zucchini stir-fry

“The ‘root’ of this recipe is from our garden,” Peter Wong writes. “We get an abundant harvest of zucchini every summer and we have exhausted every conceivable way to prepare it in soups, etc. So we thought that using it as a stir-fry vegetable would be a delicious and quick way to enjoy the harvest.”

QUICK CHICKEN-ZUCCHINI STIR-FRY

1 whole chicken breast, skinned and boned

1/2 egg white

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

White pepper

1/4 cup chicken stock

1 teaspoon sugar

6 tablespoons oil

1 pound zucchini, unpeeled and diced into small chunks

Hot steamed rice

Cut chicken into small chunks. Beat egg white lightly in bowl. Add 1 teaspoon cornstarch, salt, sesame oil and dash white pepper. Mix in chicken breast chunks and allow to marinate 30 minutes.

Combine remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch with chicken stock, sugar and dash white pepper. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in wok or large skillet. Add zucchini and stir-fry just until tender-crisp and peel is still bright green, about 3 minutes. Remove from wok.

Add remaining 1/4 cup oil to wok and heat until hot. Add marinated chicken and stir-fry until cooked, about 3 to 5 minutes. Return zucchini to wok.

Stir reserved chicken stock mixture thoroughly. Add to zucchini mixture. Stir-fry until sauce thickens. Serve immediately with steamed rice. Makes 4 servings.

--PETER WONG

Los Angeles

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