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Haemul Pajeon - Korean Seafood Scallion Pancake

Unlike the common, everyday Korean Pajeon (Green Onion Pancake) which is made by just mixing everything together – batter, seafood, vegetables and all – Dongrae/Dongnae Haemul Pajeon is made in several steps or layers which is more work but definitely worth the effort. 

Prep Time
25 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
40 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 233 kcal
Course: Side Dish , Main Course , Appetizer
Cuisine: Korean

Ingredients

  • 7 oz young green onions
  • 2 oz minari or water dropwort or water cress
  • 4 oz small shrimps (frozen is fine)
  • 4 oz bay scallops and/or chopped clams
  • 1/2 C regular flour
  • 3/4 C rice flour
  • 1/4 C sweet rice flour
  • 2 C anchovy stock or water
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 - 2 egg
  • vegetable oil for pan frying
  • 3 oz ground beef
Seasoning for Beef
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp plum syrup
  • 1 tsp mirin or rice wine or sake
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
Cho ganjang - Sour Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • sprinkle of sesame seeds
Cho gochujang - Sweet and Sour Gochujang Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Korean Gochujang (red pepper paste)
  • 1 Tbsp vinegar (rice wine or white) or 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tsp sugar
  • sprinkle of sesame seeds

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Make Chogochujang sauce by mixing gochujang, vinegar, sugar and sesame seeds.
  2. Make Chokanjang sauce by mixing soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and water. Set aside.
  3. Clean green onions and minari. Cut green onions 6 in (15 cm) long or 1/2 of the full length of green onions sold in US. The green onions used for Pajeon should be young and tender - called (shilpa) in Korean. If your green onions are any thicker than 1/2 in (1 cm) then cut it in half or smash the white part with the side of your knife to make it tender.
  4. Cut minari 3 " (7 cm) long. About 1/2 length of your green onions from 3. Reason for cutting minari shorter is because they are quite fibrous and will be too chewy if left too long. Normally, only minari stems are used but these minari are quite young and tender so use the leaves too.
  5. Chop scallops and shrimp roughly into big chunks.
  6. Season ground beef with soy sauce, mirin, maesil syrup or sugar, chopped garlic and sesame oil.
  7. Whisk egg in a small bowl.
  8. In another bowl, make batter by mixing flour + rice flour + sweet rice flour + anchovy stock + salt. Rice flour likes to settle to the bottom so stir it well and be sure to stir right before you use it.
  9. Now we are ready to make the pancake! You should have all the prepared ingredients next to your pan.
  10. Heat a nice thick pan (cast iron is great) on med-high heat. Pour about 2 T oil into pan.
  11. Layer green onions in pan and then minari on top.
  12. Pour batter over green onions and minari. DO NOT try to cover all the green onions with the batter - you will end up adding too much batter. Pancake will taste doughy if you have too much batter. Pour about 2-3 Tbs per pancake - just enough for green onions to hold together.
  13. Quickly (lower heat to med. if you think it's burning) dot the pancake with ground beef + scallops + shrimp. Using your hands works best - just be careful!
  14. Top with 1/3 of whisked egg (pancake on the right). If you like eggs, you can use up to 1 whole egg per pancake.
  15. Turn the pancake over to cook the other side.
  16. Let it cook for another 2 min or so until pancake is nicely browned.

Notes

  • * *Calories do NOT include the gochujang or soy dipping sauce as they are optional.
  • If scallops or shrimps are frozen, thaw them in the fridge for several hours or overnight. Cho Gochujang is the original sauce that goes with Dongrae Pajeon but you can also serve Cho Ganjang sauce for a non-spicy option.
  • This Dongrae Pajeon (Korean Seafood Scallion Pancake) pairs wonderfully with Korean Rice Wine – Makgeolli/Makgeoli/Maguli (막걸리) so give it a try!!
  • Original version includes chopped clams so try that if you like clams
  • Calamari, mussels, oysters are also great additions or substitutions
  • Use 3/4 C flour and 3/4 sweet rice flour to make the batter if you don’t have regular rice flour

Nutrition Information

Calories 233kcal (12%) Carbohydrates 33g (11%) Protein 13g (26%) Fat 4g (6%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Cholesterol 89mg (30%) Sodium 648mg (27%) Potassium 259mg (7%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 1g (2%) Vitamin A 370IU (7%) Vitamin C 7mg (8%) Calcium 60mg (6%) Iron 1.9mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 233

% Daily Value*

Calories 233kcal 12%
Carbohydrates 33g 11%
Protein 13g 26%
Fat 4g 6%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 89mg 30%
Sodium 648mg 27%
Potassium 259mg 6%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 1g 2%
Vitamin A 370IU 7%
Vitamin C 7mg 8%
Calcium 60mg 6%
Iron 1.9mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.