Pajeon is a Korean pancake/omelet made with flour, water, and green onions. Variations may include eggs, shellfish, kimchi, or other vegetables. It’s a popular midday snack or dinner dish, served with dipping sauces and accompaniments like rice or bean curd.
Pajeon is a Korean food that features green onions as the main ingredient. It’s a type of pancake or omelet that, in its simplest form, contains nothing but flour, water, and green onions. Variations on the recipe, however, may include eggs, shellfish, kimchi, or other vegetables. The simple preparation and quick cooking times make the dish very popular as a midday snack or as part of a larger selection of foods during a dinner presentation. When served, pajeon can be accompanied by rice, bean curd, vinegar sauce dips, or it can be sprinkled with minced pork.
The simplest batter for making pajeon is made from flour and water. The water is kept very cold, so it helps the pancake get cooler as it cooks. The flour used can be white flour, rice flour, or buckwheat flour, the latter being used in some areas of South Korea. In some versions of the dish, prepared glutinous rice is also added to the batter to give it more texture.
While not required in every pajeon recipe, an egg can be added to the dish in a number of ways. It can be beaten and whipped into the batter of water and flour, giving more weight and a little more height to the dish. A more traditional method of adding egg in some regions is to pour a beaten egg over the cooked pancake while it’s still in the pan, allowing it to form a single thin layer on top.
Cooking the pajeon starts by adding the ingredients to a hot pan with a little oil. The classic dish uses only green onions that are chopped into chunks or placed side-by-side in one layer in the pan when whole. They are cooked until heated through. Any other ingredients, such as oysters, mussels, kimchi, curds or bean sprouts are added to the pan and left to heat.
The batter is poured over the ingredients in the pan. The heat will cause the pajeon batter to cook, forming a brown crust on the bottom. Once it is almost cooked through, the entire pancake is flipped in the pan and allowed to cook on the other side. When the second side is lightly browned, the dish is ready.
Pancakes can be baked in small single discs or a single large one that is cut into individual slices. Pajeon is usually served with a dipping sauce which can be very hot or a spicy combination of green onions, vinegar and soy sauce. It can also be accompanied by rice or refried bean curd.
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