"BEEF WITH ZUCCHINI"

The zucchini is a small summer squash, and sometimes I see it labelled as "Italian squash" in stores. The zucchini is low in calories, and also contains folate, pottasium and vitamin A.
Do you know that the zucchini is (an immature) fruit (being the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower)? In cooking though, it is treated as a vegtable, usually cooked and presented as a savory ingredient in dishes. My husband enjoys zucchini, and so we use it a lot in my cooking. He said it absorbs the flavor of any dish so whenever I get a chance I add it to any dish with sauces, like in lasagna, sauteed marinated meats, or anything I cook with garlic brown butter. The zucchini is the key ingredient in the dish 'Ratatouille'! I want to try and make this dish one day.

Today I just stir-fried zucchini with some marinated beef strips for lunch. As usual, we enjoyed it with some rice.

You can always substitute the beef strips here with chicken or pork, or make it meatless and use tofu.

-CHICHAY

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"BEEF with ZUCCHINI"

What You Need:

1 lb beef steaks, sliced into strips of 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp Hoisin sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil2 small zucchini, sliced

1 medium sized white onion, sliced

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp water

1 small cube of butter (about 1/2 tbsp)salt and pepper to taste

Prep:

-Marinate beef slices in a mixture of Hoisin sauce, Worcestershire sauce and
garlic powder for at least half an hour.

-Drain the marinade from the beef and keep this for later.

How To:

-Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet.

-Add beef strips (1/2 at a time), stir-fry over high heat for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
-Remove the beef from the skillet with slotted spoon, and transfer to a dish, cover with foil to keep warm.

-On the same skillet, cook and stir onions in some more olive oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute.

-Add zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.

-Remove from heat and transfer to the dish with the beef.

-Add the reserved marinade to the skillet and add the soy sauce and water, bring
to a boil, then lower the heat and let this simmer for 2-3 minutes.

-Return the beef and zucchini to the skillet, add the butter, stir and simmer for
another minute.

-Serve this with hot rice or pasta.