In a lot of our Friday Food articles, we focus on main dishes. This time, I thought it would be nice to pay attention to one of the Banchan (반찬) – the many delicious side dishes that accompany main dishes and rice in Korean Cuisine!
Hobak Jeon (호박전) is one that you won’t see as often but is definitely worth trying out! It is made from zucchini (courgettes), or Aehobak (애호박) which is Korean zucchini. The vegetable is sliced and tossed in flour, egg, and pan-fried in oil. It’s really simple and a lot of fun to make! In this article there won’t be a step by step recipe because the ingredients weren’t available at the moment, but I can say that I’ve made this before and it was really fun to make! (Fun fact: My family made this to celebrate YG Producer Teddy Park’s birthday a few years back because it is one of the side dishes he enjoys.)
There are, of course, different variations to Hobak Jeon; the primary recipe is made with Aheobak, but some people make it with different kinds of squash and as a pancake. All the recipes are sure to be delicious and I hope you’ll try some out and let us know how it goes!
Here is a video tutorial by Seonkyoung Longest on how to make the simple pan-fried zucchini kind:
And here is a video with a different variation (squash pancakes) by the ever wonderful Maangchi:
Is Hobak Jeon one of your favorite Banchan? If not, what’s your favorite?
Let’s discuss it in the comments below!
