Pyogo Jeon: Korean Stuffed Shiitake Mushrooms

Again with the mushrooms. I know.

This recipe was taught to me by Jo Gwanghee, owner of Sikgaek restaurant, in Jangheung, which specializes in shabu-shabu with an incredible herbal mushroom broth and Jangheung samhap (장흥 삼합) — sam meaning three and hap meaning combined, united or matching. Samhap is one of my favorite concepts of Korean cooking. It’s so simple, but so exactly what food is all about. Take three things that complement each other and eat them together. In the West, I think we tend more toward duos, but there is something that feels more right — more complete — about three.

Jangheung samhap obviously highlights the area’s prime ingredients –Korean beef (한우, hanu), fan mussels (키조개, kijogae) and shiitake mushrooms (표고 버섯, pyogo beoseot).

When there is good food, we want to share it with the people we love and cherish. That’s what food is. Love. 

This dish is called pyogo jeon (표고전) and may look a little unfamiliar to people who are familiar with other kinds of jeon. Generally, jeon is translated in English as “pancake,” but that word choice really starts to fall apart when you look at this kind of jeon. There are a lot of examples of jeon that are simply vegetables lightly dusted in flour, battered in egg and fried, zucchini being another prime example. It really just depends on the original form of the vegetable or the way it is prepared. The same basic premise applies, though — cover the thing in some combination of flour, eggs and seasoning and fry it.

These were fast and easy. You could also leave the eggs and flour out of it completely, maybe add some tofu to the stuffing and steam them. As for me, I kept to Mrs. Jo’s recipe pretty faithfully, except I added garlic.

If you’re ever in Jangheung and you’d like to visit Sikgaek and Mrs. Jo, here is the address:

전남 장흥군 장흥읍 토요시장2길 3-12
Jeollanam-do, Jangheung-gun, Jangheung-eup
Toyo Sijang (Saturday Market) 2-gil 3-12

Pyogo Jeon

• 8-10 shiitake mushrooms (표고 버섯)
• 250 grams ground beef
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion
• 3 tablespoons minced red chili pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 eggs

1. Wash and dry the mushrooms and remove the stems.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, green onion, chili pepper, garlic, salt and pepper. It’s best to just get in there and do it with your hands. (This and sticking fingers into hollowed out bird cavities are still my least favorite parts of cooking).
3. Heat a frying pan over medium high heat with enough oil to thoroughly coat the bottom of the pan.
4. Stuff the mushroom caps with the seasoned meat just to the edge of the cap.
5. Put the flour in one shallow, wide bowl and scramble the eggs well in another.
6. Dip each mushroom stuffed side down first into the flour and then into the egg. Place them stuffed side down into the hot pan.
7. Cook on one side for about 3 or 4 minutes, until the egg is golden brown. Flip over and cook stuffed side up for another 2 to 3 minutes.
8. Rest on plate covered with paper towels for about 5 minutes to absorb grease and allow beef to cook through.

If you want a simple dipping sauce to go with these, mix 2 tablespoons of soy sauce with 1 tablespoon of vinegar (I like lemon). You can also add chopped chili peppers, green onion or sesame seeds, but I personally find the pyogo jeon to be rich enough not to need any sauce at all. B, however, who usually refers to me as 소스 쟁이 (crazy about sauce), made good use of the sauce this time.