Buchu-jeon (Garlic Chive Pancake)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •10-inch cast-iron or heavy nonstick skillet
• •Wide spatula, plus a plate for easier flipping
• •Large mixing bowl and chopsticks or wooden spoon
• •Wire rack or paper towel-lined tray
• •Kitchen scissors

Instructions

1. 1

   Trim the buchu

   Wash the buchu and dry it well, then trim away any tough or yellowed ends. Cut the chives into 2-inch lengths so they lie flat in the pan and cut cleanly at the table. Water clinging to the leaves thins the batter and makes the oil spit, so dry them with more care than you think necessary.

   Good buchu should be dark green, flat-bladed, and sharp with a gentle garlic smell. If the bunch is limp or dry at the tips, cook the month you're standing in and make scallion pa-jeon instead.
2. 2

   Make the sauce

   Stir together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, gochugaru, sesame seeds, sesame oil, sugar, and chopped buchu or scallion. The vinegar is not decoration. It cuts the oil and wakes up the chives, so make the sauce before the pancake hits the pan.

3. 3

   Stir the batter

   Whisk the flour, potato starch, and salt in a large bowl. Add the ice-cold water and stir hard for 40 to 50 strokes, until the batter is smooth and slightly stretchy. This is the chew in the pancake. A few lazy turns leave raw flour pockets; too much water gives you a limp pancake that tastes of paste.

4. 4

   Coat the vegetables

   Add the buchu, onion, carrot, and chili if using. Toss with chopsticks or your hand until every piece is lightly coated. It should look like too much green for the batter. That is correct. The batter is there to bind the chives, not bury them.

5. 5

   Fry the first side

   Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil moves easily across the pan, add half the chive mixture and spread it into a thin 9-inch round, no thicker than 1/4 inch. Press the surface with a spatula so the chives touch the pan. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges are deep golden and the pancake slides when you shake the skillet.

6. 6

   Flip and crisp

   Flip the pancake with a wide spatula, or slide it onto a plate and turn it back into the pan if your courage is small that day. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil around the edge and press again. Cook 3 minutes more, until the second side is golden and the center feels set. Flip once more for 30 seconds if the first side needs more color.

   Do not crowd the pan with all the batter at once. One thick pancake turns damp in the middle. Two thin pancakes give you the crisp edge and tender center this dish is asking for.
7. 7

   Cut and serve

   Move the pancake to a rack or a paper towel-lined tray while you fry the second one with the remaining oil and batter. Cut into rough squares or wedges with kitchen scissors and serve immediately with the cho-ganjang dipping sauce. Eat the edges first. They waited for you least patiently.

Chef Tips

• •Buy Korean buchu if you can. It has flat blades and a clean garlic bite, different from the small round chives used as garnish in many Western markets. If the stems are thick or flowering, trim the tough bottoms and slice any flower stalks very thin.
• •Korean pancake mix, buchimgaru, is a safe weeknight shortcut. Use 1 cup mix with 1 cup cold water and omit the flour, starch, and salt. Do not shorten the drying of the chives or the thin spreading in the pan; those are the parts that make the dish itself.
• •Use enough oil. A dry pan gives you floury patches and a heavy pancake. You want a shallow, even gloss under the pancake, then drain it briefly after frying.
• •If you want seafood buchu-jeon, add no more than 100g finely chopped squid or small shrimp, patted very dry. More than that and the chives stop speaking. Let it taste like itself.
• •Leftovers keep one day in the refrigerator. Reheat them in a dry skillet over medium heat or in an air fryer until the edges come back. The microwave makes the batter soft, and after that there is nothing to discuss.

Advance Preparation

• •The dipping sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated. Stir before serving, because sesame seeds float and the gochugaru settles.
• •Wash and dry the buchu up to 1 day ahead, then wrap it in a clean towel and refrigerate. Cut it close to cooking so the ends stay fresh.
• •Do not mix the batter with the chives far ahead. Salt pulls water from the vegetables, and the pancake turns loose and heavy. Once mixed, fry within 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 170g)