Seon (food) - in Historical Cookbooks

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 along with oil are put into a bowl of the boiled mixture of ganjang and water. After the sauce is discarded, a new bowl of boiled ganjang mixed with minced ginger is 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 place on the zucchini and ground pine nuts are spread over it.

However, the term did not have its modern meaning as late as the 1930s; cookbooks written at 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.

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