Chef Jeong-sun
Bangpung-namul (Seasoned Coastal Hogfennel)
A bittersweet spring green from the southern shore, blanched just until pliant, then seasoned lightly so its clean coastal bitterness stays alive on the rice table.
Culinary Explorer
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Aehobak-namul (Seasoned Korean Zucchini)
Created by
Tender Korean summer zucchini softened gently in the pan with saeujeot for salt and depth, finished with sesame so the vegetable stays sweet, green, and plainly itself.
Side Dishes
Korean
Weeknight
Budget Friendly
15 min
Active Time
6 min cook•21 min total
Yield4 servings as banchan
Aehobak belongs to summer markets, stacked pale green and tender enough that your thumbnail can mark the skin. Cook the month you're standing in. When the squash is young, this little banchan needs almost nothing: a little salt, a little saeujeot (salted shrimp), garlic, scallion, and sesame at the end.
The dish lives or dies by gentleness. People brown zucchini because they learned to chase color in a pan, but aehobak-namul is not that dish. You salt it first so the flesh seasons all the way through and releases water, then you cook it just until it slumps. No hard frying. No sugar. Let it taste like itself.
Notebook 38 says 300 grams of aehobak takes 3/4 teaspoon saeujeot if the salted shrimp is ordinary, less if it is fierce. That is the kind of number a grandmother might keep in her hand and never speak aloud. Write it down. Memory is a borrowed bowl.
Aehobak, the immature Korean summer squash, is one of the everyday vegetables of the Korean home table, used in namul, jeon, jjigae, and noodle toppings when summer fields are generous. Seasoning it with saeujeot reflects an old coastal pantry habit: salted shrimp gives both salinity and quiet fermentation depth, especially in mild vegetable dishes where soy sauce would darken the color and taste too heavy. This is not a palace dish dressed down; it is ordinary banchan, which is exactly why it needs recording.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Korean zucchini (aehobak)
Quantity
1 medium, about 300g
halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch half-moons
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
for salting the zucchini
neutral oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon
toasted sesame oil
Quantity
1 teaspoon
divided
garlic
Quantity
1 small clove
minced
saeujeot (Korean salted shrimp)
Quantity
2 teaspoons, plus up to 1 teaspoon more to taste
finely chopped
scallion
Quantity
1
thinly sliced
toasted sesame seeds
Quantity
1 teaspoon
water (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
red chili (optional)
Quantity
1/2 small
thinly sliced
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Korean zucchini (aehobak)halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch half-moons | 1 medium, about 300g |
| fine sea saltfor salting the zucchini | 1/2 teaspoon |
| neutral oil | 1 tablespoon |
| toasted sesame oildivided | 1 teaspoon |
| garlicminced | 1 small clove |
| saeujeot (Korean salted shrimp)finely chopped | 2 teaspoons, plus up to 1 teaspoon more to taste |
| scallionthinly sliced | 1 |
| toasted sesame seeds | 1 teaspoon |
| water (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
| red chili (optional)thinly sliced | 1/2 small |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide skillet, 10 to 12 inches
- •Mixing bowl
- •Clean kitchen towel or fine strainer
Instructions
- 1
Cut the squash
Trim the zucchini, halve it lengthwise, and cut it into 1/4-inch half-moons. Keep the slices even. Thin pieces collapse before the center seasons; thick pieces stay watery in the middle. This knife work is small, but it is the dish.
Korean aehobak is sweeter and softer than many dark-skinned Western zucchinis. If using ordinary zucchini, choose a small firm one and scrape out any spongy seed core before slicing. - 2
Salt and drain
Put the sliced zucchini in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and toss gently. Let it stand 10 minutes, just until the slices bend slightly and a spoonful or two of liquid gathers at the bottom. Salting seasons the vegetable inside and removes enough water that it can soften without turning soupy.
- 3
Press, do not rinse
Drain the zucchini and press it lightly between your hands or in a clean towel. Do not wring it like laundry and do not rinse away the seasoning. The pieces should feel flexible but still hold their half-moon shape.
- 4
Start the pan
Heat a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the neutral oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the sesame oil, then add the garlic and chopped saeujeot. Stir for 20 to 30 seconds, only until the garlic smells rounded and the salted shrimp loosens into the oil. Do not let the garlic brown, because bitterness shows quickly in a pale namul.
- 5
Cook gently
Add the drained zucchini and toss to coat. Cook 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat, turning gently, until the slices turn glossy and bend at the edges. If the pan goes dry before the zucchini softens, add 1 teaspoon water and cover for 30 seconds. You want tenderness, not browning.
- 6
Taste and finish
Taste one warm slice. If it is flat, add another 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chopped saeujeot, not a careless pour of soy sauce. Turn off the heat and fold in the scallion, remaining 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, sesame seeds, and red chili if using. Let it sit 5 minutes before serving, because the seasoning settles as it cools.
Chef Tips
- •Buy aehobak that feels heavy for its size, with taut pale green skin and no soft ends. Large squash with cottony centers belong in stew, not this namul.
- •Saeujeot varies. Taste a grain before cooking. If it is very salty, start with 1 1/2 teaspoons and adjust after the zucchini softens.
- •A safe shortcut is slicing the zucchini earlier in the day and refrigerating it unsalted. Do not salt it hours ahead, because it will collapse and lose the tender bite this dish needs.
- •If you do not eat seafood, replace the saeujeot with 1 teaspoon soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang) and a pinch of salt. It will be cleaner and less deep, but still honest.
Advance Preparation
- •Slice the zucchini up to 8 hours ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Salt it only 10 minutes before cooking.
- •Aehobak-namul is best served the day it is made, warm or at room temperature. Leftovers keep 2 days refrigerated, but the texture softens.
- •To serve from the refrigerator, let it stand 15 minutes at room temperature and taste again. Cold dulls salt and sesame, so a few fresh sesame seeds can wake it up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 75g)
Calories
65 calories
Total Fat
5 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
5 mg
Sodium
560 mg
Total Carbohydrates
3 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
2 g
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