This butter bean patty recipe is my adaptation of a common type of Korean tofu patty side dish (두부전=DuBu Jeon). Instead of using tofu, we will be using beans. In Korea, canned beans are not common except for red bean paste or sweetened red beans that are used for some kinds of desserts. Dried beans are the most common in Korea. We usually soak them over night and boiled them for a long time before they are soft enough to eat. In that point, the canned beans that are commonly found in the USA are very convenient and cheap. I have been thinking of ways these canned beans can be used in Korean cooking. The can of black beans that I used in my pumpkin porridge recipe was the first time I tried using canned beans in Korean food, and the result was very good. So, the last time we went to the grocery store, I got different kinds of beans to try in Korean dishes.
My husband does not care much for tofu because of the taste and health reasons. I am not a big fan of tofu either, however every now and then; I get hungry for Korean tofu dishes, especially the tofu patty dishes. Of course, I wanted to see my hubby taste delicious tofu patties. As a result of all of those things, I imagined replacing tofu with beans. So, that is how I came up with this recipe, and my husband and I love it. The creamy, nutty flavor of the butter beans combines with the garlic well, and it has a little hot pepper for an awesome taste that is sure to be a hit. I am very excited to share this recipe with you. They taste best hot off the stove.
Yield: 16 Patties
Short Korean Lesson
- Kong (콩) = Bean
- Gong (공) = Ball
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 1 Can Butter Beans (16 oz)
- 2 Eggs
- ¼ Cup All Purpose Flour
- 2 Tbsp Garlic
- ½ Tbsp Red Hot Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Green Onion
- ½ tsp Salt
- Some Cooking Oil for Frying
Directions
Obtain 1 can (16 oz) of butter beans. You should get about 1 cup. Drain the liquid from the can. You can use different kinds of beans, but for the pretty color, I picked these light colored beans instead of darker colored beans.
Finely chop the beans, 2 Tbsp of garlic, ½ Tbsp of red hot pepper, and 1 Tbsp of green onion.
Add the beans, vegetables, 2 eggs, ¼ cup of flour, and ½ tsp of salt in a mixing bowl.
Mix everything together.
In a heated and generously oiled pan, spread a small spoonful of the batter in a round shape.
Fry them on medium-high until both sides of the patties become golden brown.
This has good color and great flavor. It is a good finger food or appetizer. Try it someday. 🙂
My youngest daughter doesn’t like tofu either. I will try this. ^.^
hi Bennyrondo,
I hope she likes this recipe then. 🙂 thanks
They look delish!
hi Bo,
You will try and share your delicious bean jeon picture with us someday right ? 😉 hehe
thanks
I love jeon recipes, thanks for adding this! DH loves lima beans. I’ll try it out the next time we get some.
As a vegetarian and tofu addict, I immediately searched for a tubu jeon recipe to no avail. Would you mind describing the pancake? I found an online photo but the tofu looks cut into shape, and not crumbled and mixed with egg. Photo:
http://www.myungga.co.uk/sub/menu3.htm
Oh please excuse me, I just found a recipe by searching for ‘tofu jeon’ 🙄
http://jeannybeans.blogspot.com/2009/11/tofu-jeon.html
hi Katharine in Brussels,
I checked the link.. ^^ Yes.. that’s the similar one I was thinking for tofu jeon.. just If you try that recipe, I highly recommend you add some minced or finely chopped garlic. tofu and garlic taste combination is great. I will post tofu jeon recipe someday too. thanks
aeri, how about using red kidney bean, but the color is quite dark, what do your think? thank for your good recipe.
hi stephaniebobo,
Yes, the color will be less pretty if you use red kidney bean..but for flavor.. I don’t see any problem.. so try it someday. 🙂
Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii aeri!
using beans is ABSOLUTELY GENIUS!!!!
😉 😉 😉 😀 😀 😛 😛 🙂 🙂 😉
miss you!
hi farleen,
Try it someday. hehe miss you too. 🙂
I was thinking of adding kimchi to this and giving it texture. Should be ok right?
Hi JT,
Kimchi sounds good. ^^ Just adjust the amount of flour for the batter.. with extra kimchi.. the can be either too thick.. too runny… Let me know how it turned out. thanks
Mmmmmm, lovely idea, Aeri. My daughter loves beans so I will try this sometime.
So, if I wanted to make Tubu jeon I just use this recipe without the beans?
hi Suzanne Sutherland,
Oops, I missed your comment and found it today.. sorry for late reply. Yes, you can use tofu instead of bean.. just you might need to add some salt and black pepper in tofu (when you crush the tofu)…and set it aside for a while before you mix the tofu with other ingredients. 🙂
These are very easy to make and delicious! Thank you!
Just tried this recipe but I had to replace the can of beans for tofu instead because my mom ate my can of beans this morning 😥
I love the little kick of spice in it! I usually am not a pepper person so when I saw pepper as one of the ingredient I hesitated about this recipe but it turned out wonder! I want to try with beans next time and this time I am gonna hide the can! 😀
Hi Aeri!!!!
This is a very cool dish and looks so good…
I will try this in the next few days.. I never in my life had tofu , so I think I stick to the beans.. after all that is all my family eats…beans.. but we all get tired of the same thing… Thanks!!!!
Hi Aeri,
just made this dish ,turned out great ! my son will love this .tried some others as well ,they all came out great ,keep them coming =0)
Love love love these! A perfect recipe 😀 Cheers,
Hi Aeri!
I happened to have a can of butter beans at home and thought of cooking this jeon for a friend of mine (he loves korean tv drama series, korean pop songs, korean girls and korean food!! 😀 )who is coming over for dinner. Heehee! This is my first time cooking butter bean jeon, hope it turns out well! 😉
I tried this dish, and it was sooo good!
I’ll try some more of your dishes, Aeri.
Hi! It looks delicious! But if you use tofu instead of beans (since I can’t get proper beans in my country -.-), how much should you use?
Thanks for the recepe! 😀
hi Gioya,
Actually I have tofu jeon recipe..so try that instead then.. here is a link for you. 🙂
http://aeriskitchen.com/2011/11/tofu-jeon/
These look really good. I have the ingredients and want to make them tomorrow. I already tried vegetable jeon, these ones – http://recipesbyvictoria.com/vegetable-jeon-recipe-korean-pancakes which are like a low calorie version, and I like them, but I am also keen to try the butterbean ones and also the tofu ones. I like stuff like that for breakfast. I know that’s weird to the Western palate but I love them!! Thanks for sharing the recipe, I’ll let you know if they come out nice 🙂
hi Victoria,
Oh no~~ you are not weird at all.. I love your breakfast idea. hehe Thanks ^^
Looks very good, Aeri! Thank you so much for your great efforts on this website! Really like its overall clear and modern style, and your recipes are clear and easy to follow!
hi Ni,
Thank you very much for your comment. 🙂
I just made these today, delicious but i used red kidney beans. Now I want to go visit Korea
Thank u for the recipe.
hi Peggy,
It’s good to know that red kidney beans work great too. Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂 thanks.