Recipe: Korean pancakes (pa-jeon)
Since the Korean japchae went so well, I tried making Korean pancakes called pa-jeon too. I generally prefer savory pancakes over sweet ones, so I was really curious if I would like these too. I also wanted to find out how they differ from the Chinese spring onion pancakes. At first, I tried making small ones and after a while, I realized it would be quicker to just make large ones and cut them in smaller pieces afterwards. Keep reading to find out how I made them.
- Optional: if you want, you can also add small pieces of bacon or seafood. In my case, I choose for oysters cut in small pieces.
- The Daesang ChefOne pancake mix didn't have instructions in English and my Korean isn't that good that I can read it, so I just went with some guessing and my gut feeling. I used 500 g of pancake mix, 500 ml of water, and 2 medium sized eggs and mixed them with an egg beater. I think I was supposed to add 800 ml of water but the batter looked too watery already so I didn't want to take the risk of ruining it.
- I poured the batter on a heated frying pan in small circles first and added the ingredients on top. It is quite difficult, because you need to place it on top while it is still wet in order for it to stick and you need it to sink in a bit for the ingredients to not burn too badly.
- After it has browned on both sides, it is ready to eat.
The Korean pancake mix already had seasoning, which was right on the spot (not too salty or too tasteless). I forgot to add salt to the oysters and it still tasted very nice. Compared to Chinese spring onion pancakes, I don't think they are very different. The biggest difference is that with the Chinese pancakes, the spring onions are cut in small pieces and with Korean pancakes, they are cut in small strands. The long strands make you more aware that there are spring onions in them (in the sense that you can see and taste them better) and it adds more texture to the pancakes. No matter what country they come from, spring onion pancakes are my all-time favorite pancakes.
Ingredients:
- Daesang ChefOne pancake mix (1 kg and I only used half of it)
- one pack of enoki mushrooms
- one bunch of spring onions
- one medium size carrot
- optional: 5 large (frozen) oysters
Instructions
- Cut the carrot and spring onions in small strands and cut the ends of the enoki mushrooms. You are not supposed to wash fresh mushrooms, but on the safe side, I always rinse them under running water.- Optional: if you want, you can also add small pieces of bacon or seafood. In my case, I choose for oysters cut in small pieces.
- The Daesang ChefOne pancake mix didn't have instructions in English and my Korean isn't that good that I can read it, so I just went with some guessing and my gut feeling. I used 500 g of pancake mix, 500 ml of water, and 2 medium sized eggs and mixed them with an egg beater. I think I was supposed to add 800 ml of water but the batter looked too watery already so I didn't want to take the risk of ruining it.
- I poured the batter on a heated frying pan in small circles first and added the ingredients on top. It is quite difficult, because you need to place it on top while it is still wet in order for it to stick and you need it to sink in a bit for the ingredients to not burn too badly.
- After it has browned on both sides, it is ready to eat.
Underneath, you can see a picture of a large pancake make this way.
After that, I just decided to mix everything before putting it in the pan (like in the picture underneath).
The result looks a lot better!
What do I think?
The Korean pancake mix already had seasoning, which was right on the spot (not too salty or too tasteless). I forgot to add salt to the oysters and it still tasted very nice. Compared to Chinese spring onion pancakes, I don't think they are very different. The biggest difference is that with the Chinese pancakes, the spring onions are cut in small pieces and with Korean pancakes, they are cut in small strands. The long strands make you more aware that there are spring onions in them (in the sense that you can see and taste them better) and it adds more texture to the pancakes. No matter what country they come from, spring onion pancakes are my all-time favorite pancakes.
