These Korean mini meat patties are egg-battered and pan-fried. They are nicely soft, moist, and delicious!
What is wanja jeon?
On traditional holidays such as Chuseok (mid-autumn festival) and Seollal (New Year’s Day), most Korean homes make several types of jeon (전) dishes (pan-fried battered food) for their holiday feast. Wanja-jeon (완자전) is among the popular choices. It’s also called gogi-jeon (고기전).
Meatballs are called gogi wanja (고기완자) in Korean and used in many traditional dishes such as soups or hot pots. When they are egg-battered and pan-fried, they are called wanja-jeon. To make jeon, the meatballs are gently pressed into mini patties.
As a child growing up in Korea, I loved these little egg-battered meatballs. We called them by their funny nickname – dong-geu-rang-ddeng (동그랑떙), meaning “a round thing”. I know it’s hard to pronounce, but it is one of those words that makes you smile when said or heard. They were a favorite for packing in the school lunch boxes. Meat was a luxury in Korea back then, so it was always a special treat to have a few of these meatballs with a meal.
Enjoy it on your holiday table or simply as an appetizer or side dish with any Korean meal. They are also delicious simply with a bowl of rice and kimchi.
Ingredients:
- ground beef and pork or use all beef or all pork
- tofu
- onion
- carrot
- scallions
- minced garlic
- sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- eggs
- flour
- oil for pan-frying
Mushrooms are also great in these meat patties.
To achieve a smooth texture, take extra time to finely chop the vegetables and mix all the ingredients very well by hand. You can use a mini chopper if available.
Make about 1-inch meatballs by rolling the meat mixture between your palms. Then gently press to flatten. When ready to fry up, dredge in flour and dip in the egg wash before adding to the preheated pan for pan-frying.
The meat patties can be prepared ahead of time and pan-fried on the day of serving.
Variations
The meat mixture in this recipe can also be used to make types of stuffed jeon such as kkaennip jeon. You can also stuff other vegetables such as chili peppers, zucchinis, and mushrooms.
For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or combination of beef and pork (half and half)
- 4 to 6 ounces tofu squeezed and crushed
- 1/2 medium onion
- 1/2 medium carrot
- 2 scallions
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- salt about 1/2 teaspoon and pepper to taste
- 3 eggs beaten well
- 1/2 cup flour
- oil for pan-frying
Instructions
- Finely chop the vegetables.
- Place the tofu in a cheese cloth or kitchen towel and squeeze out as much water as possible. Break up any large chunks of tofu into crumbles.
- Combine all the prepared ingredients, and mix very well by hand until everything is evenly blended, crushing any remaining big pieces of tofu. You can cook a little bit in the microwave (or in a pan) to see if it needs more salt.
- Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls, and then gently press between your palms to flatten.
- Dredge the patties in flour one at a time, coating well. Shake off excess flour.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium low heat. Coat the pan evenly with 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Dip each piece in the beaten egg, and carefully place in the heated skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, adding more oil, until the meat is cooked through. The meat is ready if it feels firm. Clean the pan, and repeat with the remaining pieces.
This recipe was originally posted in Sept 2014. It’s been updated here with new photos and minor improvements to the recipe.
RJ Buchanan says
Tried for the first time. Probably needed to squish the meatballs more and let sit in the egg longer, but very tasty. Thanks for the recipe
Hyosun says
Glad it turned out tasty! Yes adjust based on your experience.
Tera says
This looks amazing. What would be a good subsitute for tofu?
Hyosun says
Mushrooms or just use more meat or other veggies.
Christie says
Thank you for this versatile, yummy and easy recipe!
Hyosun says
You’re welcome! Thank you!
Jeffrey Troiola says
What are the fried leaves that are garnished the dish? Thank you!
Hyosun says
Those are perilla leaves stuffed with the meat mixture.
Susan says
is it better to use beef or pork?
Hyosun says
I like to use a mix, but it’s really a matter of preference.
Ilona says
Hi, how can I make them gluten free? Would I just need to swap flour for some different gf flour? Thank you
Hyosun says
Yes! Enjoy!
Lilja Sigurðardóttir says
I made these tonight, so delicious. Made some dipping sauce with soy sauce and white vinegar to have on the side. Yum yum!
Alison Tan says
Hi! How long will this keep in the fridge?
Hyosun says
4 to 5 days, and much longer if you frozen. Enjoy!
Kim says
Would you freeze these raw or cooked?
Hyosun says
You can do it either way.
Lu Starr says
These are delicious served as an hors d’oeuvre! I doubled the recipe and they were still gone within 10 minutes. It is a good thing that I also made the fried Mandu (which also went very quickly). Every recipe that I have tried from this website has been delicious and easy to make, although the mandu takes more time than the wanja. Thank you for posting these recipes of Korean classics!
Hyosun says
Yes! Great as hors d’oeuvre! Happy to hear these were popular. Thank you so much for using my recipes. Oh and sorry about the late reply. Happy cooking!
Annie says
Will this turn out ok if I skip the flour? Celiac here so can’t have gluten. Can I substitute coconut flour? Thank you!!
AP says
Coconut flour is extremely absorptive, you can’t substitute regular flour with it.
Try using corn starch instead. It’s used instead of flour for many fried Asian recipes and I believe it does not contain gluten.
Mary Heathcoe says
Pinterest seems to be blocking you web page.
Hyosun says
Thanks for bringing it to my attention! I’ve contacted Pinterest, and hope to resolve it soon! Cheers!
amy says
ItIt seems delicious, i’ll try it for sure.
Thank you for the good work.
Gamsahabnida ^^
Hyosun says
You’re welcome, Amy! Enjoy!!
Tricia says
May I know what flour are you using?
Hyosun says
I usually use King Arthur brand or Gompyo, a Korean brand.
Sun says
What type of Tofu (i.e. soft, medium or hard) should we be using?
Hyosun says
The harder ones will have less water to deal with. Use medium or hard. Sorry about the late response. It was hard to keep up with emails and comments during my recent trip to Korea.
Laura says
How can I make this without any egg (because of an allergy)?
Hyosun says
Just pan fry them without dredging in flour and dipping in eggs. Or, see this recipe: https://www.koreanbapsang.com/gogi-wanja-jorim-glazed-korean/
Carol says
I have saved this in my “recipes” folder and want to thank you for posting this, and many more thanks for the the beautiful and most helpful photos. When I shop at my local Korean market (we have BIG ones where I live) if I am lucky the ladies are making and selling food like this. I’ve always wanted to make it for myself, and now I can! You go to so much trouble to do such a beautiful job when you post your recipes. Again, thanks you so much!
Hyosun says
Aww thank you so much for the nice words! Hope you try it soon.
Janet says
Pictured is a dipping sauce. Is it just soy sauce? Do you have a sauce recipe that goes well with jeon?
Hyosun says
I usually make it with 1 tablespoon soy sauce,1 teaspoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon water, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, pinch of black pepper and sometimes pinch of red pepper flakes (gochugaru). This is pretty standard. You can adjust vinegar and sugar to your taste. See here:
https://www.koreanbapsang.com/2013/02/saewu-mandu-shrimp-dumplings.html#.VBTtoWRdVX4