This week marks nine years since Meera Sodha started writing her Guardian column, and she reflects on the vast, underexplored richness of Asian cuisine. While many are familiar with Cantonese or Sichuan food, regions like Fujian or Hunan remain less known. Her latest recipe offers a simple yet authentic taste of Beijing: courgette pancakes (hutazi) paired with a spicy-sweet cucumber salad.
Ingredients for Beijing-Style Courgette Pancakes
For the pancakes, you'll need 2 courgettes (about 550g), coarsely grated; 1¼ tsp fine sea salt; 4 medium eggs; 120g plain flour; 50g spring onion greens and whites, finely sliced; ½ tsp Chinese five-spice; ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil; and rapeseed oil for frying. The cucumber salad requires 1 tbsp rice vinegar; 2 tsp light soy sauce; 2 tsp sambal oelek; 2 tsp runny honey; ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil; 1 cucumber (about 300g), deseeded and cut into 1cm dice; 15g coriander, rolled and finely sliced; and 1 tbsp good runny tahini.
Preparation Steps
Begin by salting the grated courgettes with 1 tsp salt, then let them drain in a sieve for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sambal oelek, honey, and sesame oil for the salad. Add the diced cucumber and coriander, then drizzle with tahini and gently fold without fully mixing. Set aside.
After 10 minutes, squeeze the water from the courgettes vigorously, reserving 100ml of the liquid. Discard the rest. In a bowl, combine the squeezed courgettes, eggs, flour, spring onions, five-spice, sesame oil, and ¼ tsp salt. Add 75ml of the reserved courgette water and mix to a loose batter; add more water if needed.
Cooking the Pancakes
Heat 3 tbsp rapeseed oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Ladle in batter (about 75ml per pancake) and cook 1-2 pancakes at a time, patting them flat. Cook for about 3 minutes total, flipping once, until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter to make 8-9 pancakes.
Serving Suggestion
Divide the pancakes among four plates, spoon the hot honey cucumber salad on top, and serve immediately. The salad provides a spicy, umami-rich sweetness and crunch that complements the simple pancakes perfectly.
