Asian Chicken With Zucchini I Made It Ii

Asian Chicken with Zucchini

Cosmicmother 3 years ago
~Made for October 2020's "Squash/Cucurbit" recipe Challenge~

Asian Chicken With Zucchini by BuonAppetito

Delicious! I've never had zucchini in a stir-fry before and we loved it!
I used 1lb of chicken tenders which would be approx. 6-8 boneless thighs (recipe calls for 4 boneless/skinless thighs). So I doubled the zucchini and sauce. It fed the four of us with one portion leftover, so I think the serving size is off? It says it feeds 8-10. We are big eaters, but not that big! Lol.. ;)
I could see adding other veg in addition to the zucchini like mushrooms, carrots, bok choy, red pepper, celery etc. Buon mentions in the description that you can replace the zucchini with snow peas, broccoli, green beans or mushrooms. But I think adding to the zucchini rather than replacing it would be nice. However, we really enjoyed the simplicity of the zucchini, it made for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
For the sauce it calls for 1 T. each of rice vinegar, oyster sauce, hot bean sauce, soya sauce and brown sugar. I didn't have the hot bean sauce so I used Hoisin sauce and left out the sugar since it's much sweeter than the bean sauce. To get the extra heat I used red pepper flakes, and those who wanted more spice in their bowls added sriracha sauce.
Next time I'd love to replace the butter with sesame oil in the stir-frying, and top it with something crunchy like sesame seeds, sliced almonds or chopped cashews.
The sauce is delicious and reminds me of something I've had before but can't quite put my finger on. Maybe Moo Shu pork or Mongolian Beef?? Speaking of, this would be great with pork or beef, or even shrimp or prawns. And like BuonAppetito says in the description, substituting different ingredients is the fun with making Asian foods! :)
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mommyluvs2cook 3 years ago said:

Yum Shona, that is an amazing picture, makes .e want some right now at 6am :-P Glad you were able to sub out the hot bean sauce. I bought some years ago and used it in 1 or 2 recipes and then it sat in my pantry until I finally threw it away. Just not that many recipes call for it! Love me some good Asian food :)

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Cosmicmother 3 years ago said:

Thanks Michelle! :)
I know what you mean, I had black bean paste in my fridge forever and rarely used it!
I think many of the bean sauces and pastes can stand-in for each other, because their different flavor profiles are so subtle, unless it's spicy.
I read that a good sub for spicy bean sauce is to add equal parts hot chili oil or chili sauce and bean paste (regular sweet bean paste, hoisin sauce, or ground bean sauce).

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eastcoaster 3 years ago said:

Beautiful photo Shona, I love zucchini and chicken and this looks scrumptious.

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LindaLMT 3 years ago said:

Great picture Shona! I too would like the addition of some other veggies and agree to use sesame oil instead of butter and you can't go wrong adding something crunch.

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