Garlic Zucchini Stir-Fry

It's been unseasonably warm in Minnesota, so somehow zucchini seemed like a great pick for our weekly ingredient. Going to the store, however, I remembered that it is indeed January. The zucchini pickings were pretty slim, so while there's zucchini IN this dish, I can't say I'd call it a zucchini dish overall. That said, it turned out to be pretty tasty!

I was generally inspired by the Vegetable Stir Fry on the Kalyn's Kitchen blog, which has lots of great stuff. I switched up the vegetables a bit, but tried to stay fairly true to the construction of things. She's right about one thing - it all comes together really quickly. Best to have everything cut up, sitting out and ready to go.

Hers is just the veggie stir-fry, but I decided to put some rice noodles in mine. Mostly because I had a package of rice noodles. So before I started the stir fry, I boiled some water and poured it over the rice noodles in a bowl, then let those just soften up. 

So here's what I used and what I did:

2 small-to-medium zucchini

2 small-to-medium yellow squash

4-5 stalks bok choy

1 small can sliced water chestnuts (drained)

1 package rice noodles

2T canola oil

1/4 tsp salt

3T oyster sauce

Cut up zucchini and squash into equal sized pieces. Slice bok choy stalks so they are the same width as the zucchini and squash (separating and saving leaves for later). Slice onions and mince garlic. Set all other ingredients out and be ready to go!

Put pan (or wok) on medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes until it's pretty darn hot. Add oil and heat 30 seconds. Add onion and garlic and cook 20 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add zucchini, squash, bok choy stalks, water chestnuts and salt, and cook 4-5 minutes. Stir every 30 seconds or so.

Add oyster sauce and bok choy leaves and cook 2 more minutes, stirring a few more times. 

At this point, I drained the rice noodles and stirred them into the pan, but you could easily just make the veggies and eat them alone or with rice.

That's it! I was skeptical about the oyster sauce being the only thing on here sauce-wise, but it turned out to be pretty good!

Zucchini and squash - same size. Ready to get tossed in.

Bok choy waiting for a chop. I took the leaves off and then just sliced the stalk.

Everything chopped and ready to go

How was it? Both of us liked it. It was filling, very veggie-ful and I was pleasantly surprised at just having the oyster sauce. I did end up sprinkling on a little soy sauce and a little Sriracha to spice it up.

What would I change? There's nothing I disliked, so I don't think I'd change anything. That said, this is so versatile that you could easily do this with any veggies that are in season or you're just feeling a craving for.