What Is Korean Jeon? A Traditional Holiday Dish + Easy Shrimp Jeon Recipe
If you visit a Korean home around Chuseok(Korea Thanknsgiving day) or Lunar New Year, you may notice something special happening in the kitchen.
Several pans may be cooking at the same time, plates are slowly filling with colorful food, and family members are preparing different ingredients together.
One of those traditional holiday foods is called jeon (전).
Jeon is often translated into English as a “Korean pancake,” but that description can be a little confusing.
Jeon isn't always a pancake.
It is better to think of jeon as a Korean style of lightly coating or battering ingredients and cooking them on a pan with a small amount of oil.
And almost anything can become jeon.
Jeon Is a Traditional Korean Holiday Food
Jeon has long been associated with special occasions in Korea.
During holidays such as Chuseok, families often prepare several varieties and serve them together as part of the holiday meal.
For me, jeon is also connected with family memories.
Every year during Korean holidays, I remember making jeon with my mother.
There wasn't just one type.
Different ingredients were prepared, coated, and cooked one after another until we had plates filled with different kinds of jeon.
Today, you can easily buy jeon from Korean markets and restaurants, but for many Koreans, the smell and sound of jeon cooking in a pan still brings back memories of family holidays.
Almost Anything Can Become Jeon
One of the interesting things about jeon is that there isn't just one main ingredient.
You can make jeon with:
Zucchini — Hobak Jeon (호박전)
Slices of zucchini lightly coated and pan-fried.
Meat — Gogi Jeon or Yukjeon (고기전 / 육전)
Thin pieces of meat or small seasoned meat patties.
Fish — Saengseon Jeon (생선전)
Pieces of mild fish coated with flour and egg.
Perilla Leaves — Kkaennip Jeon (깻잎전)
Perilla leaves, sometimes filled with seasoned meat.
Seafood — Haemul Jeon (해물전)
A variety of seafood can be mixed into batter or cooked individually.
Chives — Buchu Jeon (부추전)
A larger pancake-style jeon filled with Korean chives.
Mushrooms — Beoseot Jeon (버섯전)
Peppers — Gochu Jeon (고추전)
Peppers are often filled with seasoned meat before being coated and pan-fried.
And, of course, there is saeu jeon (새우전), or shrimp jeon, which we'll make below.
Personally, I enjoy almost every kind of jeon.
But I especially remember meat jeon and seafood jeon because these were foods we often enjoyed on special occasions.
That made them feel a little more special than everyday food.
What Does “Jijim” Mean?
This is one of the most important things to understand about jeon.
Jeon is cooked in oil, but it isn't the same as deep-frying.
In Korean cooking, you may hear the word jijim (지짐) or the verb jijida (지지다).
It describes cooking food directly against a hot pan or griddle with a relatively small amount of oil, usually turning it so both sides cook.
Think of the difference this way:
Deep-frying:
The food is surrounded by a large amount of hot oil. The goal is often a dry, crunchy or crispy exterior.
Jijim / Pan-frying:
The food sits directly on the pan with just enough oil to cook and brown the surface.
Because the ingredient isn't submerged in oil, jeon keeps more of the character of the ingredient inside.
A slice of zucchini can remain soft and moist.
Fish can remain tender.
Meat can remain juicy.
And shrimp can stay springy and moist inside.
The outside may become lightly golden, with slightly crisp edges, but a traditional jeon doesn't have to have the dry, crunchy shell you might expect from fried chicken or tempura.
Good jeon is usually soft and moist inside with a lightly cooked, savory coating outside.
That texture is part of what makes jeon different.
Is Jeon the Same as a Western Pancake?
Not really.
Some jeon, such as pajeon, kimchi jeon, seafood jeon, or buchu jeon, can look like savory pancakes because several ingredients are mixed with batter and cooked together.
But other jeon are completely different.
For example, a piece of zucchini, fish, meat, mushroom, or shrimp may be individually coated with flour and egg and cooked one piece at a time.
So when you see the English term “Korean pancake,” remember that it describes only part of the jeon family.
Jeon is really a cooking style with many different forms.
Easy Shrimp Jeon (Saeu Jeon)
If you've never made Korean jeon before, shrimp jeon is an easy place to start.
You don't need a deep fryer or complicated Korean ingredients.
Ingredients
- Raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- All-purpose flour
- Eggs
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Cooking oil
- Optional chopped green onion or red pepper for garnish
1. Prepare the Shrimp
Peel and devein the shrimp if necessary.
For larger shrimp, you can carefully butterfly them so they open up and cook more evenly.
Pat them dry with a paper towel.
This is important because too much surface moisture can make it harder for the flour and egg to stick.
Season lightly with salt and pepper.
2. Lightly Coat With Flour
Put a small amount of flour on a plate.
Coat each shrimp with a thin layer of flour.
You don't want a thick flour coating.
The flour mainly helps the egg adhere to the shrimp.
Shake off the excess.
3. Dip in Egg
Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl.
Dip each floured shrimp into the egg mixture until lightly coated.
Again, you don't need a heavy coating.
The shrimp should still be the star.
4. Pan-Fry — or “Jijim”
Heat a frying pan over medium to medium-low heat and add a thin layer of cooking oil.
Place the shrimp gently in the pan.
Cook until the bottom develops a light golden color, then turn it over and cook the other side.
The goal isn't to make a hard, crispy crust.
You want the egg coating to cook gently while keeping the shrimp tender and juicy inside.
Once the shrimp are cooked through, remove them from the pan.
And that's it.
You just made saeu jeon — Korean shrimp jeon.
Do You Need a Dipping Sauce?
Not necessarily.
Jeon has enough flavor to be eaten on its own.
In my family, and in many Korean homes, how you eat it can simply depend on personal preference.
Some people like jeon just as it is.
Others like dipping it into a simple soy sauce-based dipping sauce.
A basic dipping sauce can be made with soy sauce and a little vinegar. You can also add green onion, sesame seeds, or a small amount of chili depending on your preference.
There really isn't one required way to eat it.
Why Jeon Feels Special to Me
There are more elaborate Korean holiday dishes, but jeon has something that is difficult to explain with a recipe alone.
It is a food connected to making something together.
My memories of jeon are not simply about eating it.
I remember making it with my mother every year during the holidays.
One ingredient would be prepared while another batch was cooking in the pan. Different kinds of jeon slowly filled the plates.
And, of course, some freshly cooked pieces were usually eaten before everything ever reached the table.
That's probably why meat jeon and seafood jeon still remind me of special occasions.
A Simple Way to Remember Jeon
If you've never tried Korean jeon, don't think of it as simply “Korean fried food.”
And don't think of it only as a “Korean pancake.”
Think of it this way:
Jeon is a Korean way of turning simple ingredients — vegetables, meat, fish, seafood and more — into soft, savory, lightly pan-fried dishes.
The outside is gently cooked in oil.
The inside keeps the flavor, texture, and moisture of the original ingredient.
And during holidays such as Chuseok, many different kinds of jeon can come together on one table.
For me, that table also carries memories of standing beside my mother, making jeon together every year.
Sometimes a simple dish becomes special not because the recipe is complicated, but because of who you made it with.