What’s your favorite things to make with summer’s bountiful zucchinis? These Korean savory pancakes, called hobak buchim (호박부침) or buchimgae (부침개), are quick and easy to make and so delicious with summer zucchini! Perfect as a snack, an appetizer, or a light meal!
Over the years, I posted several different Korean savory pancakes. They are essential in Korean cuisine and made with all sorts of ingredients — kimchi (kimchijeon, 김치전), seafood and scallions (haemul pajeon, 해물파전), potato (gamjajeon, 감자전), garlic chives (buchujeon, 부추전), mung beans (nokdujeon, 녹두전), and many more.
If you wonder why the zucchini version is not called hobakjeon, it’s not wrong to call it hobakjeon, but hobakjeon generally refers to zucchini rounds that are pan-fried in egg batter.
Zucchini and Vegetables
You can make these zucchini pancakes simply with a zucchini, but I like to throw in thinly sliced sweet onion and green hot chili peppers to complement. The onion adds delicious sweetness to the pancakes, and the hot chili peppers give a nice spicy kick, kal-kal-han-mat (칼칼한맛) as Koreans say. Or, try a little bit of perilla leaves (kkaennip, 깻잎) or garlic chives (buchu, 부추).
Since zucchini contains lots of water, you will need to salt the julienned zucchini and squeeze out the liquid as much as you can, reserving the liquid for the batter. Squeezing will give a little bit of crunch to the zucchini. The zucchini-flavored liquid along with a lightly beaten egg is all you need for the batter, but you can also add some water if needed.
Korean savory pancake batter (buchim garu)
For Korean pancakes, commercially available savory pancake mix (buchimgaru, 부침가루) is best to use for Korean savory pancake mix. The ready-made mix typically includes flour, cornstarch and/or rice powder for crispy pancakes. It’s flavored with garlic and onion powder and seasoned with salt. If unavailable, you can try to create it yourself by adding a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch or rice powder to your flour. The cornstarch gives a slightly elastic texture and crispness to the pancakes.
Sometimes, Korean home cooks combine pancake mix with frying mix (twuigim garu, 튀김가루), aka tempura mix, for extra crispy pancakes. Frying mix typically contains more rice flour and baking powder for a crispy result. Try it if you have a bag of frying mix (1:1 ratio).
This recipe makes 6 to 8 small pancakes. You can make 2 large pancakes instead if you want, and cut into small pieces before serving, or simply tear with the chopsticks to eat.
More zucchini recipes
Modeumjeon (Fish, Shrimp and Zucchini Pan-fried in Egg Batter)
Hobak Bokkeum (Stir-fried Zucchini)
Hobak Gochujang Jjigae (Korean Spicy Zucchini Stew)
Gaji Hobak Muchim (Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini with Korean Seasoning)
Doenjang Jjigae (Korean Soybean Paste Stew)
More Korean savory pancakes recipes
Kimchijeon (kimchi pancakes)
Haemul Pajeon (scallion seafood pancakes)
Buchujeon (garlic chives pancakes)
Nokdujeon (savory mung bean)
Gamjajeon (potato pancakes)
For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini about 8 ounces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 2 green or red chili peppers, thinly sliced -- optional See note 1
- 1/2 cup buchim garu (Korean savory pancake mix) or flour (See note 2)
- 1 large egg - optional (omit for a vegan version) If not using, add some water
- vegetable or canola oil for frying
Dipping Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- pinch of black pepper
- pinch gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
Instructions
- Cut the zucchini into matchsticks. Place them in a bowl, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Let sit for about 10 minutes until wilted and released some liquid. Squeeze the liquid out from the zucchini as much as possible, reserving the liquid in the bowl. Set the zucchini aside in another bowl or plate.
- Add the optional egg and pancake mix (or flour) to the bowl with the liquid from squeezing zucchini. If not using an egg, add a couple of tablespoons of water. Mix the batter well with a spoon. Do not over mix. A little lumps are fine. Then, combine with the zucchini, onion and chili peppers. The zucchini mix may look stiff when mixing, but it will become more liquidly after a few minutes. If it’s still too stiff, mix in some water (2 to 3 tablespoons to start with).
- Heat a skillet with two tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. Add about 2 heaping tablespoons of the batter and spread it evenly into a thin round shape. You can also add more batter to make it a large pancake, if preferred (see note 3). Depending on the size of your pan, you can cook 3 to 4 pancakes at once. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the bottom is light golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. Serve hot with a dipping sauce.
Notes
- Perilla leaves (kkaennip, 깻잎) or garlic chives (buchu, 부추) are also good additions.
- Use 5 tablespoons all purpose flour with 3 tablespoons cornstarch if available. Sometimes, Korean home cooks combine pancake mix with frying mix (twuigim garu, 튀김가루), aka tempura mix, for extra crispy pancakes. Frying mix typically contains more rice flour and baking powder for a crispy result. Try it if you have a bag of frying mix (1:1 ratio).
- This recipe makes 6 to 8 3-inch round pancakes, or two large pancakes.
This recipe was originally posted in August 2013. I’ve updated it with more information, new photos and minor changes to the recipe.
Ritu says
I loved this recipe. I used the zucchini and chili I grew in my garden. It will be made again 🙂
Ritu says
I made this over the weekend with some zucchini and chili from my garden. I loved it and will make it again.
John says
I made this for a Saturday night get together with friends. Mine were 2 inch in diameter, so the recipe made 25, which I thought would be adequate for our group of 8. I neglected to factor Jacob into the calculation. He’s a 14 year old who doesn’t like zucchini but in this case, he ate half the batch by himself. Next time, I’ll double or even triple the recipe.
BTW, I made your bulgogi recipe for the same group on a previous occasion. My friends’ older son commented, “This is INSANE!” Which translates: The young man thought he had died and gone to heaven. It was a huge hit with everyone. Thank you for sharing these wonderful recipes!
Jackie says
I’ve tried various different recipes/variations of this and this one was the easiest and had the best results with by far!
I missed the note about the baking powder so looking forward to trying that next time.
Thank you for the recipe!
Paula says
I made this with 3 T corn starch, 5 T water, and an egg. I served it with Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce as the dipping sauce. It came out GREAT!! I will be making this again and again, and will experiment with different veggies.
Julie says
I made this yesterday and it was so good! I was sad I didn’t double the recipe that I went out to the store and bought more zucchini to make this again. Thank you so much for sharing and can’t wait to try your other recipes!
Hyosun says
Great to hear that! Hope you find many more recipes you like here.
Elk Paauw says
Made this with Just Egg (vegan liquid egg replacer) and it’s SO GOOD! I added some baking powder as suggested and it indeed was crispy. Made the dipping sauce as well and it is surprisingly good for being so simple! I also added some green onion I had lying around, which was a great addition. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Sharon Lee Fernberg says
I just wanted to say that I prepared the Hobak Buchim for my dinner tonight and I cut the recipe in 1/2 since there’s only me but it made two of the zucchini pancakes.
They came out delicious. So thank you for publishing these Korean recipes. I look forward to trying some of your other recipes.
Mary Withey says
While this was still good, I think it lacked some major flavor. Next time I will add some garlic and onion powder.
Kat says
I made these for lunch and they were delicious. I used the flour and corn starch for I didn’t have the korean pancake batter. I did add just a dash of water and my favorite seasonings. You can use just about any type of seasoning you want to.
Thank you for a delicious quick healthy recipe. I always have those ingredients on hand! Next time I am adding shrimp to it 😉
Have a great day/night
Kat
Chloe says
Wow this turn out really tasty. Thanks
Elain Ponce De Leon says
My husband loves when my mom makes this and hobak jeon whenever we visit her. I have attempted to make this many times without a recipe and it never came out right. I used your recipe this morning and what a difference! It was simple and delicious!
My mom tells me how to make things but doesn’t have exact measurements so the taste is always off for me. Thank you for all your recipes and helping me recreate my mom’s dishes.
Martin says
Hello from Western Washington state!
So delicious and perfect! I cooked them on a cast iron griddle on top of the stove and they came out amazingly crispy/chewy and so delicious!!
I *really* strained out the water from the zucchini and onions using cheesecloth, holding back the refreshingly salty zucchini/onion brine to make the pancake mix + one large brown chicken egg. I used a medium size French shallot, about 250g and a fairly large zucchini, about 450g – all I had on hand.
I didn’t have any fresh hot peppers on hand tonight, but I’m SO ADDICTED I’m swinging by the market tomorrow to pick up some! 🙂
I used a pre-made store-bought Korean pancake mix. I wish I could add a picture, but it’s from a brand called “Chung Jung One” and it’s advertised as “More Chewy &Savory!”
It definitely is and made this a delicious starter for a casual dinner after work.
Thank you for a delicious recipe!!! 🙂
Reg Deneau says
My first attempt at Korean cooking. We do have a wonderful Korean restaurant here in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico where I first tasted this dish. Your recipe was easy to follow and turned out perfectly. I did add some chopped garlic and a couple of tablespoons of dried vegetable flakes for color. The dish was perfect along with the Korean Chicken I prepared to go with it. Next up…trying to figure out how to make that wonderful Korean Snow…LOL>
Hyosun says
Wow happy to hear you have a wonderful Korean restaurant in Mexico! Thank you so much for trying my recipe! Dried vegetable flakes sounds great.
Debra Wilbanks says
I’m excited to try this recipe using the tempura batter to make it crispier. Thanks for sharing!
siew Eng says
The zucchini pancake was amazing will make it again.Thank You for sharing the recipe.
Hyosun says
Awesome! Happy to hear that. You’re welcome!
Alex says
I made this, this morning and it tastes great! But it was a bit soggy in the middle. I think because my zucchini pieces were cut bigger and I didn’t “squeeze” it like you suggested. So, a lot of the water was retained. I added a bit of chopped garlic for added flavor. It tasted great!!
don says
I had that problem as well. Then I spread the batter super thin, as thin as I could with the back of a spoon. Huge difference! No more soggy middles and the pancake is much crisper all the way through.
I used a 5 to 3 mix of flour and cornstarch with a pinch of baking powder. I added some garlic powder, pepper, and a few red pepper flakes to the dry mix and the pancakes turned out awesome!
Shalee says
Your recipes remind me of my mother’s and I always go to your site to perfect my recipes. Thank you for your website and beautiful pix and recipes!
Ji Young says
Hello,
Thank you so much for your delicious recipes! Is there a substitute for eggs in this recipe? My kids are allergic but I would love to make them this jeon. Thank you!
Ji Young says
Hi! Is there any good substitutions for the egg? My kids are allergic, but I would love to make them all kinds of jeon. Thank you!
Hyosun says
You can simply omit it, and use a little more water for the batter. Hope this helps.
Laura Firebaugh says
Hi Ji Young,
You can also try a vegan egg replacers. My partner is vegan and so I’ve learned how to veganize a lot of my recipes. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, you can also use it in baking, and any other recipe that calls for eggs. 🙂 Works really well and doesn’t affect taste at all!
Liz Cirillo says
Thank you for having such a great website. I love Korean food and it is hard to find good recipes. I plan to try many of them. Out of curiosity, does Korean cuisine use any cured meats? I have a small basement and I think that would be fun. Or salted I suppose. I do live in a warm climate, so there is that! Your recipes are well written with great pictures!
Hyosun says
Thank you! Yes Koreans traditionally cured meat various ways for preservation. For example, some people cure meat in doenjang, ferment soybean paste. I haven’t cured meat myself though.
Niveditha says
I stumbled upon your site recently, though we have eaten at Korean restaurants several times. Am happy to see dishes which can be created in my corner of the world too. I particularly love your pancakes!
Jessica M Rhodes says
Annyeong haseyo =_)
My name is Jessa and Although, I am from the Philippines Sarang Korean food. I love all your recipes listed on your website. I will attempt to make your recipe” Hobak Buchim ” (Zucchini Pancakes) today 8/12/2019. I do eat Korean food everyday and specially fond of Kimchi. I love to cook but I’m sure I am not as good as you =_)
Gomabseubnida
Jessa
sunshine says
hi hyosun! thank you for the incredible recipe. when i was younger, my grandma always made us hobak buchim. honestly, i could just eat it as a meal alone. your buchim reminded me of hers, it was really tasty and fairly simple to make. my mom, who is such a big fan of my grandma’s pancakes, loved the taste of your recipe. so again, thank you!
Hyosun says
Hooray! Mom approved!!! Thank you so much for stopping by to tell me the good news! Means a lot to me. Cheers!
Helen Patterson says
I cut my zucchini as shown and followed the recipe. The zucchini didn’t “wilt” not even after 20 minutes and didn’t release any fluids. If it hadn’t been for the onion and peppers I wouldn’t have had enough fluids to make a batter. At that I had to add some water. I try them again and use my own pancake batter and cut everything a lot smaller, maybe that helps. I mixed vegetable oil with sesame oil ( just a few drops). I think it made the pancakes better
Hyosun says
It’s quite unusual for zucchini not to wilt after 20 minutes. Cutting the zucchini smaller will definitely help. The recipe says cut the zucchini into matchsticks. Adding a bit more salt will help too. Also, depending on the zucchini, the amount of the liquid being generated will vary, which is the reason the recipe says mix in 2 to 3 tablespoons of water if the batter is too stiff. Hope it turns out much better next time. Cheers!
Caroline says
Hi Hyosun,
May I know how to prepare dipping sauces for these pancakes? Thank u!
Hyosun says
See here: https://www.koreanbapsang.com/haemul-pajeon/
Thanks!
cheryl morton says
How much flour?
H J says
I am Korean and you have the most authentic and traditional preparation method. I truly commend you for not cutting corners and simplifying methods of Korean cooking. It takes discipline to cook the right way. For zucchini pancake, you do it my mom’s way of salting the vegetable to get the moisture out which prevents sogginess.
Thank you for keeping Korean cooking tradition alive by not altering easier and convenient cooking method! You have proven again and again to me as the best website for authentic Korean cooking.
Lilian Sumilat says
Yesterday, my husband and I toke a Korean friend to eat at this Korean resturant and I want him to try the Black Cod dish with vegetables. I really love this dish to me is comfort food, I went there 1/2 hour earlier to order because it takes 25 minutes for them to prepare. He was so happy to eat this dish, he said “What a way to end the year, thank you.” That dish cost $40, so I decided to look up your block to see if you have the Black Cod receipe so I can make at home. I was so happy to see you have so many fish dishes, I will try them all and cook when my Korean future in laws come to visit in January 2019, thank you so much Hoysun.
Hyosun says
Wow that’s expensive! I’m glad you found my blog. Happy cooking!
Lori says
Delicious recipe and so quick and easy! I’m addicted to them now! Lol
Hyosun says
Thank you, Lori! I’m happy to hear you tried and enjoyed it.
AV says
Just a small correction. In your text, you say “Perfect as a snack, an appetizer, or a light vegan meal!” I think you mean ‘vegetarian,’ not vegan. Vegan food doesn’t contain any animal products, such as milk, eggs or honey. Since these contain egg, they are not vegan.
Hyosun says
Oh thank you! Corrected.
Diane says
I commented on your buchu jeon recipe page, but these are what I actually made, I now realize! I love your recipe! I make mine batter a little thinner, so they come out just a bit thicker than French crêpes, and love them that way as well. Today, I combined aehobak, sliced shallots, sliced 꽈리고추, plus buchu and perilla from the garden. I added a bit of fish sauce to the batter (thinking of how aehobak is often prepared with salted shrimp) in addition to the soup soy sauce, and used Chinese black vinegar for the dipping sauce. There are so many ways to play with this delicious recipe. I’m so grateful to you for introducing me to the idea!
Hyosun says
You’re right — so many variations! You had all the right stuff in. Yum!
Sheila Brown says
Hi, I bought some buchim garu the other day, I have a courgette in the fridge so I think I should make some of these today. However, I was wondering what kind of vinegar should I use in the dipping sauce?
Love your website!
Hyosun says
Hi Sheila – Any vinegar is fine. Use what you like to your taste. Thank you for the love! Hope you enjoy this recipe.
Angela Kahl says
Sitting in Changwon, outside of Busan. Just made this recipe for lunch, though I threw in a handful of green gochus because GOCHU.
Seriously, how did I ever live before Korean food???
:3
Christine says
Hello, what are the ingredients in buchim garu? I would like to make it myself, since I can’t find it, and I know it would be better than plain flour.
Amber says
Made these yesterday and they were easy and yummy! I just have to get better at chopping zucchini into thinner matchsticks. My veggie pieces were larger than yours but they still tasted great! Thanks for the recipe :-).
If you haven’t seen this ad from McCormick spices, you’ll probably love it. It’s such a sweet ad about a Korean-American woman remembering her mother making zucchini pancakes when she was a child. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6UG7Ue4H6g
Hyosun says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! And thank you for the video! Very touching.
Melody says
Hi, I’m friends with your son and he told me about your website. I tried the Zucchini Pancakes last night to serve with my parent’s Chinese dinner, which included braised beef and daikon stew, and it was a perfect side dish! I was surprised at how well seasoned it tasted even though all I put in there was a little bit of salt! (note: i used the Korean panacake mix, and not just flour or regular pancake flour). I really enjoyed this simple recipe and want to experiment with other vegetables and maybe even put fish or crab meat in. Do you recommend any other ingredients?
Hyosun says
Hi Melody – Nice to meet you here. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Sometimes, we make similar pancakes with garlic chives. You don’t need to pre-salt the chives as you did with zucchinis in this recipe. You can add some thinly sliced onion, perilla leaves and/or chili peppers for additional flavors and a spicy kick if you like. Another popular pancake ingredient is thinly sliced kimchi. The resulting pancake is called kimchijeon. Ground or thinly sliced pork, shrimp and squid are also common additions to these kinds of savory pancakes. There are a few different types of Korean pancake recipes on my blog. Search “jeon” or “pancakes” to get some other ideas. Hope this helps, but let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks!
Sook says
I love Hobak Buchim! Yum!
Hyosun says
Really good with summer zucchinis! Enjoy…
kyan says
these look great :3 ty!
Hyosun says
Thank you! Hope you try to make it soon.
Alfredo Di Stefano says
I love your recipes. They easy to make and delicious!! Many THANKS.
Unknown says
I had some extra hobak in my fridge that I had set aside for quiche but I just didn’t feel like making it. Thanks for again for you awesome site. Such a life saver! Gamsahamnida. =D
Hyosun Ro says
You’re welcome! Thanks for the nice words!
Evil Candy says
Where did you get the seeds for korean zuccini? I’ve been searching EVERYWHERE for them!
Hyosun Ro says
Korean markets around here sell seedlings/small plants in the spring time.
Anonymous says
These were so simple and delicious– thank you for a wonderful recipe that I will use again and again.
Hyosun Ro says
So happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know. Cheers!
Hyosun Ro says
So happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know. Cheers!
Holly | Beyond Kimchee says
If I have a plate full of these pancakes and the dipping sauce to go with, my day would be so much more comforting. Lovely recipe, Hyosun!
Hyosun Ro says
If you were near me, I’d make a plate full and deliver to you to help you feel a little better from your injury. Hope you’re recovering well. Thanks for coming by.
Sona - quick picks/pick quicks says
wow !!this is such an interesting munch. definitely will try. but beleive i can do it with normal panckae mix. first time here..you have a lovely blog.