Cucumber Seon

Today, I will make a traditional royal palace dish using cucumber, which is called “OiSeon” in Korean. The special sweet and sour flavored dressing makes a great combination with the salted cucumbers, bulgogi meat, fried egg, and spicy hot pepper. It can be a great party food or appetizer. Try it someday.

Yield: 2 Dozen Pieces

Short Korean Lesson

• Bi (비) = Rain
• SoNaGi (소나기) = Shower (Passing Rain)

Video Instructions

Main Ingredients

• 1 Seedless Cucumber (½ lb) (1 Cup Water + 1 tsp Salt)
• 3 Eggs For JiDan (3 Pinches Salt)
• Some Red Hot Pepper (Optional)
• ½ Tbsp Cooking Oil

Beef Ingredients

• ¾ Cup Thin Cut Beef (5 Oz)
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• ½ Tbsp Green Onion
• 1 tsp Garlic, Minced
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Cooking Wine (or Water)
• 1 tsp Sesame Seeds
• ½ tsp Sesame Oil
• 2 Pinches Black Pepper

Dressing Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Water
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 2 Pinches Salt

Directions

Make the dressing first and chill it for later. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing: 2 Tbsp vinegar, 1 Tbsp water, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 2 pinches salt.

Obtain about 5 ounces of thin cut beef. The length will be about 1½ inches. Make sure it is cut very thinly for a better looking dish. If you are a vegetarian, you can replace the meat with mushrooms or firm tofu.

Mix all the ingredients for the beef, except for the beef itself, in a small mixing bowl.

Add the beef into the sauce and mix it well. Cover it with some plastic wrap and marinate it for about 30 minutes.

Obtain 1 seedless cucumber. Wash it good and divide it in half, lengthwise. Start to slice each half, but do not completely slice through the thickness of the cucumber. We do not want the slices to become separated from each other. Every fourth slice, cut all the way through. This will leave you with about 24 pieces.

Mix 1 cup of water and 1 tsp of salt in a mixing bowl. Stir it until the salt dissolves.

Add the cucumbers into the salt water and set them aside for about 30 minutes. This step gives them the right amount of saltiness and it gives them good texture.

Make some egg jidan with 3 eggs. (I will skip this part in this video, so please check out the other video for how to make it.) Remove the seeds from a red hot pepper, slice it into 1½ inch pieces, and then cut the slices very thinly.

30 minutes later, fry the marinated beef in a heated pan on medium until it is completely cooked.

While the beef is frying, the cucumber will be done soaking. Drain the water and dry them gently with some paper towels.

Fry the cucumber in a heated pan with ½ Tbsp of cooking oil on medium for about 2 minutes. You do not want to brown (burn) or overcook your cucumber.

Fill each cucumber with some beef, egg yolk, and egg white. Put 2 pieces of red hot pepper on top for garnish.

Drizzle the chilled dressing on top of the stuffed cucumbers before serving.

 

Isn’t it cool that you can make a special food that the Korean royal family ate in old days in your very own home? It is a very colorful and delicious food that you can impress your special guests with. Enjoy!