Korean Seafood Pancake (Haemul Pajeon). A crispy savory Korean pancake with seafood and green onions! A tasty appetizer, snack or side dish that will keep you salivating for more. Made easy in 20 minutes with simple ingredients!
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This seafood pancake ('Haemul Pajeon' in Korean) is a popular savory pancake in South Korea and it's made of a simple batter featuring shrimp, squid, green onions.
The crispy texture makes it one of my favorite appetizers or side dishes to order at the Korean restaurant. The taste of the tender seafood pairs so well with the crispy exterior that I knew I had to develop my own recipe.
I love enjoying this dish with a cold fizzy drink. In Korean cuisine, it's common for to enjoy this pancake with a nice cold beer!
If you're not a fan of seafood pancake, check out my easy 15-minute Korean scallion pancake recipe!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils with a low smoke point.
Pancake Batter
- Green onions
- Jumbo shrimp: get the easy peel and pre-deveined kind to make things easier!
- Raw squid rings (aka calamari rings): or substitute with lobster, octopus, mussels, clams, or scallops
- All-Purpose Flour: if you're gluten-free, substitute with a gluten-free baking flour.
- Potato starch: or substitute with cornstarch
- Baking powder: to help the pancake become extra crispy
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Chicken Bouillon Powder: to give the pancake more depth of flavor. If you're gluten-free, omit or replace with a gluten-free version.
- Salt
- Very cold water: avoid using room temperature or warm water
Dipping sauce
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- Rice vinegar: or substitute with white vinegar
- Sesame oil
- Green onions
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
Expert Tips
- Dry green onions and seafood very well with paper towels to remove any excess moisture or this can lead to a soggy pancake.
- Use a large non-stick pan so the pancake doesn't stick.
- Don’t skimp on the oil! Enough oil is needed for a crispy pancake.
- Make sure to swirl the oil in the pan before adding in the batter to create a golden crust.
- Once the pancake has formed a crust swirl it in the oil a few times to create an even golden color.
- Make sure the pancake forms a solid crust before flipping over or it will break apart!
- Slight charring on the onions is recommended for extra flavor!
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Korean seafood pancake:
Prepare green onions and seafood
First wash green onions to remove any dirt. Individually dry them with paper towel to remove excess moisture. Trim off the roots and split the green onions down the middle so the thick white part is split into half. Chop them into 2 inch long pieces and set aside.
Then pat dry the squid rings and peeled shrimp with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Place them into a large bowl.
Make pancake batter
Next in a large bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, potato starch, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken bouillon powder and salt.
Then add chopped green onions, shrimp, squid rings and cold water to the large mixing bowl. Mix together just until combined but do not over mix.
Fry batter
Heat a large non-stick pan (about 12 inches wide) over medium-high heat and pour in 2.5 tablespoon of vegetable oil or any neutral oil. Once the oil is hot, swirl the oil around in the pan and pour in the batter. Evenly spread it across the pan with chopsticks or spatula. Scrape out remaining batter with a spatula and pour it over the pancake filling in any holes. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly so it fills in the gaps.
Reduce to medium heat and fry until the bottom is crispy golden brown and the onions are slightly charred with small holes forming all over the pancake, about 5-7 minutes. Swirl the pancake every now and then so the oil coats the pancake evenly for a golden brown color.
Slice pancake
Then flip pancake over. Pour remaining oil around the edges of the pancake. Swirl the pancake in the oil to prevent it from sticking. Fry until the other side is golden brown and the onions are a bit charred, another 4-5 minutes. Press the pancake down a few times with the spatula to make the pancake crispy.
Slide the pancake onto a cutting board and slice with a sharp knife into small squares or wedges and transfer to a large serving plate.
Make dipping sauce
In a small bowl, combine dipping sauce ingredients and serve with the pancake.
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: air fry at 350 F for 4-5 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer-friendly? Korean seafood pancake can be stored in a freezer friendly bag and frozen up to 1 month. To reheat, defrost it and reheat on the stovetop in a pan.
Pairing Suggestions
Korean seafood pancake serves well with other Korean-style dishes like Korean cucumber salad, beansprout salad, zucchini fritters, sundubu jjigae and more!
FAQ
I wouldn't recommend it as the pancake tends to go soggy with time and the seafood (especially if you use shrimp) won't taste as fresh.
Sure, but just make sure the protein is thinly sliced and pre-cooked as other types of protein, specifically meat, will take a longer time to cook through.
I wouldn't recommend it as the batter is runny and will slip through the grates.
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📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Korean Seafood Pancake (Haemul Pajeon)
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Pancake Batter:
- 2 cups green onions
- 8 pieces jumbo shrimp peeled & deveined
- ⅓ cup squid rings or substitute with lobster, octopus, mussels, clams or scallops
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp potato starch or cornstarch
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup water very cold
Dipping sauce:
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar or white vinegar
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon green onion finely chopped
Instructions
- Wash green onions to remove any dirt. Individually dry them with paper towel to remove excess moisture. Trim off the roots and split the green onions down the middle so the thick white part is split into half. Chop them into 2 inch long pieces and set aside. You should have 2 cups of firmly packed green onions.
- Pat dry the squid rings and peeled shrimp with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, potato starch, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken bouillon powder and salt. Then add chopped green onions, shrimp, squid rings and cold water. Mix together just until combined but do not over mix.
- Heat a large non-stick pan (about 12 inches wide) over medium-high heat and pour in 2.5 tablespoon of vegetable oil or any neutral oil. Once the oil is hot, swirl the oil around in the pan and pour in the batter. Evenly spread the batter across the pan with chopsticks or spatula. Scrape out remaining batter with a spatula and pour it over the pancake filling in any holes. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly so it fills in the gaps.
- Reduce to medium heat and fry until the bottom is crispy golden brown and the onions are slightly charred with small holes forming all over the pancake, about 5-7 minutes. Swirl the pancake every now and then so the oil coats the pancake evenly for a golden brown color.
- Flip pancake over. Pour remaining oil around the edges of the pancake. Swirl the pancake in the oil to prevent it from sticking. Fry until the other side is golden brown and the onions are a bit charred, another 4-5 minutes. Press the pancake down a few times with the spatula to make the pancake crispy.
- Slide the large pancake onto a cutting board and slice with a sharp knife into small squares or wedges and transfer to a large serving plate.
- In a small bowl, combine dipping sauce ingredients and serve with pancake.
Lisa
I still haven’t mastered the flip, but this pancake is still delicious!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe! So glad you enjoyed it and with practice I know you'll nail that flip!
Bob
Delicious
Christie Lai
Excellent! Thanks for making it!
Millie
Omg this was so good! I’ve always wanted to make this at home but could never find the right recipe and this is it.
Christie Lai
So glad you liked it! Thank you so much for making it.
Trish
I tried this recipe, followed it to the T and came out perfectly!!😍 thanks for the tips on keeping the seafood and scallions dry before folding in the batter! The family loved it and it was gone in a snap!😅🥰
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe! I'm so happy to hear that my tips were helpful and very glad to hear the family loved it!
Stella Au
I devoured this pancake so fast. My eyes were rolling back and I was levitating- I have tried many other Korean pancake recipes and this one definitely takes the cake. I read the reviews afterwards and apparently there's supposed to be an egg added in this recipe.....needless to say it was scrumdiddlylicious without one
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making and sharing this very kind review, Stella! You turned my day upside right! The original recipe contained an egg but after re-developing this recipe, I decided to omit it as it makes the pancake less crispy. I'm so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
JOSE G DUMLAO JR
Yes, I did
Kathy Tom
Hello may I ask when we should add the eggs? Thank you kindly.
Christie Lai
Hi Kathy, thanks so much for flagging this! I've corrected the recipe card to reflect when to add it in 🙂 I hope you enjoy my recipe!
Kristin
It was soooooo yummy!!!! Definitely will be a common dish in our house now. Thank you!
christieathome
This is music to my ears! Thank you so much for your kind comment 🙂 Have a lovely day Kristin!
Cherie
I made for lunch. Loved it. the crispness was great. When I made batter it was thin with seafood but thickened during cooking process. No probs I will make again until I per-fect it. 🙂
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and for sharing that note with me! It may help to add a tiny bit more cold water to loosen it if it's too thick. I also find that the batter will thicken if it's over mixed due to the activation of gluten, so if possible, avoid over mixing. Hope this helps!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
So much flavor in so little time... YUM! I am loving these savory pancakes, and those amazing tiger shrimp you added!!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
I've never had haemul pajeon, but I would love to try it! The crispy edges and seafood on top look delicious!
Tara
Omg 😆 I’m in heaven ! I’ve paid $10 in a restaurant to eat these and this version was fast , easy , quite cheap to make and tasty 😋 yum .
Are we supposed to add an egg ?
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe and for the kind review, Tara! I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂 No egg is needed as I find eggs make the pancake less crispy.