Seon is a
traditional Korean dish made from
steamed
Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American southwest, steam pits used for cooking hav ...
vegetables such as
zucchini
The zucchini (; plural: zucchini or zucchinis), courgette (; plural: courgettes) or baby marrow (''Cucurbita pepo'') is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are st ...
,
cucumber,
eggplant or
Napa cabbage
Napa cabbage (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''pekinensis'' or ''Brassica rapa'' Pekinensis Group) is a type of Chinese cabbage originating near the Beijing region of China that is widely used in East Asian cuisine. Since the 20th century, it has als ...
and
stuffed with meat. Although the term is a counterpart of ''
jjim —'' a category of dishes that are made by steaming
meat or
seafood — the concept is not clearly settled.
Other dishes similar to seon include ''gajiseon'' (가지선, steamed eggplant), ''gochuseon'' (고추선, steamed
chili pepper
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
), ''donggwaseon'' (동과선, steamed
winter melon
''Benincasa hispida'', the wax gourd, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, winter melon, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, Chinese preserving melon is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the o ...
), ''museon'' (무선, steamed
radish
The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times.
Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw ...
), ''baechuseon'' (steamed
Napa cabbage
Napa cabbage (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''pekinensis'' or ''Brassica rapa'' Pekinensis Group) is a type of Chinese cabbage originating near the Beijing region of China that is widely used in East Asian cuisine. Since the 20th century, it has als ...
)
and ''dubuseon'' (steamed
tofu
Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...
).
Preparation
To make a ''hobakseon'' (호박선) or ''oiseon'' (오이선), a cucumber (or zucchini) is cut into pieces about 4 to 5 cm. in length and then quartered. The pieces are lightly salted and then slightly squeezed to drain water from them. Beef or chicken, along with onion, is chopped and mixed with seasonings to make the stuffing. Then, prepared pieces of the cucumber are stuffed with the meat and placed in a pot. After that, pour the vegetable broth on the ingredients until they are partially covered with liquid. Soaked and stuffed cucumber boiled or steamed with the sauce for about 5-10 minutes. The dish is served with slices of ''seogi'' (석이, ''
Umbilicaria esculenta
''Umbilicaria esculenta'' is a lichen of the genus ''Umbilicaria'' that grows on rocks, also known as rock tripe. It can be found in East Asia including in China, Japan, and Korea. It is edible when properly prepared and has been used as a fo ...
''),
chili threads and
egg garnish place on top of the cucumber, similarly to ''gomyeong'' (고명,
garnishes).
In historical cookbooks
According to ''
Eumsik dimibang
The ''Eumsik dimibang'' or ''Gyugon siuibang'' is a Korean cookbook written around 1670 by Lady Jang (張氏, 1598~1680) from Andong Clan, Gyeongsang Province during the Joseon Dynasty. The author was in the noble ''yangban'' class and the book ...
'', a Korean
cookbook written during mid-
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...
, the historical recipe of the ''donggwaseon'' (동과선, a variety of seon made with ''dongga'' (
winter melon
''Benincasa hispida'', the wax gourd, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, winter melon, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, Chinese preserving melon is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the o ...
)) is very different from today's version.
Thick slices of winter melon are lightly
parboiled in the water and put into a bowl with the boiled mixture of ''
ganjang
Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' Asp ...
'', water and oil. In a new bowl boiled ''ganjang'' is mixed with minced
ginger and then, poured over the vegetables. ''Donggwaseon'' is served with vinegar which is spread over the dish.
In ''
Siui jeonseo'', a cookbook written in the late 19th century, a recipe of ''hobakseon'' (호박선, a zucchini seon) is similar to the modern one. A zucchini is hollowed out, filled with various condiments and then steamed. A sauce made with vinegar,
ganjang
Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' Asp ...
and
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
is poured over the ready dish. The dish is served with sliced
chili pepper
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
, ''seogi'' (석이
Umbilicaria esculenta
''Umbilicaria esculenta'' is a lichen of the genus ''Umbilicaria'' that grows on rocks, also known as rock tripe. It can be found in East Asia including in China, Japan, and Korea. It is edible when properly prepared and has been used as a fo ...
) and ''jidan'' (fried eggs) that are placed on the zucchini and sprinkled with
pine nut
Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trad ...
s.
However, the term did not reach its modern meaning until the late 1930s. Cookbooks that were written before that time use the term very differently. They refer to ''cheongeoseon'' (청어선, steamed and stuffed
herring), ''yangseon'' (양선, steamed and stuffed
beef intestine), or ''dalgyalseon'' (달걀선, steamed eggs).
Today, the term "seon" refers to dish made from stuffed vegetables.
Gallery
Korean cuisine-Oiseon-02.jpg, ''Oi-seon'' (stuffed cucumber)
Eoseon.jpg, ''Eoseon'' (fish rolls)
File:Korean cuisine-Oiseon-01.jpg, Another type of ''oi-seon''
File:Korean cuisine-Baechuseon-01.jpg, ''Baechu-seon'' (stuffed napa cabbage rolls)
Hobak-seon.jpg, ''Hobak-seon'' (stuffed Korean zucchini)
See also
*
Jjim
*
Bokkeum
''Bokkeum'' () is a category of stir-fried dishes in Korean cuisine.
Etymology
''Bokkeum'' () is a verbal noun derived from the Korean verb ''bokkda'' (), meaning "to cook food or food ingredients with little or a small amount of liquid by ...
*
Mandu (dumpling)
''Mandu'' (), or mandoo, are dumplings in Korean cuisine.
* ''Mandu'' can be steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried. The styles also vary across regions in the Korean Peninsula. ''Mandu'' were long part of Korean royal court cuisine, but are ...
*
Korean cuisine
*
List of steamed foods
This is a list of steamed foods and dishes that are typically or commonly prepared by the cooking method of steaming.
Steamed foods
* Ada – a food item from Kerala, usually made of rice flour with sweet filling inside.
* Bánh – in Hanoi ...
References
External links
Oiseon recipeat the Seattle Times
*{{in lang, ko}
Dobuseon recipeat casa.co.kr
Korean cuisine
Stuffed vegetable dishes
Steamed foods