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Pajeon and japchae: Joo Won’s recipes for Korean-style vegetarian starters

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June 23, 2026 · 1:32 PM
Pajeon and japchae: Joo Won’s recipes for Korean-style vegetarian starters

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Joo Won’s asparagus and courgette pajeon with soy-vinegar dip. Photograph: Matthew Hague/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Lucy Turnbull.

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Joo Won’s asparagus and courgette pajeon with soy-vinegar dip. Photograph: Matthew Hague/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Lucy Turnbull.

Korean food and drink

Pajeon and japchae: Joo Won’s recipes for Korean-style vegetarian starters

Rather than being relegated to side orders, vegetables take centre stage in everyday Korean cooking, as these pancake and noodle dishes show

Joo Won

Tue 23 Jun 2026 01.00 EDT

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V egetables play a central role in Korean cuisine, and they form the backbone of everyday meals, rather than simply acting as side dishes. They provide balance, nutrition, colour and variety, often through preparations such as kimchi, namul and seasonal banchan. Our vegetable cooking focuses on simplicity and preserving natural flavour, often using techniques such as blanching, light sauteeing, fermenting and pickling, and typically seasoning with garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and fermented pastes such as doenjang and gochujang. This approach reflects Korea’s long tradition of plant-focused cooking shaped by seasonality, resourcefulness and the need for preserved foods. Together, vegetables create harmony and contrast within a meal.

Asparagus and courgette pajeon with soy-vinegar dip

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Prep 5 minCook20 minMakes 1 pajeon for two to share

2 large asparagus spears (70g)

1 large spring onion (15g), trimmed

¼ medium courgette (35g)

¼ onion (40g), peeled

1 red chilli (optional)

80g standard tempura flour (or Korean savoury pancake mix powder)

Vegetable oil, for frying

For the soy-vinegar dip

40ml Koreanjin ganjangsoysauce, or Kikkoman or any light soy sauce

20****ml Korean apple vinegar, or rice vinegar

10g****caster sugar

**1****tbsp finely diced onion

½ red chilli**, very finely diced

Put all the ingredients for the soy-vinegar dip in a bowl, mix well to combine, then set aside.

Cut off and discard the hard bases from the asparagus stalks, then slice the spears at an angle into roughly ½cm-thick x 8-10cm-long pieces. Cut the spring onion into similar-sized pieces. Cut the courgette in half lengthways, then cut it into ½cm-thick half-moons. Cut the quarter-onion into ½cm-thick slices. Don’t stress about being too precise with the slicing, though – a little thicker or thinner won’t be a problem.

In a bowl, mix the tempura flour with 90ml water to make a batter, beating it until there are no lumps. Put all the sliced vegetables in the batter and mix well to coat – there’s no need for any seasoning, because tempura flour is ready seasoned.

Pour enough oil into a 22cm nonstick frying pan so the surface is completely coated (or use two smaller pans ). Put the pan on a medium-high heat and, once the oil is hot, tip in the batter mixture – it should sizzle the moment it hits the pan – and spread it out evenly to cover the whole base of the pan. Leave to cook for three minutes, then flip and cook for three minutes on the other side. Flip again, cook for a minute more, then carefully transfer the pajeon to a plate.

Serve the pajeon whole, and cut it up like a pizza (or cut it into 4-5cm squares to make it easier to pick up and eat), with the soy-vinegar sauce on the side for dipping.

Green vegetable and vermicelli japchae

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Joo Won’s green vegetable and vermicelli japchae.

The choice of vegetables here is up to you – those listed are just what I like in my japchae.

Prep5 minCook 20 minServes2****to share as a starter

**100g rice vermicelli30g carrot

50g chestnut mushrooms

80g peeled onion

20g mangetout

40g hispi cabbage

40g courgette

40g asparagus

1 tbsp vegetable oil

20g peeled garlic**, finely sliced

For the sauce

35****ml Korean jin soy sauce, or Kikkoman or other light soy sauce

50g mushroom stir-fry****sauce – I use Lee Kum Kee, which you can get in large supermarkets, specialist stores and online (or, for non-vegetarians, oyster sauce)

15g****caster sugar

**20****ml sesame oil

1 small pinch salt**(optional)

1 good pinch ground****black pepper

To garnish (optional)

1 pinchwhite sesame seeds½ red chilli, very finely sliced

Put the noodles in a large, heat-resistant bowl, pour in enough just-boiled water to cover, then leave to soak for 10 minutes. Drain the noodles, then put them back in the bowl to keep warm.

While the noodles are soaking, cut all the vegetables into ½cm-thin strips and put in a bowl to the side of the hob. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and put to the side of the hob.

Put the vegetable oil in a large pan on a medium-low heat, add the sliced garlic and cook gently, stirring, for a minute. Turn up the heat to medium-high, tip in all the sliced vegetables, and cook for another minute – at this stage, it’s best to keep them all pretty crunchy. Turn off the heat, add the drained noodles and the sauce, and toss and mix to combine.

Return the pan to a medium heat, then stir and toss for no more than two minutes, just until the noodles and vegetables are heated through and coated in the sauce, and the vegetables still have plenty of crunch; if they start to stick to the pan, add a tablespoon of water, to loosen.

Taste and, if need be, add a pinch of salt (you may not need any, because there should be enough seasoning in the sauce already) and some ground black pepper. Divide between two bowls, garnish with the sesame seeds and sliced red chilli, if using, and serve immediately.

  • Joo Won is chef/co-owner of Calong, London N16

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Comments (19)

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  • [Bristol_Fashion](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/100578304) [1 hour ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/174972169)   [Bristol_Fashion](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/100578304) [1 hour ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/174972169)      1     I followed the link to namul & wotnot and have decided that Korean cuisine sounds like a Good Thing... thanks. We're lucky here in Bristol as the nearby Chinese supermarket has Korean and Japanese aisles - whole aisles! [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/174972169&componentEventParams=componentType%3Didentityauthentication%26componentId%3Dsignin_to_reply_comment)

  • HedleggToefinga 2 hours ago HedleggToefinga 2 hours ago 0 Hmmm, chef recommends Lee Kum Kee, literally the absolute worst of the manifold Asian sauce manufacturers. In an Asian grocery, pick any one of the many versions of a condiment off a shelf and it will be better than the Lee Kum Kee one. Reply

    • [Pang_Pang](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/115767699) [2 hours ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/174970861)   [Pang_Pang](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/115767699) [HedleggToefinga](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/jun/23/pajeon-japchae-recipes-korean-style-vegetarian-starters-joo-won#comment-174970396) [2 hours ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/174970861)      3     Not necessarily so. Soy sauces, oyster sauces and toasted sesame oil are all good quality.

Also, if you want quick Cantonese style dishes then also good for that, but not so good if you want authentic Sichuan flavours, for example. Reply
* whood 2 hours ago whood HedleggToefinga 2 hours ago 3 Yes, the Korean-named chef and owner of a Korean restaurant recommends Lee Kum Kee. Reply
* whood 2 hours ago whood whood 2 hours ago 2 I also observe that he recommends the Lee Kum Kee version of one ingredient, specifying other brands of other ingredients. Which implies to me that he has experimented. Reply

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