Pa Jeon (Veggie Pancakes)

My brother's nickname is John and kids in our family would call him "Papa John or simply Pa John." Here in Korea, Papa John is the name of one of the best pizzas here and PaJon or Pa Jeon means vegetable pancake (or savory pancakes). Sorry, John. :)


Pajeon comes in numerous forms. It can be as simple as simply some leeks mixed with batter. Or it can come with lavish ingredients like sliced carrots, onions, mushrooms, zuchinni, etc. Others add seafood like oysters, squid, shrimp, etc. and call it Haemul Pajeon (Seafood Pancake).


Here's how you make Pajeon. Take a cup of korean pancake mix and add two tablespoons of Twikim Mix (Twikim means Tempura Batter).

If you don't have the mixes, simply combine 1 cup flour, 1 egg, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp sugar.


In this Pa Jeon I decided I will add squid. So if you want squid, just have your fish vendor clean, gut it and take out the ink sac and beak. Slice up your squid into 1 inch thin strips.


Now get your Pa, no not your father, but your spring onions. Pa means spring onions in Korean, hence the name Pa Jeon. Get it? Now wash and thoroughly clean your spring onions and cut into 2 inch pieces. I used half of this bundle.



For oomph and color I added half an onion and half a carrot. I julienned these thinly and added to my mix.



Now put everything in a large mixing bowl and dump about a cup and a half of water. If you think your batter is too watery, dump some more pancake powder in. If it is too thick, add a couple of tablespoons of water. Just eyeball it and gauge it. That's how I do it, I don't even bother to measure it out. Mix thoroughly and make sure everything is coated with batter.


Now heat up some oil in a pan, swirling the pan around to let it coat the bottom evenly. When it is nice and hot, add a ladleful of mix and spread it out evenly (using the bottom of your ladle -> I've seen adjumas do this).


When the edges are cooked, flip them over. Cook this side for over a minute and then just slide the pancake onto a plate. Continue cooking your pajeon until you use up all your batter mix. Serve hot with soy sauce as your dipping sauce.


Here's my plate of Pa Jeon. Hope you like my tutorial. Bon apetit!