Hi everyone!
I wanted to share a traditional Korean pancake, Jeon today. September 9~12 are public holidays in South Korea, called Chuseok. It is the second biggest holiday and is very similar to Thanksgiving day. The first biggest holiday is New Year.
In Chuseok, whole families are gathering including relatives, and celebrate harvests with a lot of food in whole three days straight. The representative Chuseok foods are Jeon, Galbi Jjim, and Songpyeon (Korean Rice Cake).
Jeon is made by fresh meats or vegetables and coating them with flour and egg wash, then frying them in oil. It can be made with any ingredients such as fish, meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables. Koreans usually serve them as an appetizer or side dish.
Today, I will show you how to make four different kinds of Jeon, four colored jeon and napa cabbage jeon, beef jeon, and zucchini jeon.
Estimate Time:
- Four colored jeon: 30 ~40 minutes
- Beef Jeon: 15 ~ 20 minutes
- Napa Cabbage Jeon: 15 ~ 20 minutes
- Zucchini Jeon: 15 ~ 20 minutes
Serving Size: 2~3 people
1. Four Colored Jeon:
INGREDIENTS:
- Toothpicks
- Thin Sliced Skirt Steak Beef
- Any Mushroom
- Carrot
- Green Onion
- Green Pepper
Sauce for beef:
- 1, 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Cooking Wine
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tsp Minced Ginger
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
Flour Mixture:
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 potato or corn starch
- 4 Eggs
DIRECTIONS:
Prep the ingredients
- Soak the toothpicks in water. It prevents to not get burned.
- Marinate the beef in the sauce for more than 10 minutes.
- Cut all the ingredients into a similar size, I cut them into about 8 cm or 3 inches.
- In a medium sauce pot, add about 1 L of water and 1 tbsp of salt. Bring it to boil on high heat and add the sliced carrots and mushrooms. Blanch it for about 1 minute and take it out from the water.
Insert the ingredients
- Pick up the soaked toothpicks and insert the ingredients in order of Beef – Green Onions – Green Pepper – Mushrooms – Carrots.
- On an individual plate, add the flour and starch, and mix well.
- In a large bowl, add the 4 eggs, beat, and stir well.
Start cooking
- In a large frying pan, add 1 tsp of vegetable oil and bring it to warm on medium heat.
- Lay down both sides of the inserted jeon on the flour, then coat it with the egg wash.
- Put the jeon on the warmed pan and cook for 5 minutes and flip it over, and cook for another 4 minutes until turning into light brown color.
- Serve
2. Beef Jeon:
INGREDIENTS:
- Thin Sliced Skirt Steak Beef
- The flour mixture
- The egg water
DIRECTIONS:
- Season the beef with salt and pepper.
- Lay it down on the flour and coat with egg wash.
- Add 1 tsp of vegetable oil and cook it on the same pan for 4 minutes on each side until it turns light brown.
3. Napa Cabbage Jeon:
INGREDIENTS:
- Napa Cabbage
- The flour mixture
- The egg water
DIRECTIONS:
- Hit the washed and trimmed napa with the back of your knife to make it flat.
- Season it with only salt.
- Lay it down on the flour and coat with egg wash.
- Add 1 tsp of vegetable oil and cook it on the same pan for 4 minutes on each side until it turns light brown.
4. Zucchini Jeon:
INGREDIENTS:
- Zucchini
- The flour mixture
- The egg water
DIRECTIONS:
- Slice the zucchini not too thin nor not too thick.
- Season it with only salt.
- Lay it down on the flour and coat with egg wash.
- Add 1 tsp vegetable oil and cook on the same pan for 4 minutes on each side until turning into light brown color.
Serve all the jeons on an individual plate:
My favorite jeon was the four-colored jeon. It is a very good combination of vegetables and meat. I highly recommend you cook them at home if you want to experience Korean culture. You will love it!
Thank you for reading:)