Haemul pajeon

Haemul pajeon is a Korean savoury pancake made from a thin wheat flour batter with spring onion and mixed seafood, cooked in a flat pan until the edges are crisp.

What it really is

Haemul pajeon is a type of pajeon, the Korean family of flour-batter pancakes, with seafood added to the batter or laid over the top. The classic version uses spring onions cut into long lengths, which are laid in the pan, then covered with a batter of wheat flour, egg and water (often with a little rice flour for crispness). Typical seafood is squid, shrimp, mussels or oysters, and sometimes small whole shellfish, chilli strips and a little green chilli. The batter is poured over the ingredients in a hot oiled pan, and the pancake is cooked until set and browned underneath before being flipped.

It differs from pajeon alone, which is made with spring onion and no seafood, and from kimchi jeon, which uses fermented cabbage. It is also distinct from buchimgae, a thicker fried pancake that is often made with mung bean or other ingredients rather than a thin wheat batter with long-cut spring onion.

How it's served

• Cut into wedges and served hot from the pan as a starter or share dish.
• Eaten with a dipping sauce of soy sauce, vinegar and chilli or gochugaru.
• Commonly served with makgeolli or soju in Korean pojangmacha and bars, especially on rainy days.
• Usually eaten immediately, since the edges lose their crispness as the pancake cools.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the seafood and the base clearly, for example "Haemul pajeon: squid, shrimp, mussel and spring onion pancake".
• Flag wheat, egg and crustaceans, molluscs or fish, depending on the seafood used.
• State whether the pancake is the classic thin version or a thicker style, and whether a dipping sauce is included.
• Indicate spice level if gochugaru or fresh chilli is added to the batter or dip.