Jeon is a fritter in Korean cuisine made by seasoning whole, sliced, or minced fish, meat, vegetables, etc., and coating them with wheat flour and egg wash before frying them in oil. Jeon can be served as an appetizer, a banchan (side dish), or an anju (food served and eaten with drinks). Some jeons are sweet desserts; one such variety is called hwajeon (literally "flower jeon").

Names

Although jeon can be considered a type of buchimgae in a wider sense, buchimgae and jeons are different dishes. Jeons are smaller and made with fewer ingredients than buchimgae. Jeon can also be called jeonya (저냐), especially in Korean royal court cuisine context. Jeonya is sometimes called jeonyueo (전유어) or jeonyuhwa (전유화). The variety of jeon made for jesa (ancestral rite) are called gannap (간납). Gannap are usually made of beef liver, omasum, or fish.

Types

Almost all jeons are seasoned, coated with wheat flour and egg wash, and then pan-fried.

Meat

Jeon made of red meat and poultry were used extensively in Korean royal court cuisine, while the food for ordinary folks tends to have some vegetable added to them. Yukjeon (육전, "meat jeon") is a generic term for a variety of jeon made of meat.

Korean royal court cuisine

Seafood

Saengseon-jeon (생선전, "fish jeon") is a generic term for any jeon made of fish. White fish are usually preferred. Haemul-jeon (해물전, "seafood jeon") includes the jeon made of fish as well as shellfish, shrimps, and octopuses.

Korean royal court cuisine

Vegetables and mushrooms

Chaeso-jeon (채소전, "vegetable jeon") is a generic term for any jeon made of vegetables.

Korean royal court cuisine

Flower

Hwajeon (화전, "flower jeon") is a generic term for any jeon made of edible flowers. Hwajeons are usually sweet, with honey as an ingredient. Jeon made of jujube is sometimes called hwajeon.

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