These pan-fried bites (jeon) are a holiday favorite and a perfect appetizer or side dish for any Korean meal. Each small piece is dipped in egg batter and fried to a light, tender coating. Simple and tasty!
Jeon (전) is a collective term that refers to pan-fried battered food in Korean cuisine. It’s a type of food that evokes the warmth of family gatherings and holiday celebrations. There are typically two types of jeon.
The first type is pancake-like dishes, such as pajeon, buchujeon, hobak buchim, gamjajeon, kimchijeon, nokdujeon, and minarijeon. For these, you mix all the key ingredients into a flour or other batter and then pan-fry them into a crispy pancake.
The other type is small (bite-sized) jeon – small pieces of the ingredients, individually pan-fried in egg batter to create a light, soft coating that’s simple and tasty. As with the first type, there are many variations, including: saengseonjeon (fish), hobakjeon ( zucchini), saewujeon (shrimp), guljeon (oyster), beoseotjeon (mushrooms), and wanjajeon (or donggeurangttaeng), etc. Sometimes, jeon is stuffed with a meat mixture – kkaennipjeon (perilla leaf filled with meat mixture) and gochujeon (chili pepper filled with a meat mixture – see kkaennipjeon).
Any combination of jeon dishes is called modeumjeon (모듬전). In this recipe, I’ve included hobakjeon (zucchini), saewujeon (shrimp), and saengseonjeon (fish). You can create your own combination with the ingredients you like.
These bite-sized jeon make a beautiful (and tasty) addition to your holiday table! They are easy to make too, so you can enjoy them as an appetizer or side dish pretty much with any meal, any day of the year.
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Ingredients
- 1 zucchini
- 10 shrimp medium to large
- 1/2 pound flounder or cod fillet or any white fish
- salt and pepper
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup flour
- vegetable or canola oil for pan frying
Dipping sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- pinch pepper
Instructions
- Slice the zucchini into ⅓ - inch disks. Lightly salt both sides and set aside at least for 20 minutes. Pat dry excess water with a paper towel.
- Peel and devein the shrimp, keeping the tail on. Rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Butterfly the shrimp by cutting along the curved back. Do NOT cut through. Open the shrimp halves and remove the vein. Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides. Set aside at least for 15 minutes.
- Rinse fish and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut the fish fillet into 1/2-inch thick, 2-inch long slices by running the knife diagonally through the fillet. Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides. Set aside at least for 15 minutes.
- Dredge both sides of the prepared ingredients in flour, one piece at a time. (Do this step for all the pieces before the next step.)
- Heat a large non-stick skillet with a tablespoon oil over medium low heat. Dip each piece one at a time in the beaten egg, and carefully place in the heated skillet.
- Cook for 1 to 2 minutes each side, adding more oil if needed, until slightly golden.
- Repeat until all the ingredients are pan fried. Add an additional tablespoon of oil each time. Serve warm with the dipping sauce.
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