Seon (food)

Seon
Oiseon, made with cucumber and meat.
Korean name
Hangul	선
Hanja	膳
Revised Romanization	Seon
McCune–Reischauer	Son

Seon refers to a traditional Korean dishes which is made with steamed vegetables such as zucchinis, cucumbers, eggplants, or Napa cabbages which are then stuffed with fillings. 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. To make a hobakseon (호박선) or oiseon (오이선), a zucchini or cucumber is cut into pieces of 4 or 5 cm in length and quartered. The pieces are briefly salted and and then lightly squeezed to drain water from them. Beef or chicken along with onions are chopped and mixed together with seasonings to make fillings. The prepared pieces of the zucchini or cucumber are stuffed with the fillings and placed in a pot. Seasoned stock or vegetable broth is poured over the ingredients until they are soaked and either boiled or steamed for 5 to 10 minutes. After the cooking is finished, slices of seogi (석이, Umbilicaria esculenta), chili peppers, and jidan (지단, fried eggs separated into white and yellow layers) are placed on the dish as gomyeong (고명, garnishes). Besides the dish, gajiseon (가지선, steamed eggplant), gochuseon (고추선, steamed chili pepper), donggwaseon (동과선, steamed winter melon), museon (무선, steamed radish), baechuseon (steamed napa cabbage) and dubuseon (steamed tofu) are also representative of seon dishes.

In historical cookbooks

According to a cookbook titled Eumsik dimibang, written during the mid Joseon Dynasty, the historic recipe of donggwaseon (동과선), a variety of seon dishes made with dongga (winter melon) is very different from the modern one. Thick slices of a winter melon are lightly parboiled in water and then put into a bowl of the boiled mixture of ganjang and water, along with oil. The contents are then discarded and a new bowl of boiled ganjang is mixed with minced ginger and poured over the vegetables. Donggwaseon is preserved and is eaten with vinegar spread over it.

In Siui jeonseo, a cookbook written in the late 19th century, a recipe of hobakseon (호박선, zucchini seon) is similar to the modern seon dishes. A zucchini is hollowed out and filled with various condiments and steamed. A sauce made with vinegar, ganjang and honey is poured over the cooked dish and sliced chili pepper, seogi (석이 Umbilicaria esculenta), and jidan (fried eggs) are placed on the zucchini with ground pine nuts spread over it.

However, the term did not have its modern meaning until as late as the 1930s. Cookbooks written before that time use the term very differently—they refer to cheongeoseon (청어선, steamed herring with fillings), yangseon (양선, steamed and stuffed beef intestine), or dalgyalseon (달걀선, steamed eggs). At present, the term is generally limited to stuffed vegetable dishes.

Gallery

• 
  Another type of oisen,
• 
  Baechuseon, steamed and stuffed bachu (napa cabbage) roll

See also

• Jjim
• Bokkeum
• Mandu (dumpling)
• Korean cuisine
• List of steamed foods

External links

• Oiseon recipe at the Seattle Times
• Template:Ko icon Dobuseon recipe at casa.co.kr