Scallion pancakes

These easy, savory 🤤 scallion pancakes are ready to eat in under 30 minutes! Pan-fried aromatic scallions, bacon 🥓 and seafood 🐙 can be enjoyed as a meal or a snack.

Total carbs 21g, net carbs 18g

I make this recipe every week. It's easy and delicious 😋 and my family 👨🏻‍👩🏻‍👦🏻 loves it. We plug in a Japanese-style, portable, table-top griddle from the 80s, that my mother left me, and gather around the table, eyes shining 😍 as we watch the bacon 🥓🥓🥓 and seafood 🐙🦑🦐 sizzle 🔥 away, delicious 🤤 smells wafting around us, while we eagerly wait for dinner to be ready.

This is my take on scallion pancakes. To keep it low-carb, I use lots of scallions, a bit of bacon and seafood, and a scant amount of batter to bind it all together. There are many variations of scallion pancakes. This recipe is a mashup of my favorite pan-fried scallion snacks:

• Chinese scallion pancakes made with dough.
• Korean scallion pancakes, called "pajeon", made with batter and sometimes seafood, kimchi and sliced chili peppers.
• Japanese takoyaki shaped into balls of batter stuffed with octopus, pickled ginger and scallions.
• Japanese okonomiyaki made with an attitude of anything goes, with a base of batter, shredded cabbage, and scallions.

Ingredients you'll need

Scallions

What are scallions? Scallions are long green onions, sometimes called Spring onions. Since you can eat them raw you only need to cook scallions briefly.

Chop the scallions into bite-sized pieces (1-2 inches) or they can be stringy and not fun to eat.

One large bunch of whole scallions harvested from the field yields 8 cups of chopped scallions. You may need 1-2 bunches of scallions, to yield 8 cups, if you buy them from the store because supermarket scallions have their tops trimmed before they are displayed in the produce aisle.

Bacon

This recipe uses bacon to add that smoky, rich flavor that goes really well with seafood and scallions. Thick-slab bacon without added sugar is the best choice for this dish. Bacon can be full of sugar, so check the package for "No Sugar Added".

Alternatively you can use sliced, raw, fresh pork belly that is available at Asian groceries.

Octopus

Use pre-cooked octopus for this recipe. You can buy it frozen in the seafood section of many supermarkets. Or look for it in the sushi section. If you can't find pre-cooked octopus where you are, try ordering octopus sashimi at a sushi restaurant. This octopus is not raw, but pre-cooked.

When you are ready to use the octopus, rinse it under cold running water. This will remove any excess salt that may have been used in the cooking process. Chop it up into tiny pieces.

Is octopus optional? Yes, totally optional.

Why do I add octopus? This dish is inspired by one of my favorite Japanese street-food snacks, takoyaki. Takoyaki is fried balls of batter stuffed with bits of octopus, scallions and ginger. It is savory, creamy, chewy deliciousness.

Feel free to substitute with other fresh seafood such as shrimp, scallops or chopped squid.

Batter

Using batter instead of dough helps reduce the total carbs in this recipe by cutting down on flour.

If you have powdered soup stock add some to the batter for a flavor boost. I love adding Hondashi "real broth", which is a powdered form of bonito fish soup stock that is ubiquitous in Japanese cuisine. You can also try powdered chicken bouillon or a splash of amino acids or a splash of fish sauce for extra flavor. If you are vegan you can add powdered seaweed or mushroom stock.

Equipment you'll need

You'll need a large skillet (10-12") or griddle suitable for cooking pancakes, and a spatula.

Can I make it vegan?

You can make this vegan by making the basic recipe of just scallions, flour, water and salt. Use vegetable oil to fry the pancakes.

Variations

• I add cooked bacon, octopus and shrimp to mine. This is a winning combination. Feel free to get creative with your combinations.
• I add hondashi (fish stock) to the batter for extra flavor.
• Try shredded carrots, red chili peppers or red bell peppers to add color.
• Try adding kimchi.
• Try adding dried seaweed flakes.
• Try adding a fried egg on top.
• Try adding your favorite meat and seafood. Shrimp, crab, squid, clams, scallops, oysters and octopus are delicious additions.

Serving suggestions

• You can eat these tasty pancakes as is, hot off the griddle.
• Or dip them in soy sauce.
• Try drizzling them with Worcestershire sauce, Kewpie mayonnaise and pickled red ginger.
• Try them with a side of kimchi.
• Try them with spicy dipping sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar, red chili pepper flakes, toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions. Get the recipe at Maangchi.

Make ahead

These are good reheated as leftovers and should keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in the microwave for a minute. On the stovetop, reheat pancakes in a non-stick skillet over medium heat covered for 2 minutes, then flip them and cook another 2 minutes uncovered or until they warm through.

Frequently Asked Questions

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