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Zucchini Fritters {Delicious Vegan Chinese Style}

by Shirley
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zucchini fritters {Chinese Style}

Zucchini Fritters Chinese Style features zucchini thin slices mixed with organic all-purpose flour and seasoned with salt, black pepper and green onions. They are crispy outside, soft inside coupled with a refreshing zucchini slices bite. So naturally delicious and easy to make. Perfect for appetizer or side dish.

This dish is inspired by a traditional Chinese food called Luo Bo Si Bing {萝卜丝饼}, or loosely translates as Daikon Fritters. Since my home vegetable garden produces loads of zucchini during the summer, why not make a zucchini version?

Zucchini Fritters {Chinese Style}
Zucchini Fritters {Chinese Style}

Home-grown zucchini is perfect to make Zucchini Fritters Chinese Style

We grow zucchini in our backyard garden each year. During the summer, we typically harvest loads of them. While stir-fried zucchini is delicious, I will need more ways of using the bountiful of zucchini. And this is it! Even better is that I can freeze these yummy Chinese-style zucchini fritters in the freezer and enjoy them later.

zucchini growing in home garden
zucchini growing in home garden

Zucchini Fun Facts and Health Benefits

While often referred to as a vegetable, zucchini is actually a type of fruit botanically. They are super healthy and nutritious.

Zucchini is rich in multiple essential vitamins such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin K, Vitamin B6. They also contain important minerals such as manganese, potassium, magnesium, folate, copper, phosphorus, and thiamine.

zucchini summer squash stir-fry
Stir Fried Zucchini and Parsley

What do you need to make Zucchini Fritters Chinese Style?

Zucchini Fritters Chinese Style Ingredients
Zucchini Fritters Chinese Style Ingredients

Simple healthy ingredients will do.

For deep frying, I recommend using avocado oil. I do not do deep frying often, but when I do, I use avocado oil. Not only this wonderful oil is super healthy, it also has a higher smoking point, which is especially suitable for deep frying. Avocado oil also has an extremely mild and neutral flavor and taste, which makes it perfect for any kind of cooking and baking.

For making the fritters, you will need zucchini, all-purpose flour (organic), salt (Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt), Black Pepper, and green onions.

How to make Zucchini Fritters easy, yummy and healthy?

The first is to slice the zucchini into thin julienne strips

Slice zucchini into thin julienne strips
Slice zucchini into thin julienne strips

I use a Mandoline Slicer which helps me slice zucchini easier and faster.

The second is to mix zucchini julienne slices with flour and seasoning

After you have sliced zucchini into thin julienne strips, you do not need to squeeze the water out of zucchini or do anything. Simply add zucchini slices into a mixing bowl and mix them with flour and seasoning using a pair of bamboo spatulas. The same way you would mix a salad.

Zucchini thin julienne slices in a mixing bowl with seasoning for Zucchini Fritters Chinese Style
Zucchini thin julienne slices in a mixing bowl with seasoning for Zucchini Fritters Chinese Style

To make this recipe easy and healthy, I take advantage of water the zucchini contains. For flour, you will need about 70% of the weight of zucchini. This way, we use the minimum flour and coat the zucchini slices just enough. We can then press the mixture into a flat pancake shape.

Tips: Remember to mix the zucchini slices with the flour right away. Do not slice zucchini in advance, as the water zucchini contains will seep out over the time. You will end up using way more flour and zucchini also become soggy.

Mix Zucchini thin julienne cut slices with seasoning and flour for making Zucchini Fritters
Mix Zucchini thin julienne cut slices with seasoning and flour for making Zucchini Fritters

The third is to press zucchini and flour mixture into a pancake

Grab some zucchini flour mixture and press together in the palm and form a meatball shape. Then flatten it using two hands into a pancake shape. Rotate thumbs and palms in a circular motion, gently while firmly press as you rotate, until you form a pancake shape.

how to hand press a zucchini pancake
how to hand press a zucchini pancake

The flour should feel powdery dry. As you press, the tiny water coming out of zucchini shall be just right to bind the zucchini and flour together. This is the key for a crispy zucchini fritter with a refreshing bite of zucchini slices. This way, it also helps fritters absorb much less oil during the deep frying process.

freshly hand pressed zucchini pancakes
freshly hand pressed zucchini pancakes

The fourth is to deep fry the freshly pressed zucchini pancakes into zucchini fritters

Turn the heat to medium and heat the wok for 1 minute. Pour 4 cups of avocado oil into the wok and let it cook for about 5 minutes. You know the oil is ready for the deep frying when tiny bubbles start to form. The temperature should be above 300 degree Fahrenheit (150 degree Celsius).

Slowly slide in the zucchini pancakes into the wok, one at a time. Be very careful and cautious about the extremely hot temperature oil. You can accommodate about 4 fritters at a time.

Deep Fry Zucchini Fritters

Deep fry for 4 minutes, flip the zucchini fritters half way through for even cooking.

If you double the recipe and make a big batch, you may only need to fry 3 minutes toward the end of the cooking. This is because oil is heated longer, hence the temperature becomes higher toward the end of the cooking.

Remove the zucchini fritters from the wok using a stainless steel spider skimmer, place them on a wire rack to drain the oil and cool down.

Repeat until you have completed all fritters. This recipes makes about a dozen zucchini fritters.

All done! Enjoy a yummy crispy and refreshing bite of zucchini fritters Chinese style.

freshly made zucchini fritters Chinese style
freshly made zucchini fritters Chinese style
zucchini fritters {Chinese Style}

Zucchini Fritters {Delicious Vegan Chinese Style} Recipe

Yield: 12 zucchini fritters
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Zucchini Fritters delicious vegan Chinese Style features zucchini thin slices mixed with organic all-purpose flour and seasoned with saltblack pepper pepper and green onions. They are crispy outside, soft inside coupled with a refreshing zucchini slices bite. 

Ingredients

  • 655 g zucchini, or a little under 1.5 lb, see notes
  • 460 g all-purpose flour, organic
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt, Himalayan Pink salt
  • 1 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
  • 2 stalks of green onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cups of avocado oil, for deep frying

Instructions

Prep Work:

  1. Gather all the ingredients:
    Zucchini Fritters Chinese Style Ingredients
  2. Slice the zucchini into thin julienne strips using a Mandoline Slicer or manually.
    Slice zucchini into thin julienne strips
  3. Add the freshly sliced zucchini into a mixing bowl, and add salt and black pepper.
    Zucchini thin julienne slices in a mixing bowl with seasoning for Zucchini Fritters Chinese Style
  4. Add flour into the mix bowl, mix everything together using a pair of bamboo spatulas.
    Mix Zucchini thin julienne cut slices with seasoning and flour for making Zucchini Fritters

Hand Press Zucchini Pancakes:

  1. Grab some zucchini flour mixture and press together in the palm and form a meatball shape.
    how to hand press zucchini pancakes step 2
  2. Flatten it using two hands into a pancake shape.
    how to hand press zucchini pancakes step 3
  3. Rotate thumbs and palms in a circular motion, gently while firmly press as you rotate, until you form a pancake shape.
    how to hand press zucchini pancakes step 4
  4. Repeat until you have completed all zucchini flour mixture.
    freshly hand pressed zucchini pancakes

Deep Fry Zucchini Fritters:

  1. Turn the heat to medium and heat the wok for 1 minute. 
  2. Pour 4 cups of avocado oil into the wok and let it cook for about 5 minutes. You know the oil is ready for the deep frying when tiny bubbles start to form. The temperature should be above 300 degree Fahrenheit (150 degree Celsius).
  3. Slowly slide in the zucchini pancakes into the wok, one at a time. Be very careful about the extremely hot temperature oil. You can accommodate about 4 fritters at a time.
    Deep Fry Zucchini Fritters
  4. Deep fry for 4 minutes, or until fritters look dark brown. Flip the zucchini fritters half way through for even cooking.
  5. If you double the recipe and make a big batch, you may only need to fry 3 minutes toward the end of the cooking. This is because oil is heated longer, hence the temperature becomes higher toward the end of the cooking.
  6. Remove the zucchini fritters from the wok using a stainless steel spider skimmer, place them on a wire rack to drain the oil and cool down.
  7. Repeat until you have completed all fritters. This recipes makes about a dozen zucchini fritters.
    freshly made zucchini fritters Chinese style
  8. All done! Enjoy a yummy crispy and refreshing bite of zucchini fritters Chinese style.
    Zucchini Fritters {Chinese Style}

Notes

  • For easier measurement, I use gram as the unit of measurement. Use a kitchen scale with "TARE" function for easy measuring.
  • This recipe uses 655 gram of zucchini, about 1.44 lb.
  • The zucchini and flour ratio in terms of weight should be about 1:0.7 for a refreshing zucchini fritters.
  • Remember to mix the zucchini slices with the flour right away. Do not slice zucchini in advance, as the water zucchini contains will seep out over the time. You will end up using way more flour and zucchini also become soggy.
  • The flour should feel powdery dry. As you press, the tiny water coming out of zucchini shall be just right to bind the zucchini and flour together. This is the key for a crispy zucchini fritter with a refreshing bite of zucchini slices. This way, it also helps fritters absorb much less oil during the deep frying process.
  • You can double the recipe by doubling the ingredients except for the avocado oil for deep frying. When you make a big batch, you may only need to fry for 3 minutes toward the end.

Nutrition Information
Yield 6 servings Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 418Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 0mgSodium 555mgCarbohydrates 70gFiber 4gSugar 2gProtein 10g

Nutrition calculation is provided by Nutritionix to the best knowledge per ingredients description and isn't always accurate.

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