Haemul Pajeon (Korean seafood and spring onion pancake)
Crisp-edged Korean seafood pancake studded with spring onions — golden, savoury and perfect with a tangy soy dipping sauce.
Haemul pajeon is the salty-savoury Korean seafood pancake that turns a handful of prawns and squid into something gloriously crisp and shareable. It’s brilliant for weekend feasts, casual midweek supper or as a party starter.
The trick is a light batter (sparkling water helps) and a hot frying pan so you get a shatteringly crisp edge with soft, juicy seafood inside. Serve straight from the pan with a punchy soy dipping sauce.
Ingredients
- 150 g plain flour
- 50 g rice flour — adds light crispness — do not substitute with more plain flour without flavour change
- 25 g cornflour
- 5 ml fine salt
- 5 ml black pepper
- 2 eggs — large
- 200 ml sparkling water — very cold — helps a lighter batter
- 60 ml vegetable oil — for frying
- 400 g mixed seafood — cleaned (e.g. squid, prawns, small scallops), roughly chopped to bite-sized pieces
- 6 spring onions — trimmed and sliced into 7–8cm lengths
- 2 cloves garlic — finely minced
- 40 ml light soy sauce — for dipping sauce
- 15 ml rice vinegar — for dipping sauce
- 5 ml toasted sesame oil — for dipping sauce
- 5 g caster sugar — for dipping sauce
- 15 ml toasted sesame seeds — for dipping sauce and garnish
- 5 ml dried chilli flakes — or to taste, for dipping sauce
Instructions
Prepare the seafood: if whole, clean and trim then cut into roughly 2–3cm pieces so they cook evenly. Pat dry on kitchen paper and set aside.
Trim the spring onions and slice into 7–8cm lengths. Finely mince the garlic and keep to one side.
Make the batter: whisk plain flour, rice flour, cornflour, fine salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Crack in the eggs, then pour in the very cold sparkling water and whisk until you have a loose, slightly thick but runny batter (it should coat the back of a spoon).
Fold the chopped seafood, spring onions and minced garlic into the batter until evenly coated. Do not overmix.
Cover the bowl and rest the batter in the fridge for 30 minutes to hydrate the flours and let flavours meld.
Make the dipping sauce: combine light soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, caster sugar, toasted sesame seeds and dried chilli flakes in a small bowl. Finely slice a little of one spring onion and stir in. Taste and adjust sharpness with extra vinegar or sugar.
Heat a large frying pan over a medium hob setting until hot, then add about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Pour half the batter into the pan and quickly spread to an even circle about 20–22cm across (it will be loose). Reduce heat slightly if the oil is smoking.
Cook the first side until the edges are crisp and the underside is golden — about 5 minutes. Use a spatula to check colour.
Flip carefully and cook the other side for about 4 minutes until cooked through and golden. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain while you cook the second pancake.
Repeat steps 7–9 with the remaining batter, adding a little more oil to the pan if needed to keep pancakes crisp.
Slice the pancakes into wedges and serve immediately with the dipping sauce. Scatter extra toasted sesame seeds if you like.
Tips
- Use very cold sparkling water straight from the fridge — it gives lift to the batter and a lighter texture.
- Pat seafood dry on kitchen paper before folding into the batter; moisture is the enemy of crispness.
- Keep the pan hot between pancakes and wipe or re-oil it lightly if the previous pancake left residue.
- Cook in two thinner pancakes rather than one very thick one — thinner cooks through more reliably and crisps better.
- Make the dipping sauce a little ahead; flavours develop while the batter rests.
Substitutions
rice flour → potato starch, same quantity
Stays closeplain flour → gluten-free plain flour blend, same quantity
Noticeably differentmixed seafood → 200g prawns + 200g squid, cleaned and chopped
Stays closesparkling water → very cold still water, same quantity
Noticeably different
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 485
- Calories
- 28 g
- Protein
- 46 g
- Carbs
- 21 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 750 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I use frozen seafood?
Yes — thaw completely, drain well and pat dry on kitchen paper before using. Any extra water will stop the batter from crisping.
How do I keep the pancake crisp if I need to make ahead?
You can fry and keep on a wire rack in a warm oven at 100°C fan/120°C conventional for up to 20 minutes, but best eaten immediately for maximum crispness.
Can I make this gluten-free?
Use a gluten-free plain flour blend plus potato starch instead of rice flour; texture will be slightly different but still tasty.
How can I tell the pancake is cooked through?
The edges should be crisp and the centre set. Seafood pieces should be opaque and firm — if in doubt cook a little longer on a lower heat.
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