Abstract
Jeon refers to a type of Korean cuisine used as a side dish, made with various ingredients such as meat, vegetables, or fish, mixed with flour batter and coated with egg batter and then pan-fried on both sides with oil so that heat spreads through them well. The aim of this study was to provide a cornerstone of further research on Korean dietary life, by reviewing types, recipes and names of Jeon recorded in ancient cookbooks (Korean literatures) and by analyzing changes in recipes to make Jeon, which our ancestors used wisely as one type of side dish. Considering developments and changes recorded in old documents, the Jeon recipe appeared relatively later than the recipes for grilling, steaming et al, which had been developed much earlier, and it had not been recorded until the 1600s. Changes of Jeon recipes by time period are as follows. In the 1600s, there were three recipes: frying only with grain batter after preparation of ingredients, frying right after preparation of ingredients, and putting ingredients on already fried watery batter. These three recipes were still used in the 1700s, in addition to a new recipe, in which ingredients were oil-fried to be skewered. Today's recipe in which prepared ingredients are fried after getting coated with flour and egg only appeared in 1800s. This has been the main recipe for Jeon ever since. In that time period, there was more variety of recipes and ingredients than before. For instance, Jeon was used for soup or steamed dishes instead of being served as a dish itself. Buchimgae with mixed ingredients was also considered Jeon. In the 1900s, there appeared more names for Jeon as more sorts of ingredients got used, even though there were no new recipes for Jeon. The above-mentioned historical records show that traditional recipes for Jeon have been applied to various dishes, using diverse ingredients, and it might be a smart solution to today's problematic dietary habits involving excessive intake of nutrients, in that it provides a healthy way to add fat. In the same sense, the recipe for Jeon can play an active role in internationalization of Korean foods, in which healthiness is a main feature. According to ancient documents, the recipes for Jeon were used even for meals that were not side dishes, such as Jun-Gwa (Jung-Gwa), Jun-Yak and fried rice-cake. Also, there were dishes using the same recipes even without carrying the name of Jeon, like Buchim or Jijim. This might be worthy of further examination in culinary science.
