The aristocrat of Korean pancakes: whole spring onions bound in rice-and-wheat batter with seafood, griddled crisp outside and left custardy within.

Dongnae pajeon belongs to Busan's old walled town, where the Dongnae market sat on the road to the hot springs. Local records tie it to the spring-onion harvests of the Nakdong delta and to offerings for the Dongnae magistracy; the dish survived as a market-day and rainy-day ritual. Dongnae Halmae Pajeon, four generations in, still griddles the canonical version, thick with onions, clams and prawn under a soft egg finish.

Where to eat Dongnae pajeon in Busan

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Make it at home

Serves Serves 2 to 340 minIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 200g thin spring onions, trimmed to pan length
  • 150g mixed clam meat, prawns and squid, chopped
  • 80g rice flour, 60g wheat flour, 240ml anchovy stock, 1 tsp doenjang
  • 2 eggs, beaten; neutral oil; vinegar-soy dip

Method

  1. Whisk the flours with stock and doenjang into a thin batter, looser than pancake batter.
  2. Heat a generous film of oil in a heavy pan. Lay the spring onions in a tight raft, all facing one way.
  3. Pour over half the batter, scatter the seafood, then the remaining batter. Fry 4 minutes on medium.
  4. Pour the beaten egg over the top, flip once, and fry 3 more minutes until the edges crisp while the centre stays soft.
  5. Slide out whole, cut with scissors at the table and eat with the vinegar-soy dip.

Editor tip. Do not press the pancake flat or cook it dry; Dongnae style means crisp lace at the rim and an almost runny, oniony heart.

Common allergens: Wheat (gluten), Shellfish, Egg.