Pajeon. A savory, crispy pancake made of green onions served with a delicious dipping sauce. A simple and easy Korean scallion pancake recipe using minimal ingredients, ready in 15 minutes!
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What is Pajeon?
Pajeon (pronounced as "pa jun" in Korean) is a popular Korean green onion pancake that is crispy on the outside with a chewy texture. The batter is made of simple pantry ingredients with scallions being the main ingredient!
You'll find these savory Korean pancakes served at many Korean restaurants as a main dish, starter, appetizer, side dish or snack. This Korean food is usually served with a savory tangy dipping sauce in Korean cuisine.
On a fun note, Koreans love to enjoy these green onions pancakes on rainy days with Makgeolli (a Korean milky rice wine). I personally love this Korean dish so much that I always order it!
There is also a variety of Korean pancake from Haemul Pajeon (Korean Seafood Pancake) to Kimchi Pancakes (aka Kimchijeon) and more!
After many attempts of making this savory Korean pancake, I finally mastered it. My secret ingredient to making extra crispy pancakes is baking powder! Many Korean recipes don't contain this ingredient and their pajeon recipe lacks that crispy texture that we all love!
Ingredients
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: aka scallions or spring onions. Make sure to use fresh green onions that are dark green in color without any yellowing.
- All-purpose flour: if you're gluten-free substitute with potato starch or cornstarch.
- Potato starch or cornstarch: avoid using tapioca starch or rice flour as these can lead to a stickier pajeon.
- Baking powder: the secret ingredient to making an extra crispy pancake so do not skip this!
- Salt
- Chicken bouillon powder: this is another secret ingredient that gives the pancake that deeper flavor! Trust me on this. If you're vegan, omit completely.
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Very cold water: ideally very cold, almost icy cold 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: for garnishing
Note: Your Asian grocery store will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
Expert Tips
- Wash and clean the green onions very well and dry them off with paper towel. They must be dry or the extra moisture can make the pancake soggy.
- Split the green onions vertically so they’re thin and easier to eat.
- Use a nonstick skillet about 11 to 12-inches wide ideally.
- Use medium-high heat to medium heat adjusting the heat level to prevent the pancake from burning.
- Don’t skimp on the oil and use a generous amount of oil!
- Swirl the oil around the pan before adding the batter.
- Flip when the bottom of the pancake has formed a golden brown crust and there is no runny batter. Do not flip any earlier or the pancake may fall apart when flipping!
How to Make Pajeon
Prepare Onions & Make Batter
Wash green onions to remove any dirt. Pat them very dry with paper towel. Trim off the roots and split the onions down the middle so the thick white part is split into half. Chop them into 1.5 inch long pieces and transfer the green onions into a large bowl.
Add the remaining batter ingredients on top of the green onions and mix until combined. Do not over mix.
Frying the Pancake
Heat a large non-stick pan (about 11 to 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 add only the green onions into the pan with tongs. Evenly and thinly spread green onions across the pan.
Then scrape out the remaining batter with a spatula and pour it over the green onions filling in any holes. You can also swirl the pan or use a spatula to fill in the holes.
Reduce to medium heat and fry until the bottom is crispy golden brown and the onions are slightly charred with small bubbles forming all over the pancake, about 3 minutes.
Once you have a golden brown crust and the batter looks solidified, flip over with a large spatula. Pour remaining oil along the edges of the pan. 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, about 2-3 minutes. Press the pancake down a few times with the spatula to make the pancake crispy.
Slice & Serve with Sauce
Transfer the large pancake to 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 pajeon.
Storage & Reheating
- Leftover pajeon will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- To reheat, reheat in a pan on medium heat with some oil or air fry at 350 degrees F for 5-6 minutes until crispy.
Other recipes you may enjoy!
- Kimchi Potato Pancakes
- Korean Shrimp Leek Pancake
- Enoki Mushroom Pancake
- Korean Tuna Pancakes
📖 Recipe
Easy 15-min. Pajeon (Korean Scallion Pancake)
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Pancake Batter:
- 1 cup green onions packed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup potato starch or cornstarch (do not sub with rice flour or tapioca starch)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup water very cold
Dipping sauce:
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce regular or all-purpose kind
- 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. Pat them very dry with paper towel. Trim off the roots and split the onions down the middle so the thick white part is split into half. Chop them into 1.5 inch long pieces and transfer the green onions into a large bowl.
- Add the remaining batter ingredients on top of the green onions and mix until combined. Do not over mix.
- Heat a large non-stick pan (about 11 to 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 add only the green onions into the pan with tongs. Evenly and thinly spread green onions across the pan. Then scrape out the remaining batter with a spatula and pour it over the green onions filling in any holes. You can also swirl the pan or 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 bubbles forming all over the pancake, about 3 minutes.
- Once you have a golden brown crust and the batter looks solidified, flip over with a large spatula. Pour remaining oil along the edges of the pan. 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, about 2-3 minutes. Press the pancake down a few times with the spatula to make the pancake crispy.
- Transfer the large pancake to 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 pajeon.
Robin S.
We felt like switching up Saturday morning breakfast with something savory. Your scallion pancake recipe was such a hit that they are on the menu for tomorrow as well! Made it in a bit cast iron skillet, and had no problem with the pancake sticking. Plan on keeping the scallions separate from the batter; adding them to the pan; and then pouring in the batter to see if we can make a more symmetrical pancake that way. This morning's first experiment was a bit misshapen, but still tasted ever so nice.
Christie Lai
Amazing! Thank you so much for making my recipe and for leaving this positive review, Robin! I also appreciate you sharing your cooking experience here for others to learn from 🙂
Gillian
Your recipes are excellent keep them coming
Christie Lai
Aww thank you so much for the kind words! Will do!