Aehobak (Korean Zucchini) and Shrimp Jeon (전)
These savory pancakes feature plump shrimp combined with aehobak (Korean zucchini), offering a tender texture and a deep umami flavor.
📝 Editor's Notes
Aehobak Janchi Guksu (Korean Zucchini Feast Noodles) is a special dish where soft aehobak and refreshing broth harmonize beautifully, making it enjoyable even when your appetite is low.
It can be made quickly without complicated ingredients or difficult cooking processes, so even beginner cooks can easily try it.
It's especially great for enjoying cool on a hot summer day, and a warm bowl offers a comforting and satisfying taste.
If you add a spicy and tangy seasoning sauce, you can experience an even richer flavor, making it highly recommended for a light yet satisfying meal.
🛒 Ingredient Tips
Aehobak, the star ingredient of this Janchi Guksu, should be clean and shiny without blemishes on its surface, and feel heavy when held, indicating freshness and good taste.
It's better to choose a medium-sized one rather than one that is too large or plump, as it will have fewer seeds and be more tender.
Coin-type broth tablets are convenient for making the broth, which determines the dish's flavor; however, if you desire a deeper taste, you can steep anchovies and kelp to make your own broth.
Both somyeon (thin wheat noodles) and jungmyeon (medium wheat noodles) are fine for the noodles, but if you prefer a chewy texture, choose jungmyeon, and if you prefer a smooth mouthfeel, choose somyeon.
🔄 Substitution Guide
You can use zucchini instead of aehobak (Korean zucchini).
Zucchini has a slightly firmer texture than aehobak but softens when cooked, so you can enjoy it without much difference.
If you prefer a crispy texture, shredding cucumbers as a garnish is also a good option.
If you don't have broth, you can make your own anchovy and kelp broth, or use commercial beef bone broth (sagal yuksu) to create a different flavor.
For noodles, besides somyeon (thin wheat noodles) or jungmyeon (medium wheat noodles), you can also use rice noodles or kalguksu (knife-cut noodles).
Rice noodles offer a light and soft, gluten-free texture, while kalguksu noodles can provide a chewier and heartier feel.
🥘 Ingredients
👨🍳 Cooking Points
The most important cooking points are how to boil the noodles and the cooking time for the aehobak.
When boiling noodles, add them to boiling water and loosen them well.
Adding cold water once or twice when it boils over will result in much chewier and more elastic noodles.
Don't forget to rinse the cooked noodles thoroughly in cold water to remove excess starch.
Aehobak can become mushy if boiled for too long, so it's important to cook it only for about 1 minute in the broth to maintain its soft texture.
If you prepare the seasoning sauce in advance and let it sit in the refrigerator for a while, the ingredients will meld together for an even deeper flavor.
👨🍳 Directions
Trim the ends of 1 aehobak (Korean zucchini). Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, slice the aehobak thinly along its long side, to about 0.2 cm (0.08 inch) thickness.
Arrange the sliced aehobak in a single layer, season lightly with salt, and let it marinate for about 20 minutes to soften.
Pat dry 7.1 oz (200g) of frozen shrimp with a paper towel. Coarsely chop them, leaving some texture, and place in a bowl.
Finely chop 1/4 medium onion, 1/4 medium carrot, 1/3 stalk green onion, and 1 Cheongyang gochu (chili pepper). Add them to the bowl with the chopped shrimp.
Firmly squeeze out the water from 1/2 block of tofu, mash it into small pieces, and add it to the bowl.
To the ingredients in the bowl, add 1 large egg, 3 pinches of salt, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, a pinch of black pepper, and 2 heaped tbsp potato starch. Mix everything well to create the filling.
Gently squeeze out any excess water from the marinated aehobak slices and lay them out neatly in a row.
Lightly coat both sides of each aehobak slice with potato starch. Place a spoonful of the shrimp filling onto one end of each slice and roll it up tightly. Tuck in any filling that protrudes from the sides.
Heat a pan over medium-low heat and add a sufficient amount of cooking oil. Place the aehobak pancakes in a single layer, cover, and cook for about 4 minutes.
Once the time is up and they are golden brown, flip them over, cover, and cook the other side for about 4 minutes.
Flip them a few more times to ensure even crisping on all sides. Remove them to a wire rack or plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil.
Arrange neatly on a plate and serve.
💡 Tips
Slicing the aehobak thinly and salting it will make it tender and easier to handle when making the pancakes.
Finely chop the carrots so even those who dislike them can enjoy the pancakes without noticing.
When rolling the shrimp filling with aehobak, make sure to tuck in any filling that protrudes for a neat finish.
📦 Storage & Reuse
Janchi Guksu noodles can easily become soggy, so it's recommended to cook and eat them immediately for the best taste.
If you have leftovers, it's best to store the noodles and broth separately.
The broth can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
The seasoning sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks and used as needed.
When reheating, bring the broth to a boil again, cook fresh noodles separately or lightly blanch the leftover noodles, then combine them to enjoy the original taste.
Leftover aehobak can be used to make aehobak jeon (pancakes) or stir-fried aehobak, and the seasoning sauce can be used for bibimbap or other noodle dishes.
🥢 Who This Is For
Thanks to its light and clean taste, this Aehobak Janchi Guksu is especially good on days when you lack appetite or feel unwell.
You can enjoy it cool as a summer delicacy, or a warm bowl will provide a comforting and hearty meal.
It's easy for the whole family to enjoy and convenient to serve to guests.
Crispy geotjeori (fresh kimchi) or yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi) are excellent side dishes.
Kimchi alone is enough, but adding crispy buchu jeon (chive pancakes) or gamja jeon (potato pancakes) can complete a more generous Janchi Guksu spread.
🔥 Nutrition Info
One serving of Aehobak Janchi Guksu is estimated to be approximately 400-500 kcal.
Most carbohydrates (roughly 80-100g) are obtained from the main ingredients, somyeon or jungmyeon.
A small amount of protein (about 10-15g) can be supplemented from 1/2 egg and anchovy sauce.
Fat content is very low, estimated to be around 5-10g.
Aehobak, carrots, and green onions provide vitamins A, C, potassium, and dietary fiber, supplementing potentially lacking nutrients.
However, the sodium content can be somewhat high from coin-type broth tablets, soup soy sauce (gukganjang), anchovy sauce, and regular soy sauce (jinganjang), so those mindful of their sodium intake should be careful with seasoning adjustments.
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