Food - Drink
Chinese Scallion Pancake Vs. Korean: What’s The Difference?
By HEATHER LIM
If you have a savory tooth, pancakes loaded with syrup, Nutella, and fruit might not be your thing, but you can still enjoy a fluffy, savory, scallion pancake. Scallion pancakes are popular in both China and Korea, but although they go by the same name, the two foods are quite different.
Chinese scallion pancakes are made with a low-moisture dough made of all-purpose flour, salt, and water. The dough is rolled paper thin, brushed with oil, sprinkled with Chinese five spice and chopped scallions, and then rolled up, coiled into a spiral, and pan-fried. This process results in a chewy and flaky savory flatbread that unravels as you eat it.
Korean scallion pancakes, or pajeon, are more like a fritter, where the batter is a supporting role to the star of the show: The scallions. Pajeon is made with a watery batter of all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and ice water. Whole scallions are placed in an oiled pan, and the batter is ladled over, creating a crispy pancake crust around the flavorful scallions.