I’m back with another Korean Pancake recipe and this time it’s for some Yachaejeon 야채전! or Korean Vegetable Pancakes!
WHAT IS YACHAEJEON?
Yachae, 야채, is vegetable; while jeon, 전, is a general term for pancake in Korean. So put it together and you have vegetable pancakes or Yachaejeon 야채전.
So Yachaejeon 야채전 literally translates to vegetable pancakes.
These Korean Yachae Jeon 야채전 or Vegetables Pancakes can easily be customised to your liking. For my version of Yachae jeon, I used a mix of zucchini, sweet potato, carrots, onions, and scallions but you can also use vegetables such as bell pepper, cabbage, etc.
I also made my own dipping sauce to pair with this vegetable jeon or vegetable pancake.
OTHER KOREAN PANCAKES (JEON)
THE PANCAKE BATTER
The batter is a very thick batter and is a simple mix of the following:
Dry Ingredients
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- corn starch or potato starch
- salt or black salt (for an “eggy” flavour)
- turmeric powder optional for colour
The full recipe is down below!
Wet Ingredients
- room temperature water plus more to adjust consistency
THE VEGGIES
You’re free to use whatever other veggies you prefer! 🙂
For my pancakes, I used a mix of the following:
- 1 medium zucchini sliced into match sticks
- 1 small sweet potato sliced into match sticks or shredded (i used orange sweet potato)
- 1 medium carrot sliced into match sticks or shredded
- 1/2 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 long green chili or jalapeño optional for heat
- 1 bunch scallions or green onions around 2 cups, chopped or thinly sliced
MIX THE VEGETABLES INTO THE BATTER
TO COOK THE VEGETABLE PANCAKES OR YACHAE JEON
I used a non-stick pan. I highly recommend using one! It’s also important that your pan has been preheated well and is hot before you add in the oil and the veggies/batter.
- Add enough oil to add to coat the surface of the pan. Once hot, scoop a generous amount of the batter and veggie mix. Spread these over your pan and get these as thin as possible without exposing the surface f the pan. So you’ll want to spread it as thin as possible but still cover the surface of the pan. I use a spoon to spread it evenly onto the pan.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes over medium heat or until the batter starts to dry up. You can also cover your pan if your pancake is thick, this way the vegetables will better cook down.
- Once the sides start to dry up, carefully scrape the sides and the underneath of the pancake with a spatula to ensure it hasn’t stuck to the pan. Once it’s golden brown underneath and crisp to your liking, carefully flip the pancake with a spatula. Cook the other side until golden brown and crisp. Repeat this for the rest of the batter.
SERVE AND ENJOY YOUR KOREAN VEGETABLE PANCAKES
- Slice your pancakes into small squares or bite-sized pieces. This is best enjoyed with a good dipping sauce! I also find it a lot easier to cut the pancakes using a pair of scissors.
Find the full recipe for these pancakes below! You can also check out my homemade dipping sauce recipe.
OTHER KOREAN VEGAN RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:
- Vegan Kimchi
- Korean Beansprout Salad
- Bibim Guksu (Korean Mixed Noodles)
- Sundubu Jjigae (Korean Soft Tofu Stew)
- Kimchi Noodle Soup with Dumplings
- Kimchi Noodle Stir-Fry
- Jjajangmyeon
Looking for more Vegan Asian recipes?
You can get a copy of my upcoming cookbook, Vegan Asian!
If you crave vegan-friendly versions of classic Asian dishes, this cookbook is packed with Southeast and East Asian dishes inspired by those I grew up enjoying at home and those I’ve tried from my travels. From iconic Thai dishes to piping-hot Japanese fare and everything in between, the recipes in this will take your palate on a delicious food trip across Asia, and hopefully keep you coming back for more!
Vegan Yachae Jeon 야채전 (Korean Vegetable Pancakes)
Yachae Jeon 야채전, which literally translates to vegetable pancakes, are Korean vegetables pancakes that can easily be customised to your liking. For my version of Yachae jeon, I used a mix of zucchini, sweet potato, carrots, onions, and scallions but you can also use vegetables such as bell pepper, cabbage, etc.I also made my own dipping sauce to pair with this vegetable jeon or vegetable pancake.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp corn starch or potato starch
- 1 1/2 tsp salt or black salt (for an "eggy" flavour)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder optional for colour
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup room temperature water , plus additional 2-4 tbsp water to adjust consistency
Vegetables (see notes)
- 1 medium zucchini , sliced into match sticks
- 1 small sweet potato , sliced into match sticks or shredded (i used orange sweet potato)
- 1 medium carrot , sliced into match sticks or shredded
- 1/2 medium onion , thinly sliced
- 1 long green chili or jalapeño , optional for heat
- 1 bunch scallions or green onions , around 2 cups, chopped or thinly sliced
- Other vegetables of choice sliced
Cooking
- Neutral oil I used vegetable oil
To Serve
- Homemade dipping sauce or store-bought sauce mix , dipping sauce recipe here
Instructions
- You can watch the video below to see how to make these.
- In a large mixing bowl, add in all the dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Slowly pour in the water while mixing. Mix until you’ve reached a thick batter consistency. If the batter is still too thick, you can add 2-4 tbsp more water.
- Mix in the veggies of choice into the batter and mix evenly to coat. See notes for other vegetable options and cooking tips.
Cooking the pancakes
- Heat a medium/large non-stick pan over medium high heat. Note that the size of your pancake will depend on the size of your pan. IMPORTANT: I highly recommend using a non-stick pan for the best results and so that your pancakes do not stick to your pan. It's also important that your pan has been preheated well and is hot before you add in the oil and the veggies/batter.
- Add enough oil to add to coat the surface of the pan. Once hot, scoop a generous amount of the batter and veggie mix. Spread these over your pan and get these as thin as possible without exposing the surface f the pan. So you’ll want to spread it as thin as possible but still cover the surface of the pan. I use a spoon to spread it evenly onto the pan.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes over medium heat or until the batter starts to dry up. You can also cover your pan if your pancake is thick, this way the vegetables will better cook down.
- Once the sides start to dry up, carefully scrape the sides and the underneath of the pancake with a spatula to ensure it hasn’t stuck to the pan. Once it’s golden brown underneath and crisp to your liking, carefully flip the pancake with a spatula. Cook the other side until golden brown and crisp. Repeat this for the rest of the batter.
- Slice your pancakes into small squares or bite-sized pieces. This is best enjoyed with a good dipping sauce (recipe here)! I also find it a lot easier to cut the pancakes using a pair of scissors.
- How to enjoy your jeon? I love mine with a hearty Sundubu Jjigae (Korean Soft Tofu Stew) or Jjajangmyeon. Best enjoyed with some Vegan Kimchi, too!
Storage and reheating tip
- Store in an air-tight container and refrigerate. Pan fry the pancakes on a pan for 2-3 minutes on each side until crisp. You can also heat these in your oven toaster.
WATCH Video
Notes
VEGETABLES
- You can really opt to add whatever veggies you have for these pancakes! Other great additions are cabbage, mushrooms, bell peppers, potatoes, etc.
- Cooking your veggies: I used all raw vegetables for this, even for the sweet potatoes. They cook down nicely on the pan but be sure to evenly spread them so they can be as thin as possible. You can also opt to cover the pan to be sure the vegetables cook down, especially if your pancake is a bit thick.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1pancake | Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1119mg | Potassium: 364mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 7257IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 151mg | Iron: 3mg
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This Post Has 29 Comments
I made this for dinner tonight. I am not the cook in the family, my husband is, so my cooking is always a surprise. I wanted to get more veggies in our meals AND try to flip a giant pancake. The results were excellent, we loved this recipe and leftovers will be served at a lake picnic tomorrow.
Hi, do you think I could swap all purpose flour to whole wheat flour?
Hi! I personally haven’t tried it but some have made this with chickpea flour so whole wheat can work too but the pancakes may turn out more dense. I’d recommend adding more baking powder if needed! You can make the batter first and try cooking a small pancake and see from there 🙂
can I bake this instead of frying?
Hi Aireen! I haven’t tried baking this but if you do it might be best to place it in a cast iron pan so you can place the whole pan in the oven. Hope this helps!
Whats the recipe for the dipping sauce?
Hi Dan! The recipe is here: https://thefoodietakesflight.com/dumpling-dipping-sauce
Made today, added shredded cabbage, so good!! Sauce is the perfect finishing touch and you only need to tiniest bit. Definitely adding this to my recipe list. Now off to find some more tasty recipes from your site! Thanks 🙂
Thank you Jan!! So happy you liked these!!
I just made these tonight. They were really good. Will definitely be making these again.
Thanks Char! ◡̈
Fantastic recipe! I tripled it (large family), & it turned out perfect! Excellent crispiness and the turmeric made them turn out so beautiful!
Thank you Angie!! Hope you all enjoyed your pancakes!! 🙂
Can you substitute almond or coconut flour to make them gluten free?
Hi Haley, I haven’t tried this with coconut /almond flour. I wouldn’t recommend coconut because this can give a very coconut-y flavour. Some have tried this with chickpea flour and worked out great. Hope this helps!!
So delicious. Thank you for the recipe I used to gluten-free flour and it worked out great. Added purple cabbage instead of carrot for some color contrast. So tasty with your sauce recipe too!
Happy to hear you enjoyed it!! What kind of GF flour did you use btw? ◡̈ thanks!
wow! these are delicious, especially with the sauce. they instantly became a regular recipe for me – they are great to make with all of your veggies that are about to go bad!
Thanks so much tori!! ◡̈
Delicious! My omnivore husband had to try some and he liked it too. I was a little worried about being able to flip it without veggies flying every where, but I only lost one strip of Chile pepper.
Thanks Wes! And hope you got to save that chile! haha
Made it with whole wheat flour and it was delicious!!! Very filling!
Happy to hear you liked it!! Thanks Laura ◡̈
This recipe is absolutely delicious! Super easy and tasty. Can’t stop eating it?Thank you Jeeca
Thanks so much Angel ◡̈
These are looking amazing! Can I swap spelt flour instead of all purpose flour? Thank you! I am so
in love with your recipes.
Hi Alex! haven’t tried it myself but some have tried this with chickpea flour and whole wheat. Texture will change, of course, but if you don’t mind then that shouldn’t be a problem!
Its sooo good!!!🥺🥺🥺 Thank you soo much for sharing this!!
Thank you so much Sarah! ❤️