Sung Si-kyung’s Chicken and Scallion Jeon: Ingredients and Cooking Tips

Photo: Sung Si Kyung / YouTube.

Sung Si-kyung’s padak-jeon turns chicken and a generous handful of scallions into a browned, savory Korean pancake. In his October 21, 2026 video, he adds Cheongyang chili, a little curry powder, starch and frying mix, then loosens the mixture with a small splash of beer. The result is a chicken-centered version of jeon, rather than the seafood pancake you may know from Korean restaurants.

Watch Sung Si-kyung make chicken and scallion jeon →

What is padak-jeon?

Pa means scallion, dak means chicken, and jeon is a broad Korean term for pan-fried foods. Here, chopped chicken and scallions are bound together with a small amount of starch and frying mix. The chicken is part of the pancake itself; this is not fried chicken served on top of a separate pancake.

Sung says at the start that he has wanted to try the dish even though its initial trend has passed. He experiments as he cooks, rather than presenting a precisely weighed formula. That matters if you plan to follow along: the video demonstrates the texture and method, but does not provide a complete ingredient list in grams or a fixed cooking time.

Ingredients shown in the original video

• Chicken, cut into small bite-size pieces
• A generous amount of scallions
• Cheongyang green chili
• Salt, pepper, a little sweetness and cooking wine for seasoning
• Starch and Korean frying mix
• A small amount of curry powder
• A little beer to loosen the mixture

The video does not give a full yield or exact ratios. If you want to reproduce his version closely, watch the mixing sequence and compare the amount of coating with the chicken, rather than inventing a water-heavy pancake batter.

The method: coat lightly, then cook without rushing

1. Cut and season the chicken. At the beginning, he cuts the chicken into pieces small enough to break apart comfortably in a bite. He discusses salt, pepper, a little sweetness and cooking wine rather than building a separate sauce.

2. Add scallions and chili. The scallions are a substantial part of the mixture. Cheongyang chili adds heat, so this is not the mildest version of a Korean pancake. If you substitute a different chili, its heat will change the result; that is your adaptation, not a substitution tested in this video.

3. Add just enough dry ingredients to bind. From about 1:43, he explains that starch alone could work, then chooses a combination with frying mix and a little curry powder. He notices he has not added liquid and uses a small amount of beer. The mixture remains full of chicken and scallions instead of becoming a bowl of thin batter.

4. Pan-fry as one large pancake. Around 2:48 he chooses a single large pancake rather than several small ones. At 3:08, he specifically warns against rushing over high heat because there is chicken inside. Turn it carefully and continue cooking the second side. Browning the surface is only one part of the job: the chicken must also cook through.

What did he think of the taste?

At about 4:08, Sung compares the flavor to eating samgyetang in pancake form. Samgyetang is Korean chicken soup, so his comparison points to the savory chicken character—not to ginseng or rice being added to this recipe.

He is pleased with the small curry addition, the combination of starch and frying mix, and using beer to adjust the consistency. He also emphasizes the Cheongyang chili. These are his comments after tasting the pancake in the video; this article is a guide to that demonstration, not a claim that we have cooked and tested the recipe ourselves.

Before you make it at home

Use the video for its visual cues, especially how little loose coating there is around the chicken. Avoid guessing an exact number of servings or a cooking time from the edited footage. Pan size, chicken thickness and heat level all affect the process. The video does not include a detailed dipping-sauce recipe, so there is no verified Sung Si-kyung sauce formula to add here.

For readers outside Korea, look for Korean frying mix under the name twigim-garu. Do not confuse it with a finished sauce or a ready-made pancake. Cheongyang chili is a Korean hot chili; choosing a milder pepper makes a different, less spicy adaptation.

More from Sung Si-kyung’s food videos

Prefer a restaurant visit to cooking? His Minamok episode explores Korean beef soup and boiled-beef platters in Apgujeong. Our Korean-language guide includes the restaurant’s location and menu context. It is a separate restaurant story, not a place selling this chicken pancake.

Read the Minamok restaurant guide (Korean) →

Source: Sung Si Kyung official YouTube, “Chicken & Scallion Jeon,” October 21, 2026. Checked October 22, 2026.