GARLIC CHIVE AND CABBAGE PAJEON

Ingredients

• 225g plain flour
• 50g cornflour
• 25g rice flour
• 15g tapioca starch
• 9g Matsogeum (Korean seasoned salt)
• 1½ tsp garlic powder
• 1½ tsp onion powder
• ¾ tsp ground black pepper
• 1½ tsp baking powder, added fresh per batch
• 450ml ice-cold soda water
• 1½ cups garlic chives, cut into 4cm lengths
• 1½ cups finely shredded cabbage (optional – add more garlic chives)
• Neutral oil with a high smoke point, plus spray oil for turning

Dipping sauce

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp water
• 1½ tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp Chinese cooking wine
• 1½ tsp caster sugar
• 1½ tsp sesame oil
• 1½ tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
• 1 tsp gochugaru (optional)
• 3 tsp spring onion, finely sliced

Method

1. Make the dipping sauce first so the flavours settle. Combine 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp water, 1½ tbsp rice vinegar, 1½ tsp caster sugar, 1½ tsp sesame oil, 1½ tsp toasted sesame seeds, 1 tsp gochugaru if using, and the sliced spring onion. Set aside.
2. Cut the garlic chives into 4cm lengths — long pieces, not finely chopped, so they hold their shape through the pancake. Shred the cabbage finely, finer than feels necessary. Chunky shreds prop the pancake up and stop it lying flat. You want about 3 cups of vegetables all up.
3. Whisk together the 225g plain flour, 30g cornflour, 30g rice flour, 15g tapioca starch, 9g Matsogeum, 1½ tsp garlic powder, 1½ tsp onion powder and ¾ tsp black pepper. Add the 1½ tsp baking powder now, not to the stored mix.
4. Pour in the 450ml ice-cold soda water and whisk to a smooth batter. It should be thinner than a Western pancake batter, closer to pouring cream. Don’t overmix.
5. Fold the garlic chives and cabbage through.
6. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat with 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil, enough to properly coat the base. Too hot and you’ll get charred patches rather than an even golden crust.
7. Ladle in about a fifth of the mixture and spread it as thin as it will physically go. The vegetables should lie in a single layer with the batter just filling the gaps between them — that’s as thin as it gets. Don’t spread it all the way to the sides of the pan; leaving it short of the edges lets the batter run out thin and gives you lacy, crisp edges.
8. When the surface has dried out a bit press it flat with a smash burger press or the back of a spatula. Cook until the underside is golden and the edges look lacy and set. Be patient — these take longer than you’d expect, and rushing the heat gives you charred spots with a raw centre.
9. Spray the pancake with oil and flip it, press down again and cook until the second side is golden.
10. Slide onto a board, cut into squares, and serve hot with the dipping sauce. Repeat with the remaining batter — you’ll get about five pancakes.

Notes

The dry mix — flours, starches, Matsogeum, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper — can be made in bulk and stored in a jar. Add the baking powder fresh each time; it loses potency sitting on a shelf.

Thinness is everything. A thick pancake has a doughy centre and tastes flat no matter how well seasoned the batter is. If it doesn’t spread easily, add another 30–50ml of water.

A smash burger press is the ideal tool here — it applies even pressure across the whole surface where a spatula pushes from one edge.

Soda water gives a lighter, crisper result, but ice-cold plain water works. Cold matters more than the bubbles.

Any single starch at 75g works if you don’t want three in the cupboard. Cornflour alone gives the crispest result.

Chop, slice or grate any green or hard vegetables, that are in the fridge but not things that are watery like cucumber or tomato. I typically use a lot of cabbage, with spring onions, or carrots. About 2 cups for one pancake. The vegetables shrink a fair bit and this is about 1 cm thick.

Don’t pre-wilt the cabbage. Shredded raw, it softens and sweetens in the pan without watering down the batter.