“Pa-jeon” (파전) is a savory, pan-fried Korean scallion pancake that is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Eaten as an appetizer or snack, these scallion pancakes are nothing like the sweet, fluffy breakfast American pancakes. There are several different variations of these pancakes (“jeon”), but my favorite is with scallions (“pa”). A little bit of scallions goes a long way as these vegetables add a nice peppery kick.
Eating just one of these crispy “jeon” was always a challenge. Now I can eat as many as I want with these guilt-free and gluten-free scallion pancakes.
By swapping the conventionally used all-purpose flour for cauliflower flour, this traditional “jeon” becomes the perfect low-calorie snack! Cauliflower flour’s popularity has increased as this low-calorie option has a neutral, light taste that works in a variety of different dishes, ranging from pizza crust to baked goods. And it works perfectly here too as you won’t be able to tell the difference!
These crisp up well too but to make them extra crispy and crunchy, here are a few tricks I learned: (And these tricks apply if using all-purpose flour too!)
- Add a type of starch, like arrowroot flour or cornstarch, to the batter and
- Chill the batter for half an hour before pan-frying them in oil. (Optional but helpful)
Enjoy these crunchy, savory, guilt-free “jeons”! Also, feel free to get creative by substituting the scallions to your liking. I added a few stalks of chives to the batter as I had these on hand! Usually traditional “jeons” either add scallions or chives, not both but why not experiment right?
Love Korean food? Check out my other Korean recipes here!
quick notes
- Flax egg is a natural egg substitute typically used in vegan baking. Similar to eggs, flax egg helps bind ingredients together by forming a gel-like substance when combining ground flaxseed with water.
- Make sure to purchase ground flaxseed, or flaxseed meal. If you only have whole flaxseeds on hand, you can ground them in a coffee grinder or blender.
- Arrowroot is a type of starch that acts as a thickener. Unlike it’s popular counterpart, cornstarch, arrowroot is not genetically modified or highly processed.
- To make ¼ cup of oat flour, blend ⅓ cup of rolled oats in a blender or food processor until fine.
- There are two types of gochugaru (고추가루): finely milled and course flakes. Either one would work for the sauce.
- As mentioned above, for best crispy results, I recommend popping them in the freezer for half an hour before pan-frying them.
CRISPY CAULIFLOWER SCALLION PANCAKES (PAJEON)
makes three 5-inch pancakes
Flax egg
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed, or flaxseed meal
- 3 tbsp water
Combine and mix flax egg ingredients and set aside to thicken. (Pop in refrigerator to speed up the thickening processing.)
Dipping sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- ½ tsp coconut sugar or maple syrup
- 1 tbsp water
- Pinch of gochugaru or hot chili flakes, green onions, and sesame seeds
Make dipping sauce and set aside.
Cauliflower flour
- ½ whole cauliflower (2.5 cups cauliflower rice) or 3 cups frozen cauliflower
If using fresh cauliflower, remove stems and pulse in a food processor to make 2.5 cups of cauliflower rice. Steam for 5-8 minutes and set aside to cool.
If using frozen cauliflower rice, heat up 3 cups of frozen cauliflower rice in a skillet for 5-6 mins. Set aside to cool.
Once cooled, transfer cooked cauliflower into a tablecloth, cheesecloth or milk strainer. Rinse out as much moisture to get about ½ cup of cauliflower flour.
Batter
- ¼ cup oat flour
- 2 tbsp sticky rice flour
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3-4 tablespoon each of chopped onion, ¼ inch chopped scallion, and ½ inch chopped chives
In a bowl, mix together the cauliflower flour, oat flour, sticky rice flour, arrowroot powder, garlic powder, and salt. If the flour clumps from the moisture of the cauliflower flour, use your fingers or rub the flour between the palms of your hands to unclump. Mix in onions, scallions and chives. Add in the flax egg and mix until a dough forms.
Scoop ¼ cup of dough onto parchment paper and create a 5-inch circular pancake. Repeat until dough is gone (I was able to make 3 pancakes).
This step is optional (but recommended): Pop them in the freezer for 30 mins.
Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil and pan-fry pancakes until crispy and slightly browned.
Serve warm with dipping sauce.
p.s. If you like this recipe, click the icons below to share and leave a comment below! Make sure to tag me @girlmeetsradish & #girlmeetsradish so I can see what you are making!
