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.
Thanh Nguyen
Good recipeson asian foods
Christie Lai
Thank you so much!
T
This was so straightforward to prep and make and very tasty. Thanks for the recipe.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe! So glad you enjoyed it!
Yjchoi
Excellent my parents in their 80s love this and I appreciate the minimal ingredients and no egg needed!
Christie Lai
So glad to hear that your parents enjoyed it! Thank you for making my recipe and for this kind review!
Nj
I like how you add different ingredients in the batter because some Korean bloggers didn’t but you did. Your version is yummier I think.
Thank you.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and for sharing your positive experience with us! So glad you enjoyed it!
RBS
Delicious! Will definitely make again.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe! Glad you enjoyed it!
Ken Huggins
Tasty and simple. New staple recipe
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe! Glad you enjoyed it!
suzanne
This was so easy to make and was delicious. I didn't have enough of the scallions (only 1/2 c.), so I substituted sliced onions and chives (both cut 1 1/2 in.) Used cornstarch, as I didn't have potato starch. Next time I will make sure to have enough scallions, but it still turned perfectly. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Suzanne! I am so glad it worked out well and happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Miranda
I made this recipe twice already. I tried with potato starch the first time, and corn starch the second time. Both turned out soggy, not crispy. What went wrong? Please advise, thx.
Christie Lai
There are several possible reasons for this:
1) the green onions were not dried off with paper towel and went into the batter wet
2) the pan wasn't hot enough before the batter went in - different stove tops have different heat settings unfortunately so feel free to raise the heat
3) the batter wasn't evenly spread across the pan - the ideal thickness of the pancake should be 0.75 cm thick
4) not enough oil was used, feel free to add more
5) swirling the pancake around in the oil helps to make it crispy
6) not pressing the pancake down with a spatula so the heat can really sear the pancake.
Also try transferring the cooked pancake to a wired rack or a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil as this will make anything crispy soggy.
Hope this helps!
Katie
I’m really excited to try this out! What do you suggest serving these with for a dinner?
Christie Lai
Thanks so much! I suggest serving these with other Korean side dishes or even with any Korean BBQ meats like bulgogi or Jeyuk Bokkeum. Some Korean sides include: Korean cucumber salad, Korean beansprout salad, Korean braised potatoes, Japchae, Gyeran Mari, or Korean corn cheese.
Hope this helps! Enjoy!
miriam
can you make these in advance and freeze? Then how would you reheat...I hate to use more oil.
Christie Lai
Yes, you can make these in advance and freeze them in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months or until you see freezer burn. To reheat, you can reheat in a pan on the stove top until crispy again or air fry at 350 F for 5-6 minutes or until hot.
Coco
Hi! This recipe looks delicious. I live in a place where it’s difficult to find scallions at the grocery store. What are some options of veggies I can substitute instead? Thanks so much in advance!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for the kind words! I would suggest substituting green onions with garlic chives, normal onions, carrots, or red bell peppers. Hope this helps!
kris
super easy and tasty! thank youuu
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for the kind review! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Judith
I really like this recipe. However, even though I follow all of the instructions, the pancakes come out salty. Should I eliminate the 1/2 teaspoon of salt since I have already added a 1/2 teaspoon of chicken bouillon? How do I eliminate the saltiness? Please and thank you.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for the positive review! The pancakes should come out salty but if you prefer it less salty, remove the salt completely or reduce the amount by half.
Trisha Gupta
It’s easy and I jazzed mine up with sliced mushrooms and chopped up pre-cooked prawns. What I would feedback - I’d probably put half the amount of baking powder in? It leaves a very specific kind of bitterness otherwise. Second time I’ve made this, so I think next time I’ll try just half of the baking powder
Jo
This looks delicious, but can you recommend an alternative dipping sauce because I’m allergic to soy and sesame. Thank you!
Christie Lai
Thanks for inquiring! For the dipping sauce, feel free to replace the soy sauce with a soy-less soy sauce like coconut aminos and omit the sesame but replace with chili oil or a neutral oil of your choice.
David Stackable
I made this with gluton free flour and it's is amazing. Thank you.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for the kind review, David! So glad it worked out well with gluten-free flour. Appreciate you sharing your experience so others who are gluten-free can also enjoy my recipe 🙂
Trisha E Pierce
Delicious, quick and easy lunch. I added some finely grated carrot too.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and for leaving a kind review, Trisha! I love the addition of the carrots and glad you enjoyed it.