Korean zucchini fritters (aehobak-jeon)
This vegetarian Korean zucchini fritters are Koreans' go-to fritter to make in summer. It's so fluffy on the outside and juicy & sweet on the inside. It's best to serve it right after they're pan-fried to maintain its crispiness.
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 1 zucchini around 250g (½ lb.)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
For dipping sauce (cho-ganjang, vinegary soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon gochugaru (Korean red chili powder)
Instructions
- Slice zucchini into 5mm (or ¼ inch) thickness.
- Place them on a flat surface (like cutting board, tray, etc.). Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt to season and to draw out moisture.
- Let it sit for 15 minutes until you can see the moisture drawn out of zucchinis. Don't let it sit longer as zucchini will lose too much juice.
- Coat it with all-purpose flour and dust it off. For batch cooking, put the flour and zucchini slices in a plastic bag and shake it. Sift the remaining flour through a sieve.
- In a bowl, beat two eggs with a pinch of salt.
- Put the flour-coated zucchini slices and coat with egg batter on both sides.
- Heat a pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.
- Place zucchini pieces one by one. Leave enough space in between so that each pieces will not stick to one another. Add more oil if necessary.
- Turn and fry until both sides are golden.
- Make cho-ganjang, the dipping sauce, by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Serve the zucchini fritters with the dipping sauce. It's best to eat them right after they're cooked. It's crunchy & fluffy on the outside and juicy & sweet on the inside. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
💚 To make it vegan, substitute eggs with thin flour batter (mix 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with ½ cup water and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Season with salt). You still need to coat & dust it with flour too!