Learn how to make these delicious vegan chayote (cho cho) fritters. They are totally gluten free and generously seasoned. Crispy on the outside with a soft interior - the perfect island style side dish or appetiser.
Who doesn't love fritters? I LOVE fritters, be it sweet or savoury ones. I don't mind and often toss a coin between the two.
Today I wanted to share with you a recipe that I have been experimenting with. Yes, it is another chayote recipe and probably the last one for a while now.
Just like the other recipe, I know this fruit as cho cho but for the sake of search terms we will be referring to it as chayote.
It's also known as chow chow, mirliton, sayote or christophine, depending where you are located in the world.
I had a bunch of chayote in the house and just didn't know what to do with them so I got experimenting with various recipes, including making wedges and fries.
I decided to challenge myself by making some savoury fritters that were vegan friendly useing my saltfish fritters recipe as a general guide.
Then made some subtle changes, adding some nutritional yeast, parsley and omitting the use of tomatoes.
I wasn't sure if the nutritional yeast and tomatoes would work together so went with my intuition and left that ingredient out.
The key to making great tasting chayote fritters is in the texture, it should be soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.
After shredding, drawing out as much moisture as possible is important, if you don't, you will most likely end up with mushy fritters.
This method is crucial to extract all of the moisture which helps to yield crispy fritters. Whatever you do, don't skip this step!
Reasons to make these fritters
- A great way to use any leftover chayote
- Creative and versatile
- Easy to prepare
- Incredibly addictive and filling
- Vegan alternative to saltfish fritters
- Budget friendly recipe
The taste of these fritters
For those of you who aren't familar with these fritters, I'm sure you're probably wondering what they taste like?
Well would you believe me if you I told you that they taste almost the same as saltfish fritters? Honestly they do!
You won't even miss the cod fish in these fritters because they taste almost the same. I tested them on my family and even they were amazed by the almost identical taste and texture.
I'm buzzing right now, with excitement, because this is a win for the plant based/vegan crew.
Especially for transitioning vegans who miss that taste of fish. I got you covered with these fritters.
How to peel a chayote
- Place the chayote on a chopping board and slice in half.
- Place one half of the chayote, face down on a chopping board.
- Slice off the ends and then use the tip of a knife to score out the core/seed in the middle and discard.
- Repeat the above 2 steps with the other half.
- Use a paring knife or vegetable peeler to remove the peel and discard.
The steps
- Use a box grater, to grate both halves of the chayote into shreds in a large bowl.
- Use either a cheesecloth or kitchen towel to squeeze out the liquid and discard it.
- In another large bowl, add the gluten free flour, onion, scallion, garlic, nutritional yeast, thyme, parsley, black pepper, pink salt and scotch bonnet pepper powder.
- Whisk to combine the dry ingredients together.
- Add the shredded chayote and red bell pepper then stir.
- Slowly pour in the water in stages (you might not use all of the water) while stirring to create a smooth batter - it shouldn't be too thin nor too thick, just somewhere in between.
- On medium-high heat, add the olive oil to a large frying pan (make sure the oil is very hot).
- Spoon the batter into the frying pan and repeat without overcrowding the pan.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook each side until golden brown. Moving the pan from side to side to evenly distribute the oil.
Notes and tips
- It is important to squeeze out ALL of the liquid from the shredded chayote to avoid soggy fritters. Don't skip this step!
- Any leftovers should be refrigerated for up to 2 days and re-heated via a pan with a small amount of oil.
- I haven't tried freezing these fritters so play it safe by refrigerating them only.
- You want to shred the chayote as thinly as possible using a box grater.
- When spooning the batter into the frying pan, don't make the fritters too thick or they will be raw on the inside.
- Make sure to fry each side until golden brown AND crispy as this will help with the structure.
- The total amount of fritters will depend on the size. I made 9 small fritters in total, yours may vary.
- Make sure the hot is very hot, hot oil will create a crispy coating for the fritters. If the oil isn't hot enough the fritters will absorb a lot of the oil like a sponge.
- Make sure your batter isn't too thick nor too runny. It should be a medium consistency, if it's too runny add a tablespoon more of flour. If too thick, thin it out with a splash of water.
- Make sure to use a non stick frying pan to eliminate using an excess amount of oil. It will take awhile for it to crisp up with the amount of oil I used but it's healthier than deep fat frying your fritters.
More chayote recipes to try
More fritters recipes to try
**Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends and engage on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**
Vegan Chayote Fritters (Cho Cho/Christophine)
Ingredients
- 1 chayote halved and peeled
- 1½ cup Charla's gluten free flour (205g)
- ½ small onion chopped
- 2 scallion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast (15g)
- ½ tablespoon thyme (3.5g)fresh or dried
- ½ tablespoon parsley (2g)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (2g)
- 1 teaspoon pink salt (6g)
- ¼ teaspoon scotch bonnet pepper powder (1.23g) or use ½ of a fresh scotch bonnet (optional)
- ⅓ red bell pepper chopped
- 1½ cup water (355ml)
- olive oil for frying I used about ¼ cup in total
Instructions
- Use a box grater, to grate both halves of the chayote into shreds in a large bowl.
- Use either a cheesecloth or kitchen towel to squeeze out the liquid and discard it.
- In another large bowl, add the gluten free flour, onion, scallion, garlic, nutritional yeast, thyme, parsley, black pepper, pink salt and scotch bonnet pepper powder.
- Whisk to combine the dry ingredients together.
- Add the shredded chayote and red bell pepper then stir.
- Slowly pour in the water in stages (you might not use all of the water) while stirring to create a smooth batter - it shouldn't be too thin nor too thick, just somewhere in between.
- On medium-high heat, add the olive oil to a large frying pan (make sure the oil is very hot).
- Spoon the batter into the frying pan and repeat without overcrowding the pan.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook each side until golden brown. Moving the pan from side to side to evenly distribute the oil.
Notes
-
- It is important to squeeze out ALL of the liquid from the shredded chayote to avoid soggy fritters. Don't skip this step!
-
- Any leftovers should be refrigerated for up to 2 days and re-heated via a pan with a small amount of oil.
-
- I haven't tried freezing these fritters so play it safe by refrigerating them only.
-
- You want to shred the chayote as thinly as possible using a box grater.
-
- When spooning the batter into the frying pan, don't make the fritters too thick or they will be raw on the inside.
-
- Make sure to fry each side until golden brown AND crispy as this will help with the structure.
- The total amount of fritters will depend on the size. I made 9 small fritters in total, yours may vary.
-
- Make sure the hot is very hot, hot oil will create a crispy coating for the fritters. If the oil isn't hot enough the fritters will absorb a lot of the oil like a sponge.
-
- Make sure your batter isn't too thick nor too runny. It should be a medium consistency, if it's too runny add a tablespoon more of flour. If too thick, thin it out with a splash of water.
-
- Make sure to use a non stick frying pan to eliminate using an excess amount of oil. It will take awhile for it to crisp up with the amount of oil I used but it's healthier than deep fat frying your fritters.
Olivia says
Loved trying out a fritter alternative! The texture was great.
The recipe turned out pretty bland for me for some reason, though—the fritters were much better when I added extra salt on top. I think in the future I'll try salting the shredded cho cho and letting it sit for a bit before draining it, then giving the recipe another shot!
Charla says
Hi Olivia, sorry it didnt meet your expectations taste wise but I am glad you tried the recipe and you're willing to tailor it to suit the next time.
Fran says
I have almond flour on hand, do you think that would work?
Charla says
Hi Fran, unfortunately almond flour wouldn't be the best option for this recipe, so sorry!