Haemul Pajeon

A crispy Korean seafood and spring onion pancake — golden and crunchy outside, chewy inside, served with a soy dipping sauce.

Haemul pajeon — seafood and spring onion pancake — is the dish most associated with rainy days in Korea, for the simple reason that the sound of pajeon sizzling in a hot pan resembles the sound of rain on a roof. Koreans have a strong cultural association between rainy weather and pajeon, and sales of the dish surge every time it rains. The dish originates in the Dongnae area near Busan in southeast Korea, where abundant seafood from the East Sea made haemul pajeon a natural development. The spring onions (pa) are not a garnish but a structural element — they run through the pancake creating both flavour and texture. The dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil must be freshly made and properly balanced.

The batter must be ice cold for maximum crispiness. Use a generous amount of oil and press the pancake down firmly. Flip only once. The underside should be deeply golden before flipping.