Korean Vegetable Pancake (Yachaejeon) | 야채전
Pronounced: Yah-Cheh Jeon
What: Korean Chive Pancake is a very popular and tasty side dish or snack enjoyed by many Koreans. It consists of Korean chives (also know as garlic chives) and my Mom’s special add, water celery. The water celery is what makes my Mom’s recipe delicious. My Mom has the perfect ratio of veggies to batter, making this dish quite addicting. It’s oh so delicious.
Taste: Pan-fried veggies (Korean chives and water celery) in a savory batter that is panfried to perfection. Crispy, crunchy yet soft, savory veggies that has never tasted better than this.
How It’s Made: Make batter. Add in chopped veggies into batter and mix. Pan-fry mixture.
What to Serve it With:
Serve with soy sauce dip (detailed in recipe). It’s definitely naked without this dip.
We had this with soy sauce avocado & grape tomatoes, rice, braised spicy chicken & potatoes, seasoned soy sauce pickled radish, Persian cucumbers dipped into gochujang, and kimchi.
This is a side dish (banchan) so it goes with really any Korean dish.
Notes & Tips (key ingredients):
Korean Frying Mix is key to this recipe. Korean Frying Mix is a flour mixture that is great for frying. My Mom actually doesn’t have flour in her pantry because she just uses this to fry foods. We use Beksul Frying Mix. You can find this at any Korean Grocery Store. You can substitute flour, but it won’t be as flavorful.
Beef Stock Powder adds a wonderful seasoning. We use the CJ Brand Dasida Stock Powder and you can find this at any Korean Grocery Store.
Korean Chives and Water Celery (also known as Chinese Celery) is what makes this dish so special and delicious.
Korean Vegetable Pancake (Yachaejeon) | 야채전
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of Korean Frying Mix (250g) (We use Beksul Brand)
- 1 cup of cold water
- 2 Tbsp of crushed ice
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp Dasida Beef Stock Powder (We use CJ Dasida)
- 2 eggs
- 1-2 bunches water celery, roughly chopped (2 inch pieces) (145g)
- 1 bunch Korean chives also known as garlic chives, roughly chopped (2 inch pieces) (100g)
- 1-2 jalapeños, chopped (35g)
- 1 large brown onion, chopped into strips (1.5 inch pieces)
- 1 medium squash, chopped into strips (1.5 inch pieces) (275g)
- Optional: Add in mini shrimp and/or chopped squid!
- Oil to pan-fry
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce (We use regular Kikkoman)
- ½ Tbsp rice, apple, or white vinegar (We use apple vinegar)
- Sprinkle of Korean Red Pepper Flakes
Instructions:
- Create batter. In a large bowl, add in 2 cups of Korean Frying Mix (250g), 1 cup of cold water, 2 Tbsp of crushed ice, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp Dasida Beef Stock Powder, and 2 eggs. Whisk until you get a pancake batter texture.
- Add in chopped vegetables to the batter: 1-2 bunches water celery, roughly chopped (2 inch pieces) (145g), 1 bunch Korean chives (2 inch pieces) (100g), 1-2 jalapeños, chopped (35g), 1 large brown onion, chopped into strips (1.5 inch pieces), 1 medium squash, chopped into strips (1.5 inch pieces) (275g), Optional: Add in mini shrimp and/or chopped squid! Mix until well incorporated. There should be much more veggies than the better.
- Heat a generous amount of oil on large nonstick pan over medium heat. This is a pan-fried dish, so you will need to add in a good amount of oil to get that delicious taste. Once the pan is heated, use a tong to pick up the batter. Place batter into a pan, and flatten it out to form a pancake shape. Fill any holes and gaps with more batter so that you do not see the pan throughout the pancake. Add more oil if necessary (my Mom always adds more oil to the edges as she forms the pancake). Total fry time will be 7-8 minutes per pancake.
- Flip the pancake once the bottom is just about to be golden. Continue to flip until the entire pancake is crispy and golden (3-4 flips).
- Serve immediately with a soy sauce dip (1 Tbsp soy sauce mixed with ½ Tbsp rice or white vinegar and sprinkle of Korean Red Pepper Flakes).
Notes:
steps with visuals
Create batter. In a large bowl, add in 2 cups of Korean Frying Mix (250g), 1 cup of cold water, 2 Tbsp of crushed ice, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp Dasida Beef Stock Powder, and 2 eggs. Whisk until you get a pancake batter texture.
Add in chopped vegetables to the batter:
1-2 bunches water celery, roughly chopped (2 inch pieces) (145g)
1 bunch Korean chives also known as garlic chives, roughly chopped (2 inch pieces) (100g)
1-2 jalapeños, chopped (35g)
1 large brown onion, chopped into strips (1.5 inch pieces)
1 medium squash, chopped into strips (1.5 inch pieces) (275g)
Optional: Add in mini shrimp and/or chopped squid!
Mix until well incorporated.
Heat a generous amount of oil on large nonstick pan over medium heat. This is a pan-fried pancake, so you will need to add in a good amount of oil to get that delicious taste. Once the pan is heated, use a tong to pick up the batter. Place batter into a pan, and flatten it out to form a pancake shape. Fill any holes and gaps with more batter so that you do not see the pan throughout the pancake. Add more oil if necessary (my Mom always adds more oil to the edges as she forms the pancake). Total fry time will be 7-8 minutes per pancake.
Flip the pancake once the bottom is just about to be golden. Continue to flip until the entire pancake is crispy and golden (3-4 flips). My Mom doesn’t like it as golden as I do (just bits and pieces of it golden throughout the pancake). It all comes down to preference. I like it crispier than usual.
Serve immediately with a soy sauce dip (1 Tbsp soy sauce mixed with ½ Tbsp rice or white vinegar and sprinkle of Korean Red Pepper Flakes).
Tip: If you have leftover batter, you can either cook all the batter (but only cook it 80% through) and refrigerate it. Pan-fry it again when ready to eat OR you can refrigerate the leftover batter and pan-fry it when you are ready to eat.
This is one of my favorite side dishes to eat as a snack. I’m not crazy about fried foods, but this… this is an exception. It’s beyond just good— it’s addicting, flavorful, and makes you question how veggies can taste so good. The water celery is what makes it really good in addition to the Korean chives.
Hope you guys like it just as much as I do!
Eat Well,
Sarah
Follow me on Instagram for more recipes & tips! | ahnestkitchen
