Vegan Yachae Jeon 야채전 (Korean Vegetable Pancakes)

4.93 from 129 votes

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.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Starters

Cuisine Asian, East Asian, Korean

Servings eight-inch pancakes

Calories 375 kcal

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (see notes for subs)
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 of Choice (see notes)

1 medium zucchini , sliced into match sticks
1 small sweet potato , sliced into match sticks or shredded (i used orange sweet potato and added them raw)
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

Dipping Sauce to Serve

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar , adjust to taste
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
Gochugaru or chili flakes/powder optional

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.
Do note that the batter is thick and should coat the vegetables well.
Mix in the veggies of choice into the batter and mix evenly to coat. See notes for other vegetable options and cooking tips.

DIPPING SAUCE

Mix everything together and feel free to adjust to your taste. You can easily make this dipping sauce before hand.
I recommend to make this before cooking the pancakes.

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 of the pan.I use a spoon to spread it evenly onto the pan.
If there are holes, feel free to scoop some of the batter to cover them.
Cook for 4-5 minutes over medium or medium heat or until the batter starts to dry up. You can also cover your pan to cook down the veggies.
If you covered your pancake, remove the cover and allow the excess steam to evaporate. Press down on the centre of your pancake.
Once the top o the pancake and sides start to dry up, carefully scrape the sides and check underneath if the it's lightly brown or golden.
Carefully flip the pancake with a spatula. Cook the other side until golden brown and crisp.
If you want extra crispness, allow the pancakes to cook over low heat for another 3-4 minutes on each side or until its a deep golden brown (a slight char is great too!) to get really nice and crisp on the outside.
This way any excess moisture from the batter and veggies will evaporate and you'll get crispier and less doughy pancakes.
Repeat this for the rest of the batter.
See notes for more tips.
Slice your pancakes into small squares or bite-sized pieces. This is best enjoyed with a good dipping sauce (recipe here or in the card above)! 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 TIPS

Store the cooked pancakes in an air-tight container and refrigerate for 1-2 weeks. To reheat, 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

https://youtu.be/zkAfor2oLaU

Notes

VEGETABLES + TIPS

You can really opt to add whatever veggies you have for these pancakes! Other great additions are cabbage, mushrooms, bell peppers, potatoes, etc.

I usually use a total of 5-6 cups of sliced/chopped vegetables.

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.

Veggies releasing liquid: certain vegetables will release quite a lot of liquid over time as it sits in the batter. If this is the case, you can add an additional 1-3 tbsp of flour and mix it with the batter to thicken it before cooking.

Pancakes not crispy?

I personally like to get my pancakes as thin as possible so both sides are very crisp and it’s thin so you won’t notice the insides being a bit chewy/doughy from the veggies/flour mix.
Do note that as it cools, the pancakes will sog especially as it sits on a plate. It may also be due to the veggies since some veg tend to continue to release extra moisture as it sits after cooking.
A great way to remove excess water is to salt your veggies first and squeeze out excess liquid before mixing it in the batter. This way the extra moisture draws out. This is completely optional and I actually always skip this step but this could help maintain that crisp longer. If doing so, I recommences to skip the salt in the batter or the overall batter mixture may be too salty form the salted veg.

FLOUR

I personally haven't tried other flour alternatives for this recipe but some have used gluten-free flour mixes, whole wheat flour, and even chickpea flour. Do note that the texture and consistency can change but if you don't mind then it shouldn't be a problem!

Since some flours can be dense, you can add an additional 1/4 tsp of baking powder if needed. You may also need to add some more water if the batter is too thick. But ideally the batter should be thick enough to coat the vegetables and not be runny when spread out on the pan.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

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