Spring Onion Pajeon

📝 Ingredients

• 60 g plain flour
• 15 g cornflour
• 1 egg
• 130 ml ice-cold water
• 6 spring onions (about 30 g each)
• 1 carrot (about 100 g)
• 4 tsp sunflower oil (1 per side per pancake)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp rice vinegar (for the dipping sauce)
• ½ tsp sesame oil + 1 tsp sesame seeds (for the dipping sauce)
• 1 pinch of salt

🍴 Utensils

• 24 cm non-stick frying pan
• Mixing bowl and whisk
• Chopping board and knife
• Coarse grater
• Wide spatula
• Large flat plate

📖 Steps

1. Wash the spring onions, trim off the roots and any damaged ends of the stalks, then cut into 10 cm lengths. Halve the thick bulbs lengthways so they cook as fast as the green parts. Peel the carrot and coarsely grate it.
2. Make the dipping sauce in a small bowl: mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Leave it to stand while the pancakes cook so the flavours blend.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, starch and salt. Add the egg and ice-cold water, then whisk just until the batter is smooth and runny, like a thick pancake batter. Don't overwork it: the pancake would turn rubbery instead of crispy.
4. Turn the oven on to 100 °C to keep the first pancake warm. Heat 1 tsp oil in the frying pan over a medium-high heat. Lay half the spring onions in it side by side, all facing the same way, then scatter half the grated carrot over the top.
5. Drizzle half the batter over the vegetables, filling in all the gaps, and spread it with the back of a spoon. Cook for 3 to 4 min, pressing down with the spatula, until the underside is golden and the edges are crispy.
6. When the top is no longer runny, slide the pancake onto a large plate, add 1 tsp oil to the pan, place the pan upside down over the plate and flip the whole thing over in one go. Cook for 3 more min, pressing down, until the other side is nicely golden.
7. Slide the first pancake onto the rack of an oven heated to 100 °C to keep it warm and crispy, then cook the second one the same way with the remaining oil, spring onions, carrot and batter.
8. Cut each pancake into 8 squares with a large knife and serve straight away, hot and crispy, with the soy-vinegar sauce for dipping each bite.