Pajeon, Korean Kimchi Pancake in Rainy Days
In Korea, it’s common to eat grilled pork belly or Pajeon (Korean green onion pancakes) on rainy days—especially pajeon.
The sizzling sound of pajeon cooking in oil resembles the sound of rain, making you crave it as you listen to the rain.
For this reason, I used to eat pajeon in Korea.
However, as you may know, LA is a place where it rarely rains, so I haven’t had much chance to enjoy pajeon here.
Maybe it’s been too long since I last had it? Even though it wasn’t raining, I suddenly craved that.
So, I decided to make it, and added kimchi to make kimchi pancake (Kimchi Jeon) as well.
Pajeon & Kimchi Jeon Meaning
In Korea, Pajeon(파전) means salty green onion pancake. Pa in Pajeon means green onion, Jeon means pancake.
We have a special flour product to make this pancake so it’s easy to make it with this one. (부침가루:buchim garu)
We sometimes say all the Jeons ‘부침개:Buchim-gae.’ It’s same thing.
How to Make Pajoen & Kimchi Pancake
Ingredients
- Jeon: Cooking oil, green onions, seafoods(frozen shrimp today), buchim garu (Korean frying mix; or flour + salt) / kimchi for kimchi pancake
- Dipping Sauce: NECESSARY — soy sauce, vinegar / OPTION — sugar, chili powder, sesame, sliced peppers
Process
- Cut the green onions into pieces about 4-5 cm long.
Since this is pajeon, green onions are a must! - Thaw the frozen shrimp and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
If you don’t have shrimp, you can leave it out, but the flavor may be a little less rich. You can put some meats instead, but I recommend seafoods such as squid, shrimp, clam for better flavor. We use squid the most.
- Make Batter: In a large bowl, add the green onions and shrimp, then add the buchim garu and water. It’s best to follow the proportions listed on the package.
If you don’t have buchim garu, use flour and add salt to taste.
*Buchim garu is a convenient mix created by food companies specifically for making Korean pancakes.
It contains various seasonings, so as long as you get the consistency right, it’s easy to use.
- (Kimchi Pancake Only) For kimchi Jeon, just add some kimchi to the mix.
- Heat cooking oil in a pan and pour in the pajeon batter.
Once one side is cooked, flip it over to cook the other side until it’s golden and crispy. - For the dipping sauce, mix soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar in a 1:1:1 ratio. If the sauce is too strong, add a little water.
Add chopped chili pepper, chili powder, and sesame seeds for extra flavor. Done!
I recommend enjoying it with makgeolli (Korean rice wine).
Pajeon and makgeolli complement each other perfectly; once you try them together, it’s hard to have one without the other.
It’s likely that once you try it, pajeon will become something you crave every time you hear the sound of rain.
