By Korean Food Promotion Institute
This classic Korean pancake — haemul pajeon — combines the fresh brininess of seafood with the bite of green onions in a light, crispy batter. It’s a staple dish for rainy days in Korea and pairs perfectly with makgeolli (Korean rice wine) or your favorite cold drink. This recipe brings authentic flavor and technique to your kitchen, whether you’re new to Korean cooking or looking to master a favorite.
Ingredients
- 10 green onion
- 45 grams Korean chives
- 120 grams clam meat
- 120 grams oysters
- 120 grams calimari
- Vegetable oil as needed
- Batter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups water
- 3 eggs
- ½ tablespoon salt
- Soy sauce vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
Preparation
Cut the green onions and Korean chives into 15-20-cm long pieces.
Wash the clam meat and oysters to remove sand, shaking in lightly salted water. Drain in a colander.
Cut the oysters into quarters.
If the squid is whole, lay it on a cutting board. Pull the body and the tentacles apart. Cut the tentacles off just in front of the eyes. Discard the eyes, viscera, ink sac and backbone (small cartilage piece). Remove the skin from the meat. Wash the cavity of the body well to remove any sand. Cut the body open and lay it out flat, inside up. Once whole squid is prepared, or using pre-prepared squid, slice the body thinly into 3-cm long pieces and cut the tentacles into 3-cm long pieces.
In a bowl, combine the flour, water and an egg. Whisk them till a batter forms, and there are no lumps. Add pinch of salt to taste.
In a small bowl, beat two eggs well.
In another small bowl, combine all the ingredients of choganjang and mix well.
Cooking
In a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet, heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Dip a quarter of green onions and Korean chives into the batter. Lift them out of the batter and spread the vegetables on a skillet side by side into a square shape. Spread a quarter of the clams, oysters and squid on top of the pancake.
Cover with a lid until the batter is cooked half way. Remove the cover and pour a quarter of the beaten eggs on top. When the bottom turns to brown, turn the pancake over carefully with a grill spatula. Pan-fry both sides until it is crispy and golden brown.
Repeat above methods and make 3 more pancakes.
Cut them into bite-size pieces and serve with choganjang.
Tip
For a crispier haemul-pajeon, use a prepackaged savory pancake mix or prepackaged frying mix instead of flour or rice flour. Parboil the seafood before mixing it to remove the moisture from the pajeon.
Serve 4.
yoohong@heraldcorp.com
