Hae-Mul Pa-Jeon (Korean Seafood Pancake)

People with Korean food fetish like me probably knows what pa-jeon is.  It is a pancake-like appetizer made from a batter of flour, eggs and green onions.  Throw in some seafood and it is called hael-mul pa-jeon.  This is Korea's answer to Japan's okonomiyaki although the dipping sauces differ.

Didn't I tell you that my love affair with anything Korean started with Lovers in Paris?  Needless to say that whenever I'm following a certain drama I'd be experiencing cravings because Korean food is just so exciting.  Everything looks so yummy and just seeing the actors slurp their noodles or munch their food just makes my mouth water.  So expect me to recreate or copy something from a drama that I've seen or presently watching.

So I was sort of introduced to pa-jeon via Coffee Prince.  "Waffle Boy" made them so expertly and it looked so easy but it's not- so I found out.  I think the key is the batter and so far I've been successful by mixing all-purpose flour and rice flour.  It also helps to refrigerate the batter for an hour before using.  It's the same thing when making okonomiyaki and crepes, isn't it?  The batter should also resemble a thin pancake batter so keep an eye on that and add more water if needed.  My version doesn't even come close to Sunki's but I can only try.  So here's how I made mine.

Hae-Mul Pa-Jeon

The ingredients:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
2 eggs
1- 14 oz bag of seafood mix
10 stalks of scallions
2 cups water

Directions:
Rinse and drain seafood mix- set aside

Wash and trim scallions then cut into 2 1/2- inch pieces (reserve some for the dipping sauce)

Whisk together flours, water and eggs (I added a handful of ice cubes to thin the batter and make it cold)  Cold batter comes out better with a crunch to the edges.

Heat oil in a skillet on medium high heat then add the scallions-  the ratio  is to your discretion

Allow the scallions to sweat a little then pour 1/3 cup of the batter over making sure it covers the pan then add the seafood- again your preference on how much you want in each pancake

Flip and brown each side for 6-8 minutes.  Transfer to a serving plate and repeat the process to the remaining batter and toppings

For the dipping sauce:  whisk together
      1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
      1 clove garlic, minced
      1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
      1 tbsp red pepper flakes
      1 tsp sesame oil
      chopped scallions

See how easy it is to make it?  With the addition of the seafood, I kind of love having it with steamed white rice which makes it a perfect meal for me.