Fried carrot fritters bring back some of my favorite childhood memories. When I was in elementary school, I was living with my grandparents, who enjoyed vegetables and very simple food. They often bought these Old-Beijing style carrot fritters from street vendors for snacking. It was the early 90s when you could get two pounds of them for 50 cents. It was usually stuffed in a paper bag. And I couldn’t help but reach for one of them on the way home.
The ingredients
These carrot fritters are loaded with vegetables and use an egg and some flour to hold them together. Seasoned with green onion, cilantro and a touch of five spice. They’re super crispy on the outside and have a very soft and moist interior that is savory and slightly sweet because of the carrot. I like to serve them with a gingery sauce and a ketchup garlic sauce. When I make them, they rarely even make it to the dinner table because we just snack away on them as soon as they’re out of the frying pan.
How to make carrot fritters
Prepare the vegetables
Most of the work in this recipe is cutting the vegetables. I used a cheese grater (medium grain) to shred the carrot, but it does take a while. You can use your food processor to speed things up. The pieces of carrot should be around the thickness of a matchstick, but not as long. For the cilantro, it is best to chop it by hand. This will keep the leaves in slightly larger pieces, which creates crispy bits when you fry the fritters up. Also, chopping cilantro using a food processor might make it a bit mushy. For the ginger and garlic, it’s best to use a lemon zester to grate them. Hand mincing works as well.
Make the batter
Once you have prepared all the vegetables, add them to a big bowl. Add the beaten egg and mix them together. Add the dried ingredients into a separate bowl and mix well. Stir them into the vegetables. Then mix to combine. Depending on the condition of your vegetables and how you cut them, you might notice the batter already holding together. Slowly drizzle a bit of water into the bowl and mix until there’s no dry flour left. You should be able to form a ball of the batter using your hands or a spoon. And its texture should be soft. When you start cooking, use a small spoon to scoop out the batter while forming it against the bowl. It works the best when the surface of the carrot fritters is slightly uneven, as it creates a crispier surface in the cooked fritters.
How to fry carrot fritters
To get the best result, I have to admit that it’s best to fry the carrot fritters. To minimize the amount of oil, you can use a small tall pot for frying. The oil temperature should not be too hot, which will make the carrot fritters’ surface very dark. On the other hand, a very low temperature will make it take a very long time to fry them and the fritters’ surface won’t crisp up well. 325°F (160°C) is the best temperature, but you don’t have to measure the oil temperature for a great result. I usually use medium-high heat to heat up the oil, then turn it to medium when adding the fritters. If it starts to bubble too hard, I turn it to medium-low heat. If the fritters stay in the pan for 3 minutes but still do not brown up, turn up the heat. Once done, the fritters will have a golden brown color on the outside and will be very tender and moist inside.
Pan frying works as well
If you do not like deep-frying, you can use much less oil and pan fry them. You should use enough oil to cover the bottom of a nonstick frying pan. For the fritters, use 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter, and smash them onto the pan like thick pancakes. Keep the thickness around 1/2” (1 cm) or less, so the inside cooks properly. Cook for about 2 minutes per side until browned. The biggest disadvantage of pan frying is that the surface of the carrot fritters will turn dark brown and won’t look as good as deep fried. Although it wouldn’t bother me that much if I’m not hosting.
How to reheat carrot fritters
The best thing about these fritters is that they reheat very well. You can store them in the fridge or freeze them, and then crisp them up in the air fryer. The reheated fritters are just as crispy and moist as the freshly made ones.
Afterthought
Carrot fritters are one of my favorite childhood snacks. It’s so nice to make them at home because nothing can beat freshly fried fritters that are so crispy and the flavor is addictive. You can make them for a snack or an appetizer in a full-on Chinese dinner, or make them ahead of time for meal prep. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Other delicious vegetarian recipes
Da La Pi (大拉皮, Northern Chinese Potato Noodles in Sesame Sauce)Easy Steamed Tofu (蒸豆腐)Chinese Celery and Peanut Salad Vegetable Chow Fun (蔬菜炒河粉)Chao He Cai (Beijing-Style Vegetarian Moo Shu, 炒合菜)
