How to prevent zucchini pancake batter from peeling off: Sprinkle salt and microwave first

If you have ever had a frustrating experience where the egg batter completely peels off after frying zucchini pancakes (aehobak-jeon) during a holiday, it might be worth trying to utilize a microwave. The YouTube channel 'Exciting Chef Kim Sun-young' introduced a secret method for zucchini pancakes where the batter sticks like glue and does not peel off until they are all eaten during the holidays, along with a way to easily make labor-intensive pancakes. The ingredients are 1 zucchini, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons of potato starch, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a little bit of cooking oil.

Sprinkling salt and microwaving removes moisture and seasons the inside

First, slice the zucchini into thicknesses of about 0.5 to 0.7 cm, place them in a microwave-safe container, and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt. In the video, they were microwaved for 2 minutes in this state, but the video description says to microwave for exactly 1 minute. When you sprinkle salt and microwave it, moisture is drawn out of the zucchini, and the seasoning seeps deep into the zucchini. The video explains that since the moisture is controlled, the batter does not peel off, the pancakes burn less, and they cook faster. The description adds that the surface moisture is completely removed, so there is less oil splashing.

The moisture that comes out of the zucchini after taking it out of the microwave should be wiped away. The explanation is that it is the same principle as wiping the moisture off Alaska pollock when frying Alaska pollock pancakes. While letting the zucchini cool slightly, prepare the egg wash.

Skip the extra flour and mix egg and potato starch for the batter

This recipe is characterized by making a batter by mixing egg and potato starch without the process of coating each piece with flour individually. About 4 tablespoons of starch are used per zucchini. Two eggs are used, but only one is added and beaten at first. The explanation is that if you add two eggs at once, the starch may clump, so the trick to making it dissolve well is to add one egg, beat it, and then add the second one. Finally, adding a pinch, two pinches, or three pinches of salt to the egg wash completes the preparation of the batter.

Turn the heat to medium, and check the temperature of the pan by dropping a bit of the egg wash. Since it takes some time to place all the pancakes, the video advises using low heat because if the heat is too strong, the pancakes placed first may burn underneath. Instead of coating the zucchini separately with starch or flour, they are dipped directly into the egg wash and placed in the pan. This allows for clean frying without the hassle of getting flour and egg wash on your hands or having flour flying everywhere. After placing all the pancakes, slightly increase the heat and flip them starting from the one placed first.

Complete when golden brown; the batter stays intact even the next day

Since the zucchini is already slightly cooked from the microwave, it is done once it turns a golden brown color. The description guides that by maintaining medium-low heat and frying only the outer egg batter until it is golden, it is complete. It also added an explanation that the unique stickiness of the starch creates a strong coating layer, completing a "crispy on the outside, moist on the inside" texture. The zucchini pancakes in the video had batter that stuck so well they wouldn't come off even if you tried to peel them, and it was introduced that they can maintain perfect visuals even if fried the day before a holiday and eaten on the holiday or the next day.