This vegan Yachaejeon (비건 야채전), also known as Korean vegetable pancakes, is a delicious Korean dish that traditionally can be vegan, but is sometimes made with eggs.

This Korean vegetable pancakes vegan recipe mimics traditional Yachaejeon and takes about 5-8 mins to cook! All you need is a mixture of vegetables (your choice!), flour and oil to make these delicious savoury vegetable pancakes.

Recipe for Vegan Korean Vegetable Pancakes

To make vegan Korean vegetable pancakes (aka Yachaejeon | 비건 야채전), all you need is vegetables, flour, water, salt and oil for frying!

Korean people often dip these pancakes with a spicy and tangy sauce, but you can substitute for a simple soy sauce and vinegar mixture if you prefer a no-spice option. I’ve included my recipes for a spicy and non-spicy dipping sauce for your vegan Yachaejeon!

Yachae is the Korean word for vegetable and Jeon is the word we use for dishes that are battered and pan-fried, like this dish!

This is possibly one of the easiest (and cheapest) Korean recipes you can make as the ingredients are simple and you probably already have them at home. For the batter, it’s as simple as flour, water and salt. And simply by mixing together a variety of thinly sliced vegetables, you can create delicious and savoury Korean vegetable pancakes.

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You can try to make the recipe gluten-free by using gluten-free flour.

The recipe is vegan, vegetarian, nut-free, egg-free and soy-free!

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Ingredients

• Vegetables (i used a mixture of onion, zucchini, potatoes and carrots)
• Flour
• Water
• Salt
• Oil

Non-Spicy Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp white or rice vinegar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
• ½ stalks green onion (optional)

Spicy Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
• 3 tbsp white or rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup or brown rice (any other sweetener)
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
• 1-2 stalks green onion, chopped (optional)

How To Make Korean Vegetable Pancakes (Vegan)

To start making your vegan Korean vegetable pancakes, pick out which vegetables you would like in your Yachaejeon, or what you have in your fridge already! I like to use a mixture of onions, zucchini, potatoes, carrots and/or Korean green peppers. About 2.5 cups worth.

Prepare the vegetables you’d like to use by peeling them and slicing them into thin, long pieces.

In a mixing bowl, add your flour, water and salt and whisk until a smooth pancake batter is formed. 

Add in 2.5 cups of the vegetable mixture and mix well into your pancake batter.

Heat around 1 tbsp of oil on a large non-stick pan on medium heat and add a large scoop of the vegetable batter. You can make the pancakes as big as you’d like. I recommend making them medium-sized (around 6-7 inches) in the beginning.

Cook on one side for around 3-5 minutes on medium to medium-low heat (or until it becomes golden) and flip over. Cook on the other side for another 2-4 minutes or until cooked to your liking. 

While pancakes are cooking, you can prepare your dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients together (choose either the spicy or non-spicy option).

Once pancakes are complete, transfer onto a bowl and repeat steps 4-5 until you’re done with the batter.  Serve warm with dipping sauce!

You can eat this as an appetizer, a snack or as part of any meal. You can rip up the pancakes with your hands or chopsticks or if you have kitchen scissors, cut them up into convenient bite-sized pieces.

Fun fact: Koreans often eat these pancakes accompanied with alcohol (we call this type of food “anju” 안주 – food you eat with booze!).

NEED MORE VEGAN KOREAN RECIPE INSPO? CHECK THESE OUT:

• Vegan Korean Fried Chicken
• Vegan Bibimbap
• Vegan Korean Soft Tofu Stew

If you enjoy Korean recipes, try these Korean seaweed rice rolls called Kimbap!