Buchu Jeon {garlic chive blossom pancake}

Buchu Jeon {chive blossom pancake}
Buchu Jeon

부추전

{garlic chive blossom pancake}

A popular Korean ahn-joo (snack enjoyed while drinking), Buchu Jeon is a savory garlic-chive pancake often paired with makkoli (rice wine) and served with a soy dipping sauce. My unusual addition of pungent chive blossoms makes for a pretty presentation while enhancing the garlic-onion flavors of the jeon.

I’ve heard that the invitation to go enjoy buchu jeon on a rainy day is synonymous with “let’s go have a drink” for Korean adults. Hopefully this crispy-chewy pancake with petite white flowers will help brighten your stormy days…Cheers!

garlic chives, buchu jeon
Buchu Jeon Recipe


Buchu Jeon {chive blossom pancake}

Ingredients for Batter:

  • 1 c. all purpose flour
  • 1/4 c. sweet rice flour
  • 1/2 t. baking powder
  • 1/2 t. baking soda
  • 1/4 t. garlic powder
  • 1/4 t. onion powder
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 1 1/4+ c. cold water
  • canola oil for frying

buchu jeon 부추전

To make the batter, mix all the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in the water until the batter is completely blended and there are no lumps. The batter should be of medium-light consistency, not too thick, add a bit more water if necessary. This amount of batter makes about three pancakes depending on the size of the pan.

buchu jeon recipe
Trim buchu (garlic chives) to approximately fit the size of the pan. Rinse in cool water and dry on paper towels. If these flat garlic chives are not available, try this pancake recipe with common chives, scallions, or leeks – trimmed accordingly.

Buchu Jeon
Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add canola oil to the pan. When the oil is hot, lay the buchu in the pan, cook for about 30 seconds then ladle batter over the buchu in a thin layer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the bottom is a nice golden brown. Then flip the pancake and cook the other side, adding a bit more oil if necessary. If the exterior is browning too quickly for the interior to cook, turn the heat down to medium. When done, transfer pancake to a wire rack.

chive blossoms
Pluck the blossoms from the stems and rinse in cool water, dry on paper towels.

Jeon Dip Recipe

Jeon Dipping Sauce

  • 3 T. low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 T. seasoned rice wine vinegar
  • 1 T. toasted sesame oil
  • a few shakes of sesame seeds
  • a few shakes of gochugaru (red pepper powder)
  • finely chopped chives

Mix soy sauce, vinegar, and oil in a small serving bowl. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, gochugaru, and chives.

Buchu Jeon {chive blossom pancake}
Let the pancake cool slightly then sprinkle chive blossoms over the top.

Note that the addition of sweet rice flour to the batter produces a chewy texture as well as crispy edges…

Buchu Jeon {chive blossom pancake}
Use a sharp knife to cut jeon into wedges or squares and serve with the dipping sauce.

Buchu Jeon {chive blossom pancake}
May this enchanting little chive blossom pancake and a cup of cold makkoli add sparkle to those upcoming gray & rainy days.

My 부추전 recipe will be featured next week in the Korea Herald Business. 감사합니다 K-Herald!

13 thoughts on “Buchu Jeon {garlic chive blossom pancake}”

  1. I’ll check your recipe featured in the Korea Herald Business. ^^ It should be called as flowerJeon(꽃전) rather than Buchu Jeon(부추전), haha. It looks amazing.

  2. How beautiful! I have never heard of this dish, but it is really quite compelling, and your photographs are absolutely stunning. Brava!

  3. When I started growing garlic chives I made this dish but I didn’t make it with sweet rice flour (I got my recipe from a Korean girlfriend!) I’ll have to look out for it next time I’m at the Asian grocery store. We don’t have a whole lot of Koreans in Miami, so the products are limited from Korea but I did find doenjang. Is sweet rice flour Korean or do other Asian countries use it? Also, your photos are always so lovely and I am always asking what photo program people use, especially for the collage? I like how you added the chives to the top of the pancake and kept them whole. Thanks LL, lovely as always!

  4. I’ve had scallion pancakes and they’re delicious — as I’m sure this is — but they were nowhere as beautiful. Then again, most dishes aren’t. Love!

  5. On. My. Goodness. I’m taken by not only the photos, but the aesthetics of the dish. Sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy, hot and cold. Sigh. Nicely done as always. Thanks for the inspiration.

  6. What a beautiful presentation! Love the chives flowers on top of the pancakes, which look delicious BTW! You’re right – a great dipping pancake for a rainy day.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.