In Korea, this popular starter and snack is served at home, in restaurants, and on street corners. (It’s also one of the most popular dishes in Korean restaurants in the States.) At its most basic, it’s a large egg batter scallion pancake, but other vegetables, meat, and seafood are often added to make it a fancier and more substantial dish. Glutinous rice flour creates a wonderfully chewy texture, but if you can’t find it, all-purpose flour is perfectly fine. Serve these immediately after making them.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 to 8 servings as a starter or side dish

　　2 cups flour, preferably half all-purpose, half glutinous rice

　　2 eggs, lightly beaten

　　1 tablespoon corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil, plus more for frying

　　5 scallions, green parts only, trimmed, cut into 3-inch lengths, and sliced lengthwise

　　20 chives, preferably Chinese (“garlic”) chives, roughly chopped

　　2 medium carrots, grated

　　1 small yellow or green summer squash, grated

　　Soy Dipping Sauce (page 583)

　　

Step 1

Mix the flour, eggs, and oil with 1 1/2 cups water to form a smooth batter. Let it rest while you prepare the vegetables. When you’re ready to cook, stir the scallions, chives, carrots, and squash into the batter.

　　

Step 2

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat the bottom with oil. Ladle in a quarter of the batter and spread it out evenly into a circle. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the bottom is browned, about 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.

　　

Step 3

As the pancakes finish, remove them and, if necessary, drain on paper towels. Cut into small triangles and serve with Soy Dipping Sauce.

　　

Steak Pajon

Step 4

Add 1/4 pound finely chopped steak, preferably sirloin, to the batter.

　　

Seafood Pajon

Step 5

Add 1/2 pound chopped peeled shrimp, clams, mussels, or a combination to the batter along with 1 cup bean sprouts and 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves.

　　

Kimchi Pajon

Step 6

Add about 1 cup chopped Kimchi (page 444) to the batter.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.