Saeng Son Jeon

I have not delved much into the world of Korean cooking, but I have made my share of fish dishes. Cod is a perennial challenge because it is extremely lean and nearly devoid of flavor. It serves serves as a largely blank palette, but needs attention in order to be transformed. On the other hand, it doesn’t dominate with it’s own flavor, and hence does well in dishes where a mild presence is called for. It’s no surprise, therefore, that it is commonly used as a base for fried fish. I’ve made the typical beer batter in the past, but the thick coating can make for a heavy meal.

I was intrigued when I saw a Korean take on battered fish, saeng son jeon, which has an egg-forward coating. Many fried fish dishes involve some kind sequential dipping of the meat prior to frying in oil. Most start with a light coating of flour. Beer-battered fish then are dipped into batter prior to being fried. Breaded fish follow the flour coating with a brief dunk in beaten egg and then breadcrumbs, much like schnitzel. Saeng son jeon follows a similar pattern, but stops with the egg.

For this venture, I used half potato flour and half all purpose and added some salt (I typically use 1 tsp per cup of flour). The fish are fried for a couple minutes per side at 375 °F. The result was a tender fish with a softer, thinner, more delicate coating that is not overtly crispy but adds the richness that is needed from the otherwise bland cod. Because a batter is not used, it’s overall considerably lighter than beer battered fish, but overall there’s not much flavor here. I’m told this dish is often served as a snack, and it seems to call for a strongly-flavored condiment, perhaps some sort of Korean pickle. Nonetheless, it’s a nice alternative approach to fried fish to have in the arsenal.