Korean Pancakes Recipe: How To Make Korean Pancakes

These Korean scallion pancakes recipe is unique by using zucchini and carrot to the Pa Jun or Pajeon vegetable pancake batter. Korean pancakes are also known as Pa Jun. These zucchini pancake fritters are the perfect appetizer or dinner meal idea. Perfectly crisp on outside, but chewy, wonderful texture on the inside of these vegetable Korean pancakes. Soy sauce and scallion are perfect when serving this easy appetizer pancake dish.

Pa Jun Pancakes: How To Make Korean Gluten-Free Vegetable Pancake?

Pajeon is a type of Korean savory pancake, and this article provides tips for making pajeon pancakes from scratch. So why not give it a try? I'm sure you'll enjoy them! The star of the show is obviously the pancake batter, which coats your vegetable ingredients in a crispy and inside chewy layer. To finish the recipe, you'll also need some scallions (or green onions), as they add flavor and texture to the dish.

Korean PaJeon Vegetable Pancake Background

Korean pancakes, Jeon or PaJeon are not only popular in Korea, but also Japan. The Japanese word for these Korean vegetable pancakes is known as Chijimi. The Indonesian vegetable fritter recipe is called Bakwan Sayur. It's not that difficult to make this simple Korean vegetable pancake recipe, you'll actually only need some common ingredients. All of these can be found at most grocery stores, so there's no excuse not to make this delicious dish! It only takes a few simple ingredients like carrot and zucchini to make this dish.

Why the Unique Texture of Korean Pancakes?

Korean pancakes are known for their unique flavorful texture. So, this texture is crispy, yet chewy tender inside the pancake. I have discovered a great way to achieve this texture, while also keeping it gluten-free. I use an all-purpose gluten free flour, such as Bob Red Mill's Gluten-Free all-purpose flour, which has rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, and garbanzo bean flour. The key is the addition of the rice flour, so if you use a regular all-purpose flour, use my recipe variation suggestion below to add in some rice flour.

You can even try using cake flour or a premade pancake batter instead to get a good consistency of the batter, especially if you want to make the sweet variation for breakfast.

What Do You Eat With Pa Jeon Korean Pancake Recipe?

So, I like to simply serve my Korean pancakes with soy sauce and chopped scallions, green onions, and even pickled onions. I also discovered eating them with a sour cream like topping is great. Since I am following a dairy-free diet, I used plain, unflavored coconut yogurt. But try it with sour cream or unflavored Greek yogurt.

Main Dish Recipe Variation - Seafood Korean Pancake Recipe

You can choose to keep this vegetable Korean recipe vegetarian or serve it with beef or seafood.

Sweet Korean Pancakes Variation

I have heard others try this pancake recipe with kimchi, and even make it more of a dessert dish with maple syrup, honey, and chopped nuts. Simply omit the garlic, onion, soy sauce, and scallions.

Korean Vegetable Pa Jeon Pancake Recipe

Serves 3.

15 minutes

Ingredients for Korean Pancake Recipe (Pa Jun or PaJeon Pancake Recipe)

• 1 large zucchini
• ½ onion
• ½ carrot
• 1 clove of garlic
• 8 ounces of water
• 1 ¼ cup gluten-free flour
• Light sesame oil for pan frying
• Salt and pepper

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS FOR SERVING THE PA JUN RECIPE

• soy sauce
• green onions

DIRECTIONS FOR VEGETABLE SCALLION PANCAKE FRITTERS RECIPE

STEP 1

Prepare the pancake batter by mixing flour, water, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

STEP 2

Mix the chopped vegetables with the pancake batter.

STEP 3

Take a spoonful of pancake batter and pan fry in the oil until golden on both sides.

STEP 4

Serve this PaJeon scallion vegetable Korean pancake recipe, while still hot and topped with green onions and soy sauce.

Tips for Storing Korean Savory Pancakes

The Korean savory pancakes can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. If you store them in the refrigerator, they will last for about three days. If you store them in the freezer, they will last for several weeks. Freezer storage tip is to store them with a piece of parchment paper between each vegetable pancake.

Reheating Tips for Vegetable Pancake Fritters

Pajeon are best eaten fresh out of the pan, but they can also be reheated in the microwave in short bursts or heated through in a frying pan. The pancakes can be reheated either through a stovetop, airfrying machine, or on a microwave oven. For best results, I recommend reheating them in a microwave oven. This recipe is for making Korean savory pancakes, but the sweet version is amazing for a quick breakfast idea.

My Pajeon Recipe Making Tips

The best tip is to make sure your oil is hot before adding in your zucchini pancake fritters. Cooking temperatures vary based on your stove calibration and cooking pan used. If the heat is too high, the outside will burn and the inside won't cook properly.

Baking or AirFrying Tips

You can also try lining a baking sheet with parchment paper, then spooning the batter into pancake shapes. Bake in the oven until golden. You can also try out an airfry method. These are great options if you want to avoid pan frying the pancakes.

Watch How to Make Korean Pajeon Pancake Recipe!

This easy to follow video shows you how to make my simple Korean pancakes from scratch.

The ingredients and tools you will need for this recipe are: gluten-free flour, onion, carrots, zucchini, oil of choice, salt, and garlic. You can find the complete list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe above. Serve your Korean pancakes with a soy sauce, and enjoy!

Variations & Substitutes

There are so many possibilities to change up this Korean pancake recipe. So, have fun experimenting with different flavors and ingredients. For instance, if you are not following a vegan diet, you can use one egg and several tablespoons of water to create a denser batter. The egg will increase the protein content a bit, and give it more of a golden color too.

I personally made this with gluten-free flour, but you can easily adapt it for your own needs. Simply swap the gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour instead. I do suggest having a half and half ratio of all purpose flour with rice flour too. This will allow more of that crisp outside and chewy inside texture.

You can also make one big Korean pizza. Instead of making individual pancakes, try cooking the batter as one big Korean pizza shape. Simply add a tiny bit of oil to the pan, pour in the entire Korean pancake batter, cook, and flip over to cook the other side. Slice into individual triangle pizza like slices.

Did You Try My Korean Vegetable Pancakes?

Have you tried making my easy Pa Jeun Korean pancake recipe with scallions yet? What are your favorite toppings for these fluffy Korean pancakes? Have you tried making the sweet version with dessert like toppings? Let me know in the comment section below.

I would also love to hear what you think, or take a photo and tag me @Eat_Your_Nutrition on Instagram. I love seeing your photos. #EatYourNutrition #LauraVillanueva