Saengsun Jun (Korean Pan-fried Fish)

I love our local H-mart because of the fish section. The fish come from the Fulton Fish Market in NYC and are very fresh.  You can even pick out  a live fish from a tank and have it cleaned while you wait.

Saengsun (fish) jun (anything fried) is the generic name for Korean pan-fried fish.  When made with cod (daegu), it is called daegu jun.  When made with pollock (dongtae), dongtae jun.  Those are specific fish names.  Almost any firm white fish works well including haddock, halibut, even tilapia.  I normally buy it already-made at H-mart. The lovely ajumas (ladies) do a fantastic job of making saengsun jun so why bother?

Last year at my request, my mom started teaching me how to make some of the traditional Korean food I’ve grown up eating. My mom was a fantastic cook and I wanted to learn exactly how she made them. You know how it is… no dish is ever made the same in any household. Sadly, I only learned a few before she passed.

Now, it is more important to me than ever to learn and write out the recipes in order to pass them down to my daughters.  Even if I can’t teach Soso and Peanut, they will have the written recipes as a point of reference.

Saengsun jun is very easy to make.  Similar to other “jun” dishes, all the other ingredients are basic food pantry items like eggs, flour, scallion and some salt and pepper.  You could even skip the scallion.  I added some minced garlic per the recipe on Maangchi because I couldn’t remember if my mom did.  I know she didn’t use hot chili pepper ( again, Maangchi)  so I skipped that.  But if you want a kick, go right ahead.

I usually put the flour mixture (flour and potato flour because my mom said the potato flour gives the breading a more crispy texture)  into a shallow dish and set aside.  Slice the thick part of the scallion into thinner strips before chopping into small pieces.

Here’s a close up of the white part.  I think I sliced these in half, but if they are thicker I slice into quarters.

Add the eggs into a bowl with the chopped scallions, some salt and pepper and whisk.

Rinse and dry the fish before slicing along the grain diagonally into thin (less than 1/2 inch thick) pieces.  Sprinkle some  salt and pepper, add the minced garlic and toss in the flour mixture.

Add some cooking oil to the frying pan on medium. I use olive oil, but I’ve used canola oil, peanut oil, or whatever oil’s handy. Dip each piece into the egg mixture and lay on the frying pan without crowding.

I usually take some scallion from the egg mixture to place on top. Fry on each side until golden, about 1.5 – 2 mins each.

Transfer the cooked fish onto a plated lined with paper towel to drain the oil.

Serve with steamed rice and some banchan. Picture here is a simple seasoned cucumber and eggplant namul.  We also had kimchi and roasted kim (nori) not pictured here.

Next time you’re looking for a recipe for your cod/haddock/pollock/halibut/tilapia, why not give this a try?

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Prep time:  15 mins  Cook time: 1o mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1.5 lbs firm white fish filet (cod, haddock, halibut, pollock), washed and pat dried
2 stalks scallion (green onions), optional
2 cloves garlic, minced, optional
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoon potato flour or corn starch, optional
olive oil or other cooking oil
salt and pepper

Directions

Slice the fish diagonally along the grain into thin pieces, about 1/2 inches thick. Season with salt, pepper and minced garlic and set aside.

Trim and slice the scallion lengthwise in half or in quarters depending on the thickness before chopping into small pieces. Add to a medium-sized bowl with the 3 eggs, some salt and pepper and whisk.

Add the flour and potato flour into a shallow bowl. Add the fish and toss until all the pieces are lightly coated.

Add oil to a large frying pan on medium-high heat. When oil is hot, lower heat to medium.

Using chopsticks or a kitchen tong (or your hand if you don’t mind the mess), dip each piece of fish in the egg mixture and add to the frying pan. Don’t crowd the pan. Top each fish with some additional scallion from the mixture. Fry on each side for 1/5 – 2 mins or until golden brown and transfer onto a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat until all the fish are fried.

Serve immediately as a main dish with steamed rice and banchan, with or without dipping sauce (soy sauce, rice vinegar) or as an appetizer.

Fish Tacos

*I made the fish tacos and wrote it up weeks ago, before we left for Korea in fact and I never got around to uploading the photo until now.

Up until two years ago, I never knew you could make tacos with fish.  Well, you can and you really should.  Why?  No good reason except that it is yummy and easy and just a new way to eat fish or taco for that matter.

Most fish tacos recipe calls for shredded cabbage, but I never have cabbage on hand and just use shredded lettuce.  This time, I tried to be authentic and bought cabbage.

Here’s the problem with cabbage.  First and most importantly, I didn’t love the cabbage topping with the fish taco.  Neither did D or S.  I’m not sure why it is the topping for fish tacos and not lettuce.  Secondly, now I have almost a whole head of cabbage in my fridge that I don’t know what to do with, that will probably rot and be thrown away.

Almost makes me want to buy a rabbit just so I can feed cabbage to him.  Almost makes me want to start a compost that Soso’s been trying convince me of ever since a school assembly about recycling and reducing waste.  Almost, but not quite.

But I just got a brilliant idea.  I’ll throw the cabbage out the backyard and surely the numerous rabbits and the family of groundhogs will eat it.  Right?

So, all this to say, I’ll stick with shredded lettuce next time.

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Pan-fried Fish Taco

Prep time:  15 mins     Cook time:  10 mins

Serves: 4 – 6

Ingredients

Fish Taco Spice Mix
1/4 teaspoon cumin, divided
1/4 teaspoon paprika or chili powder
1/4 teaspoon coriander powder, optional
1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder, optional
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Pico de Gallo
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 cup diced sweet onion
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper to taste

Sour cream sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped

2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1.5 – 2 pounds cod or tilapia or any firm white fish, cut into 2 – 3 smaller pieces
1 lime
olive oil
8 – 10 hard taco shells or soft tortillas

Directions

First, some prep work. In a small bowl, mix 1/4 teaspoon cumin and rest of the spices.  In a medium bowl, mix tomato, jalapeno pepper, onion, half the cilantro with juice from 1 lime. Salt and pepper to taste.  In a small bowl, mix sour cream, cilantro and cumin.

Prepare tacos or tortillas per instruction. I usually throw the hard shells into a toaster oven and the tortillas into a microwave for about 20 – 30 seconds.

Rinse fish in cold water and pat try. Squeeze juice of the second lime all over the fish. Season fish lightly with spice mix. Set a large fry pan on medium heat and add oil. Add fish to pan and cook on both side until fish is flaky and white. Break up fish into large chunks.

Finally, to assemble the taco, put the shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, fish, and taco shell/tortillas on the table. Let everyone add some fish, top with sour cream, lettuce, and pico de gallo to their taste and enjoy!

Some other optional toppings can include fresh cilantro, shredded cabbage I mentioned, and avocado slices.

Pan Seared Tuna Steak in Asian Marinade

A couple of years ago, I was really tired of cooking all the time.  I actually started hating it.  Meal planning, cooking, cleaning, the whole process.  I still have moments when I get tired, but I just realized I don’t hate it anymore.

The biggest difference is that I have allowed myself to have an off week once in a while.  A little more take-outs and prepared dinners.  Sounds so simple, but at the time it was quite a difficult concept for me.  I can be a little bit of a perfectionist.

I’ve also turned cooking into a hobby, a way for me to be creative through exploring new recipes, then photographing the results and blogging it.  It is sometimes stressful (because you know… perfectionist), but it is mostly fun.  Plus,  it has gotten me out of my cooking comfort zone.

Even two years ago… heck even a year ago, I would never have tried making marshmallows.  The unfamiliar ingredients like gelatin and having to use a candy thermometer would have intimidated me.  Well, making marshmallows turned out to be easy.  With each new challenge overcome, my confidence in trying other new things have grown.

So, finally we get to tuna, the real subject of this post.  I know my three or four fish and tuna unless canned isn’t one of them.  Tuna is cooked like a steak and well, steaks scare me.  Yeah, I get scared easily, OK?  I’m afraid of over-cooking, but I don’t like to eat things rare.

As I mentioned, tuna price at H-Mart was so good, better than salmon, I had to give it a try.  I looked through a ton of recipes and finally decided on this Asian Marinade recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Some reviewers recommended 2 hours of marination, but I only had one hour.  The tuna steak still came out juicy.  I think the key was watching my time to avoid over-cooking. The original recipe says 5 -6 minutes grilling on each side. I don’t have a grill pan.  I pan seared the steaks for 4 minutes on each side. It was perfect. Just a hint of pink, but not over done.

D thought the tuna was “fantastic”, but I thought it could use a tad bit more salt.  I don’t know if full 2 hours of marination would have made a difference.  I may sprinkle some salt next time if I don’t have 2 hours to marinate.

Or I’ll just come up with my own marinade.  Now that I have some experience, I’m ready to experiment!

If you like tuna and have never made it because you’re a timid cook like me, go for it!  If I can cook, you can cook.  Just make sure to get really fresh tuna.

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Active Prep Time:  10 mins     Inactive Prep Time:  2 hours     Cook Time:  8 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dry oregano or 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 (4 ounce) tuna steaks, about 3/4 inch thick

Directions

In a medium shallow baking dish (glass or non-reactive), mix together all the ingredients minus the tuna. Place the tuna in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for an hour. Flip the tuna and refrigerate for another hour. Remove tuna from marinade and set aside on a plate.

In large pan heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium high.  Lay each steak and cook for 4 minutes.  Flip and cook the other side for 4 minutes or to desired doneness.  Let it sit for couple of minutes before serving.

We ate it with steamed brown rice and stir-fried bok choy.