. Proud. You just gotta go for it.
6 - Mix up the ingredients for the sauce.
7 - Transfer to a plate, pour a glass of makgeolli and enjoy.
Remember how I said I did the whole wrist-action pan-flip? I got too cocky.
Still good.
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