Pajeon (Scallion Pancake)

Pajeon is not a flour pancake with scallions hiding inside it. It is scallions held together by just enough batter to make them one piece. That is the correction to write at the top of the page, because once the batter becomes the main thing, the dish has already wandered off.

My teacher made us lay the scallions in one direction, white ends alternating with green tops, so every bite had both sweetness and green sharpness. She used less batter than the students wanted. We complained with our faces, not our mouths. Then the edges turned crisp and the scallions softened without disappearing, and the lesson became plain: the pan is cooking the vegetable, not decorating the flour.

Tonight this dish asks for a hot pan, cold batter, and patience before you flip. Split the fat white ends so they cook at the same pace as the leaves. Pour the batter thinly, press once, then leave it alone until the underside is strong enough to turn. 손맛 is real; I measure it anyway. Here, that means 200 grams of scallions to less than one cup of flour, so the scallion still reads as itself.