Haemul-pajeon해물파전

Pajeon (파전) is a savory pancake built around scallions. It doesn't appear in Joseon-era texts; it is recorded in later cookbooks such as Joseon Yori Jebeop. Unlike most Korean jeon, where ingredients are dusted with flour and dipped in beaten egg before frying, pajeon uses a batter of wheat or rice flour mixed with water to hold the scallions together. Clams, oysters, shrimp and mussels are considered its best partners, and loading it up with seafood such as squid and hard clams gives you haemul-pajeon, the seafood version.

The town most famous for pajeon is Dongnae in Busan. It lies close to Miryang, known for scallions, and Eonyang, known for water dropwort, and it borders the sea, so seafood was plentiful. Dongnae pajeon is mixed with flour and rice flour in an anchovy broth, and when it is almost done, an egg is cracked over the top and cooked lightly. There is also a story that in the Joseon era the magistrate of Dongnae presented it to the king on Samjinnal, the third day of the third lunar month.

Pajeon is also what many Koreans crave on a rainy day, with a bowl of dongdongju rice wine on the side. A common explanation is that the sizzle of batter in an oiled pan sounds just like falling rain, so the rain makes people think of pancakes.