What pajeon is
Pajeon (파전) is a Korean savory pancake made with a thin batter, green onions, and often seafood. The most common form is haemul pajeon (seafood scallion pancake), which adds squid, shrimp, and clams to the green onions.
Korean pajeon is closer to an Italian frittata than an American pancake: thin, crispy at the edges, soft in the middle, eaten with a dipping sauce. Cut into wedges and shared family-style.
Why pajeon is the rainy-day food of Korea
There is a Korean cultural connection between rain and pajeon that has no perfect English equivalent. On rainy days, Korean families eat pajeon. Korean office workers leave work early on rainy afternoons specifically to make or order pajeon.
The theories: the sound of pajeon frying in oil echoes the sound of rain on a window. The bright green onions and the smell of frying batter feel like comfort against a grey sky. Whatever the reason, the pairing is so culturally embedded that “jeon weather” (전 날씨) is a recognized phrase.
The connection to makgeolli
Pajeon is almost always eaten with makgeolli (막걸리), Korea’s milky-white rice wine. The pairing is as ingrained as ham and eggs. The slightly sweet, slightly sour, slightly fizzy makgeolli cuts through the rich oil of the pajeon perfectly.
A rainy Korean afternoon with makgeolli and freshly fried pajeon is one of the small national pleasures.
Mrs. Lee’s pajeon batter (serves 4)
Dry: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup rice flour (optional but improves crispness), 1/2 tsp salt.
Wet: 1 cup ice-cold water, 1 large egg.
Mix the batter just until combined; lumps are fine. Cold water and minimal mixing give a crispier pancake.
Vegetables: 1 large bunch green onions (8-10), cut into 4-inch lengths, with the stalks split lengthwise if thick.
Optional seafood (for haemul pajeon): 6 oz mixed: chopped shrimp, sliced squid, small clams, mussels.
Oil: neutral vegetable oil, plenty of it.
Dipping sauce
Cho-ganjang (초간장): 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp sugar, sliced green onion, 1 sliced red chili. Mix and let sit 10 minutes before serving.
Method
1. Heat a large nonstick skillet (12-inch) over medium-high. Add 3 tbsp oil and let it shimmer.
2. Lay the green onions in the pan, flat side down, in two rows. Pour the batter over them evenly to cover.
3. Scatter the seafood (if using) on top of the batter.
4. Cook 4-5 minutes until the bottom is golden brown and crispy. Slide a spatula underneath; the pancake should release easily.
5. Flip (the tricky part: slide onto a plate, invert pan over the plate, flip back). Add more oil to the pan if it looks dry.
6. Cook another 3-4 minutes on the second side. Press gently with the spatula to crisp the bottom.
7. Cut into wedges, serve immediately with cho-ganjang.
Mrs. Lee’s tips
Use cold water for the batter. The temperature difference between cold batter and hot oil is what creates the crispy edges.
Do not crowd the pan. If you have a small pan, make two smaller pajeon rather than one mushy one.
More oil is better than less. Pajeon is supposed to be crispy; that requires a slick of oil at the surface during cooking.
Variations
Haemul pajeon: with mixed seafood. The classic restaurant version.
Kimchi jeon: with chopped fermented kimchi mixed into the batter. Tangier, spicier.
Pajeon for Chuseok and Seollal: usually a thinner, more delicate version called buchimgae, often part of the holiday table alongside japchae.
Why this dish matters
Pajeon is a small home pleasure. Not a celebration food. Not a daily food. It is a rainy-Saturday-afternoon-with-no-plans food. Korean-Americans who lose their connection to Korean food usually keep this one; it is the dish that requires the fewest ingredients and the simplest technique to make well.
From Mrs. Lee’s kitchen
More of Mrs. Lee Youngsook’s Korean home cooking lives on the Mrs. Lee page and across the recipes index. If a Korean meal is part of a hanbok occasion you are planning, tell Eric the day and we will help dress it.