Zucchini Stir Fry

Being as in love with food as I am, I've got a few fellow food nerds I fangirl over. One is of course Alton Brown, who takes food nerding to the next level with his explanations of history and chemistry. I can honestly say some of the Good Eats episodes inspired me to not be so intimated by recipes long before I even considered blogging about it.

Over time I've discovered a few social media foodies that interest me consistently; a rare feat for a lady that doesn't use it much nowadays. Men with the Pot is a recent account I landed on and immediately followed. It's a group of guys that cooks everything on video, from scratch, in the middle of the woods. Close ups of eggs cracking and vegetable slicing are commonplace, and in just a few minutes one can enjoy seeing a recipe created from start to finish. It's simple, it's unique, and therapeutic to watch. I just love it.

A recent video that completely caught my attention was for stir fry. I already enjoy the clean cuts of vegetables, sliced thin quickly with a large knife. But in this video they deviated from what you'd expect in a stir fry recipe, in that suddenly an orange peel was sliced and tossed in with the veggies.

The most I've ever considered really using orange peel is the zest atop or in a few dishes or frankly, burnt slightly and served on the rim of an old fashioned. Watching this already thin slice of orange peel be sliced into strips and mixed in with other vegetables had me intrigued.

I continued to watch the video and saw the noodles were zucchini, definitely an idea I've made and loved before. But the sauce was about as simple as anyone could desire - orange juice from the now peeled orange and soy sauce. I had to have it.

As always, I took a couple of liberties to adapt this to my flavor preferences, and that's what I'll share with you here.

I started out with some chicken; the original called for steak and while that's fantastic, this time around I wanted to use some chicken I'd thawed. I cut the chicken breasts in half and after seasoning with salt and pepper, cooked them in a large skillet with some oil. After they were cooked throughout, about 6 minutes per side, I removed them from the pan and set them on a plate.

The veggies of choice for this were onion, green pepper, a small serrano pepper, and of course the zucchini squash for noodles. I thinly sliced everything to prep it. I also peeled about 60-70% of the skin off an orange, sliced it thin, and tossed it in the mix.

Using the pan from the chicken, I heated a bit more oil to medium and tossed in some garlic, along with the onion and peppers, and cooked them for about 5 minutes. I then added the fresh-squeezed orange juice, soy sauce, and salt and pepper.

After that, I stirred in the zucchini and let it cook for about 5 more minutes, until they softened slightly. The final touch was stirring in some fresh cilantro and parsley.

 

I am so glad I stumbled on this account and that for once, the algorithm was right and social media showed me something spectacular. This is a unique, refreshing, veggie-filled dish that I'd love to try with both tofu and steak. A recipe that proves that flour noodles are not required for every dish, this stir fry is an absolute keeper, and a simple one at that!

Zucchini Stir Fry Recipe

Ingredients:

2-3 tablespoons avocado oil
2 chicken breasts

3 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

1 onion
1 bell pepper
1 Serrano pepper

2-3 medium zucchini 
1 orange, cut in half

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic 
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro

Instructions:

Cook chicken into strips and season with about 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook in oil for 7-10 minutes, until cooked throughout, then remove from pan and set aside. Slice onion and pepper into thin strips. Slice Serrano thin. Use knife to slice off orange peel then cut into thin strips. Add a small amount more oil to pan, then add cut vegetables, orange peel, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add soy sauce, salt and pepper, and juice of half an orange. Stir in salt and pepper. Slice zucchini into thin strips, about the width of linguine pasta. When peppers and onions begin to soften, add zucchini. Stir in fresh herbs. Cook 3 minutes then then return chicken to pan. Cook about 2 more minutes, when zucchini has softened slightly. Chop fresh herbs and stir in. Serve.

adapted from @menwiththepot