This Korean dried zucchini side dish is made with rehydrated zucchini slices and sautéed with garlic & sesame oil. Add this dried zucchini banchan to bibimbap for a delicious Korean meal!
This dried zucchini Korean side dish has become a summer favorite of mine. Dried zucchinis have a deeper, more concentrated flavor than fresh zucchini and the texture is pleasantly chewy and toothsome, yet still soft.
This also makes an excellent, vegan Korean side dish (banchan) and goes perfectly in Korean bibimbap!
During the summer time, we have an abundance of Korean zucchini from the garden. Korean zucchini is called ‘aehobak’ which is slightly different from the regular zucchini you find at the grocery stores. I find it to be sweeter, with a tender flesh, and thinner outer skin.
Drying Zucchini
To make these dried zucchini slices, I slice the zucchini about a quarter of an inch and then lay them out in a sunny area to air dry. Zucchini has a lot of water so the slices will get to be about half of their thickness when it’s dry.
If you can’t dry your own, you can find this in most Korean grocery stores in the dry food aisle.
See below the difference between rehydrated and dried zucchini? The rehydrated zucchini on the plate was soaked in water and then gently squeezed to remove the excess water.
Making Korean Dried Zucchini Side Dish
First, rehydrate the dried zucchini slices by soaking them in water for about 45 minutes or until they’re pliable and soft. Next, cut the slices into small bite sized pieces.
Saute the rehydrated zucchini, garlic, and scallions in sesame oil and season with salt to taste. That’s it!
Serve this simple Korean dried zucchini side dish with hot rice or add this to bibimbap.
I hope you enjoy this dried zucchini recipe!
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Korean Dried Zucchini Side Dish
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried zucchini slices found in most Korean grocery stores; do not use freeze dried zucchini
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- ½ stalk scallion chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Soak the dried zucchini slices in clean filtered water for 45 minutes. Drain the water and gently squeeze the zucchini to get rid of excess water. The zucchini slices should be soft and pliable now.
- Cut the rehydrated zucchini slices into small pieces.
- Heat a pan over medium high heat and add the sesame oil, rehydrated zucchini slices, garlic, and scallion. Saute for about 3 to 4 minutes and season with salt. The texture should be chewy but soft. If you prefer the zucchini to be softer, add a teaspoon of water and saute for an additional 1 – 2 minutes.
- Serve alongside steamed rice as a Korean side dish (banchan) or serve as a topping in Korean bibimbap. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.
Alex
I made this last night for my Mum, who is a huge zucchini fan. This is her new favourite side dish! I have been asked to make it again this weekend!
Mac
I made this with some dried zucchini I had laying around from last season and it was delicious! Now I know what to do with all my leftover zucchini from the garden!