Haemul-pajeon (seafood scallion pancake)
Savory pancakes
A crisp pan-fried pancake of scallions and mixed seafood held together by a flour-and-egg batter, dipped in a soy-vinegar sauce.
Why this list cannot be complete
Many Korean restaurants are franchises whose recipes are not published, and shops create their own versions of the same dish. A menu name often does not tell you what is inside. This page covers the traditional recipe and the variations that have spread widely, not every shop.
When you are not sure what a shop puts in, show your card to say what you cannot eat, or show the list below and ask the staff to point to what is in theirs.
What usually goes in
이 음식에 아래 재료 중 들어가는 것이 있나요?
For the staff: does this dish contain any of the ingredients below?
Wheat flour is the base of the batter that binds the scallions and seafood, so every bite carries it; some regional styles add rice flour alongside.
Egg is mixed into the batter itself, so it cannot be left off the way a topping could.
Squid is one of the most common seafood in the mix, cut into strips and fried into the batter.
Shrimp is the other usual seafood alongside squid, pressed into the pancake so it is hard to pick out.
Oysters and clams are common additions, and the Busan-style Dongnae pajeon is topped with plenty of clams, oysters and mussels.
The dipping sauce served with it is soy sauce mixed with vinegar, so soy comes on the side rather than in the pancake.
The soy-vinegar dipping sauce usually has sesame oil in it as well.
Dongnae pajeon from Busan adds beef along with the seafood, so a seafood pancake can carry meat as well.
Minced garlic usually goes into the soy dipping sauce served on the side rather than into the batter itself.
Some cooks mix sliced onion into the batter with the scallions and seafood, and the soy dipping sauce on the side can also have minced onion.
Some recipes mix the batter with anchovy stock instead of plain water, so the batter itself can contain fish, apart from the seafood.
Nakji pajeon uses long-arm octopus in place of squid.
- Usually in it
- Most kitchens put this in. Assume it is there unless the staff tell you otherwise.
- Sometimes in it
- It depends on the recipe and the brand of sauce, so it is worth asking.
- Rarely in it
- The usual recipe does not call for it, but some kitchens still use it.
Checked 12 of the 33 ingredients this site covers. An ingredient that is not listed here has simply not been checked yet — that is not the same as it not being in the dish.
This page describes how the dish is usually made in Korea. Every kitchen works differently, so always show your card and ask the staff before you order.
Going on your card
- Wheat (밀)
- Eggs (알류)
- Squid (오징어)
- Shrimp (새우)
- Shellfish (조개류 · 굴 · 전복)
- Soybean (대두)
- Sesame (참깨)
- Beef (쇠고기)
- Garlic (마늘)
- Onion (양파)
- Fish (생선)
- Octopus (문어 · 낙지 · 주꾸미)
Common variations
If you see one of these names on a menu, expect the ingredients below on top of the basic dish. Shops differ, so check with the staff.
- 굴파전Oyster pajeon
Adds: Shellfish (조개류 · 굴 · 전복)
Whole fresh oysters are placed on the scallion batter and fried together.
Diets
- VeganNot suitable
Egg is part of the batter and the seafood is fried into it.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarianNot suitable
The seafood is cooked into the pancake, so it cannot be removed after frying.
Other dishes with the same ingredients
- BibimbapEggs (poultry) · Soybean · Sesame · Garlic — Usually in it / Wheat · Beef · Onion · Fish · Shellfish (incl. oyster, abalone, mussel) · Octopus (incl. long-arm and webfoot octopus) — Sometimes in it
- Budae-jjigae (army base stew)Wheat · Soybean · Garlic · Onion — Usually in it / Beef · Fish · Shrimp · Squid · Shellfish (incl. oyster, abalone, mussel) — Sometimes in it
- GimbapSesame · Eggs (poultry) · Soybean — Usually in it / Fish · Wheat · Beef · Shrimp · Garlic · Onion — Sometimes in it
Read more
- Eggs in Korean foodWhere this ingredient hides across Korean food
- Gluten-free travel in KoreaWhere wheat hides in sauces and broths
- Vegan dining in KoreaWhere meat and seafood hide in Korean cooking
- Emergency allergy help in KoreaWhat to do and say if a reaction starts
- Halal food in KoreaWhere pork, alcohol, and non-halal meat hide in Korean cooking
- Temple food and Buddhist vegetarian dining in KoreaWhere garlic, green onion, and other pungent vegetables hide
Sources we checked
Each finding on this page lists the recipes and references it is based on. Source titles appear in their original language and are not translated, and each link opens the other site in a new tab.
Show the 11 sources behind each finding
What usually goes in
Wheat · Usually in it
- Wikipedia, "Pajeon" — batter of eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, scallions; haemul-pajeon with oysters, shrimp, squid, clams; Dongnae pajeon with beef, clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp; cho-ganjang of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil (opens in a new tab)
- 위키백과, "파전" — 달걀과 밀가루 반죽; 해물파전은 새우 · 오징어; 동래파전은 조개 · 굴 · 홍합; 간장에 찍어 먹음 (opens in a new tab)
Eggs · Usually in it
- Wikipedia, "Pajeon" — batter of eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, scallions; haemul-pajeon with oysters, shrimp, squid, clams; Dongnae pajeon with beef, clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp; cho-ganjang of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil (opens in a new tab)
- 위키백과, "파전" — 달걀과 밀가루 반죽; 해물파전은 새우 · 오징어; 동래파전은 조개 · 굴 · 홍합; 간장에 찍어 먹음 (opens in a new tab)
Squid · Sometimes in it
- Wikipedia, "Pajeon" — batter of eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, scallions; haemul-pajeon with oysters, shrimp, squid, clams; Dongnae pajeon with beef, clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp; cho-ganjang of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil (opens in a new tab)
- 위키백과, "파전" — 달걀과 밀가루 반죽; 해물파전은 새우 · 오징어; 동래파전은 조개 · 굴 · 홍합; 간장에 찍어 먹음 (opens in a new tab)
Shrimp · Sometimes in it
- Wikipedia, "Pajeon" — batter of eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, scallions; haemul-pajeon with oysters, shrimp, squid, clams; Dongnae pajeon with beef, clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp; cho-ganjang of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil (opens in a new tab)
- 위키백과, "파전" — 달걀과 밀가루 반죽; 해물파전은 새우 · 오징어; 동래파전은 조개 · 굴 · 홍합; 간장에 찍어 먹음 (opens in a new tab)
Shellfish · Sometimes in it
- Wikipedia, "Pajeon" — batter of eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, scallions; haemul-pajeon with oysters, shrimp, squid, clams; Dongnae pajeon with beef, clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp; cho-ganjang of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil (opens in a new tab)
- 위키백과, "파전" — 달걀과 밀가루 반죽; 해물파전은 새우 · 오징어; 동래파전은 조개 · 굴 · 홍합; 간장에 찍어 먹음 (opens in a new tab)
Soybean · Sometimes in it
- Wikipedia, "Pajeon" — batter of eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, scallions; haemul-pajeon with oysters, shrimp, squid, clams; Dongnae pajeon with beef, clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp; cho-ganjang of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil (opens in a new tab)
- 위키백과, "파전" — 달걀과 밀가루 반죽; 해물파전은 새우 · 오징어; 동래파전은 조개 · 굴 · 홍합; 간장에 찍어 먹음 (opens in a new tab)
Sesame · Sometimes in it
Beef · Sometimes in it
Garlic · Sometimes in it
Onion · Sometimes in it
Fish · Sometimes in it
Octopus · Sometimes in it
Common variations
Diets
Vegan · Not suitable
- Wikipedia, "Pajeon" — batter of eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, scallions; haemul-pajeon with oysters, shrimp, squid, clams; Dongnae pajeon with beef, clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp; cho-ganjang of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil (opens in a new tab)
- 위키백과, "파전" — 달걀과 밀가루 반죽; 해물파전은 새우 · 오징어; 동래파전은 조개 · 굴 · 홍합; 간장에 찍어 먹음 (opens in a new tab)
Lacto-ovo vegetarian · Not suitable
- Wikipedia, "Pajeon" — batter of eggs, wheat flour, rice flour, scallions; haemul-pajeon with oysters, shrimp, squid, clams; Dongnae pajeon with beef, clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp; cho-ganjang of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil (opens in a new tab)
- 위키백과, "파전" — 달걀과 밀가루 반죽; 해물파전은 새우 · 오징어; 동래파전은 조개 · 굴 · 홍합; 간장에 찍어 먹음 (opens in a new tab)
Each dish is researched by hand from the sources we checked, and nothing here is generated automatically. Recipes vary from kitchen to kitchen, so always confirm with the staff before you order.