buchu (부추) is fast becoming one of my favorite vegetables. the list of vegetables that i will willingly eat is rather short (cucumbers, spinach, lettuce, just to name a few), so buchu, otherwise known as garlic chives, chinese leeks, asian chives, or jiu cai (as it is called in my house), should feel very special. no doubt my fondness for jiu cai came about early on in life; every chinese new year we would eat plates and plates of dumplings, and the most common type of dumpling includes jiu cai.
the other day i bought a bushel (is that the correct term?) of chives from the local market and decided to make buchu jeon (remember, jeon is sort of like korean pancakes). as i’ve said before, it is ridiculously easy to make jeon and it doesn’t take fancy ingredients. just follow these simple (and flexible) directions:
step 1—wash the chives thoroughly; they are super difficult to clean up, especially if you buy them at the open markets. chop them into inch-long pieces. put away.
step 2—mix together flour (you can also use special buchim mix (부침가루)), water, and one egg in a large bowl. the combination of the three should create a white, viscous batter (in between runny and thick). sprinkle some salt into the bowl, add the chopped chives, and mix. [note: you can also add finely chopped chili peppers or green onions to the batter.]
step 3—heat frying pan (medium heat). coat the frying pan with a generous amount of cooking oil. after about a minute, slowly pour batter into the pan (it should sizzle!), enough for a good-sized pancake. when the bottom side is cooked, flip the cake over with the aid of a spatula. i personally like my jeon to be super crispy, so i let it sit on the stove until it’s well past golden brown.
step 4—when done, take the buchu jeon out of the pan and serve it on a plate. pair the jeon with regular soy sauce or a korean version of chili sauce, which is a mixture of soy sauce, chili flakes, pieces of finely chopped chili pepper, and a pinch of sugar. [note: add more water, chives, and flour to the batter and make more buchu jeon; it's kind of like the bowl that keeps on giving.]
buchu jeon is usually not the main course of a meal, but what the koreans call banchan (반 찬, a side dish). as with most things, the more you cook something like jeon, the better you are at making it. you realize that the more eggs you use, the more eggy the jeon is (like scrambled eggs). and if the batter is too thick, it will take longer for the jeon to cook all the way through. you learn these things every time you cook it; heck, i’m still trying to perfect the art of jeon-making. but this is a good start.



