Saengseonjeon is a dish of white fish fillets that are coated with wheat flour and egg wash then pan-fried. Fish used for saengseonjeon are white-flesh fish such as croaker, frozen pollack, sea bream and gray mullet. Saengseonjeon may also be called “jeonyueo,” (oil-fried fish) or ‘jeonyuhwa’ (oil-fried flower) for its beauty.

Ingredients

- 300 g white fillet fish (frozen pollack), 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp ground white pepper

- 3 tbsp wheat flour, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp edible oil

- vinegar soy sauce: 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp water

1. Fillet the fish, removing the skin, and cut into thin pieces about 6 cm square. 

2. Sprinkle salt and ground white pepper on the fish fillet, let it sit for 10 minutes and pat dry.

3. Beat the eggs.

4. Blend vinegar soy sauce.

5. Coat sliced fish fillet with wheat flour and dip in beaten egg.

6. Heat the oil in the frying pan, and fry the fish on medium heat for 2 minutes each side.

7. Serve with vinegar soy sauce.

Tips

- If the fish is fried on too high a heat, it will be burnt, if fried too low, it will absorb too much oil, the coating will come off easily and mess the surface. Fry it on medium heat and cook it until it is yellowish.

- Other white flesh fish-such as croaker, flatfish and codfish may be cooked in the same way.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)