Zucchini Fritters

I decided to make this little tasty fritters because: A. I love fried food. and B. the dipping sauce looked really nice.  They are light & crispy. Technically it's a vegetable. So as far as fried food goes, it isn't all that bad for you. And the dipping sauce goes really well with these savory little bites.

Shred 2-3 zucchinis and place them into a colander. Toss them with a fair amount of salt and leave it sitting for 10 minutes to extract a lot of moisture. Then wring them through a fresh clean towel to remove as much water as you can. This will help to ensure your fritters are crispy, not soggy.

The recipe called for chives, but I didn't have any. So I took the liberty of using minced ginger, green onions, and cilantro. I thought they would go really well with the Asian dipping sauce in the recipe.

Then mix in one egg, 1/4 cup of flour, and 1 Tbsp of corn starch. Mix that together with the shredded & drained zucchini.

Heat 1/3 cup of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. A good way to test your oil temperature is to flick some water into the pan. It should sizzle and pop away pretty rapidly. If it's just sizzling, it isn't hot enough.

Drop 1/4 cup size scoops of the zucchini mixture into the oil carefully. Then lightly press them down down the back of a spatula.  Let them cook until they are crispy and golden brown -- about 3-4 minutes per side. Flip them over and do the same on the other side. Then place on a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt & pepper.

You'll want to cook these in multiple batches. If you put too much into your oil at one time, it will lower the temperature and the food won't be as crispy. You don't want your food soggy and heavy with all the cooking oil.

Mix together 3 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small bowl. This is a really wonderful dipping sauce that you could make any time you have egg rolls or pot stickers.