Saengseon jeon (Korean pan-fried fish)
Thin slices of white fish dipped in flour and egg and pan-fried until golden and tender, with a tangy soy dipping sauce.
- 40 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.03 a serving
- 550 calories
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 1¼ lb frozen white fish fillets, thawed and cut into ½-inch-thick slices about 2 inches long
- 3 large eggs
- 2 green onions, finely sliced, divided
From your pantry
- 2¼ cups water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
Each serving has about 550 calories, 34 g protein, 65 g carbs and 16 g fat, and costs about $2.03 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the rice and water in a medium and over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and red pepper flakes together for dipping.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
the fish slices very dry and sprinkle them with the salt and pepper.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Beat the eggs with half the green onions in a shallow bowl and put the flour in another.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick over medium heat. Dust a few slices in flour, dip them in egg and lay them in the pan.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Let the extra egg drip off first. A thin coat turns golden; a thick one turns into an omelet.Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until and the fish flakes easily. Repeat with the rest, adding oil as needed.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Food safety: Fish is done at 145°F, when the middle looks opaque and flakes apart easily with a fork.
Scatter the rest of the green onions over and serve with the rice and dipping sauce.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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