Chicken Zucchini Stir Fry

Ok, so I have heard of zoodles before (zucchini noodles) but I have never made a recipe with them.  That was till tonight.  I’ve recently found that my cholesterol and blood sugar is a bit high.  My doctor actually asked when I would like to schedule my next heart attack.  EYE OPENER.   So I have decided to work with my recipes to come up with healthy versions of dishes that I love and I hope you do too.  I’ll be adding to my  “Lower Carb” section.

I stopped after work tonight and found a very inexpensive vegetable spiral cutter.  For only $9 I could pass it up.  It worked much better than I thought that it would.  In only a matter of time I had a pile of zoodles.  

So I have the veggie noodles but how are they going to taste?  I am used to, and very happy with the pasta I usually use in this recipe.  Well I am about to find out.

First in a very large pan with high sides saute your chicken. Season well with salt and pepper

Once the chicken is cooked well on first side, turn and add the onions.  Mix well and cook till chicken is cooked through.

Once the chicken is cooked and onions are softened, you’ll add the remaining ingredients along with the zucchini noodles.Mix well and cook for about 5 minutes till zucchini noodles are softened.  Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.  One tip: you may have a bit more liquid than you might like from the zucchini.  If you do, you can easily mix about a teaspoon of corn starch in a small amount of cold water.  Mix well and add to the mixture.  Stir and keep an eye on it.  It will thicken quickly.  I myself use guar gum.  I just sprinkle about 1/2 a teaspoon over the mixture and stir over heat.  It will thicken quickly as well.

I am very impressed with the taste and texture of this dish.  I let the zucchini get very soft.  Next time I might cook just a bit less to add more texture.  But I am very happy with this recipe.  As you can see, it has minimal ingredients and comes together rather quickly.  I hope y’all try this one and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 small zucchini’s
• 2 chicken breasts sliced horizontally into cutlets and then 1 inch cubes
• 1 red onion sliced thin
• 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Add olive oil to large pan over medium high heat.
2. Add chicken and let brown on one side.  Don’t move for about 4 minutes to get some color and flavor on the chicken.
3. Turn the chicken and add the onions.  Cook for another 3-4 minutes to cook the chicken through and soften the onion.
4. Add the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper.  Mix well and saute for 4-5 minutes to soften the zucchini.  Make sure you continuously move the mixture around so you don’t burn the zucchini.  You can adjust the time to achieve the texture of zucchini you like.  I found 5 minutes and it was like very soft pasta.
5. Taste and add salt and pepper as need to taste.