Garlic Lover's Vegetable Stir Fry – Kalyn's Kitchen

Once summer vegetables galore, I love to make this Garlic Lover’s Vegetable Skillet with eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash! See the tips in the recipe to make this recipe a little lower in carbs, or for other vegetables you can use.

PIN Garlic Lover’s Vegetable Stir-Fry To Try Later!

Are you a fan of garlic and fried cooking? That’s simple Garlic Lover’s Fried Vegetables It’s a recipe I’ve been making for years, and even if you don’t have a frying pan, stir-frying is a simple way to get great-tasting vegetables with very few ingredients.

This vegetable stir-fry recipe was originally inspired by the last few vegetables I picked from my garden, and when I had a large vegetable garden I would simmer this as soon as I had a surplus of vegetables to use. Now I buy vegetables at the farmer’s market to make it happen, or sometimes I get garden produce from friends or family members.

I used a mixture of eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash, but you could easily make this with just one of these ingredients. And if it’s not gardening season, see below on how to diversify the recipe to use other vegetables so this is a delicious way to make a veggie side dish any time of the year!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is a list of ingredients only; please scroll down for the full printable recipe. OR if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the full recipe.)

Use the principles of Chinese cooking for this stir-fried vegetable:

I learned how to stir-fry years ago by taking a Chinese cooking class taught by a visiting professor from China, and once you’ve mastered the basic technique, you can get good results with many different combinations of ingredients. In a Chinese cooking class, I learned these five principles of Chinese cooking that have helped me make many different stir-fry dishes over the years:

Heat the wok or wok (before you put the oil in it).
Season the oil (with whole pieces of garlic and sometimes ginger root, which you often remove when adding the food to be cooked).
Consistency of pieces (all pieces must be cut to the same size and shape).
Chop all ingredients and mix sauces before cooking.
Use very high heat and cook quickly.

The only thing slightly different in this recipe is the use of minced garlic, which is left in the finished dish. I used a lot of garlic (!) but if you’re not a fan of garlic, you could use a little less.

Can you make vegetable stir fry with other vegetables?

If it’s not summer vegetable season, you can definitely stir fry these vegetables along with other vegetables. If you’re using a mix that includes hard veggies (such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, or peppers), you’ll want to add them to the skillet first and cook them for a few minutes before adding the softer veggies. In addition to zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, mushrooms and onions will also be tasty. The dressing used here would taste just as good on a variety of different vegetables!

How do you make this stir-fried vegetable lower in carbs?

oyster sauce (referral link) or Gluten free oyster sauce (affiliate link) It is a fairly high-carb ingredient. If you’d like to make a version of this recipe that’s lower in carbs, substitute some of the oyster sauce with soy sauce or oyster sauce Gluten free soy sauce (referral link).

Can you make this vegetable stir-fry without a skillet?

I love using a skillet for stir-fry cooking, but if you don’t want to buy a special skillet, you can definitely make this recipe in a large heavy skillet!

Want more zucchini cooking ideas?

If you have a lot of zucchini garden with my post 50 amazing zucchini recipes It will give you good ideas to cook it! You may also like Slow cooker zucchini recipes or Instant zucchini recipes Found on my Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker website.

How to make vegetable stir fry for garlic lovers:

(This is just a summary of the recipe steps; please scroll down for the full printable recipe. OR if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, you will be taken directly to the full recipe.)

These are the last vegetables from my garden, and they’re actually a little strainer, so some of them were baby vegetables, perfect for stir-frying.
If you make this with zucchini or a larger squash, you should cut some of the inside where the seeds are, and then slice the vegetables. Starting at the back, cut the zucchini into quarters lengthwise, then cut through the inside of each slice, then cut into slices about 1/2 inch long.
“Cutting consistency” in Chinese cooking means that food should be cut into pieces of approximately the same size and shape so that everything is cooked in the same amount of time.
I also chopped the onions to be a similar size and shape to the other ingredients.
Before you start cooking, chop up all the ingredients, put the oil, garlic, oyster sauce, and salt on the counter, and have your measuring spoons ready.
If you don’t have a skillet, use the largest skillet you have. This recipe does not need a lid.
Begin by heating the wok or skillet for 1-2 minutes, until it is very hot to hold your hand on it.
Add 2 Tbs of peanut oil and allow the oil to heat for 30 seconds, then add the minced garlic and onion slices and stir-fry for 20 seconds, stirring all the time.
Then add vegetables and salt all at once and continue to fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring every 20-30 seconds.
Cook until the vegetables begin to soften.
Then add the oyster sauce and stir to coat all the vegetables with the sauce.
cook 2 more minutes, stirring a few times. Serve hot.

More amazing fried vegetables:

ingredients

1/2 pound zucchini (see notes)

1/2 pound yellow squash (see notes)

1/2 pound eggplant (see notes)

2 tons of peanut oil (see notes)

2 t garlic, finely minced (or less)

1 onion, sliced top to bottom 1/2 inch thick

1/4 tsp. salt

3 T oyster sauce (see notes)

directions

Cut the vegetables into pieces of the same size and shape, and cut out the inner seeds from the larger squash and eggplant before cutting them into short strips about 1/2 inch wide.
Get your oil, oyster sauce, salt, and measuring spoons ready on the counter near the stove.
Place a skillet or wok on the stove and heat for 1-2 minutes, until it’s just too hot to hold your hand over it. (You should be able to see the heat almost shimmering off the pan.)
Add the oil and heat about 30 seconds.
Then add the minced garlic and chopped onion and cook for 20 seconds, stirring constantly.
Add the rest of the vegetables all at once, add the salt, and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring every 20-30 seconds, or until the vegetables just barely begin to soften.
Add the oyster sauce, stirring gently until all the vegetables are coated in the sauce.
cook 2 more minutes, stirring a few times.
Serve hot.

notes

Use any combination of zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant, or substitute other vegetables you have on hand. Make sure all vegetables are cut into the same size pieces. If you substitute other vegetables, firm vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower should be added to the skillet first and cooked for a few minutes before adding the softer vegetables.

peanut oil (affiliate link) Perfect for stir-fry cooking, but you can use any neutral-flavored oil that will withstand high temperatures. oyster sauce (affiliate link) Widely available, find it by asian foods in any supermarket. If you need gluten free food, be sure to get it Gluten free oyster sauce (referral link). If you want a lower-carb variety, substitute some of the oyster sauce for soy sauce.

Recipe prepared by Kalyn with inspiration from Cooking from the Heart: Hmong Cuisine in America. (affiliate link)

Nutrition information:

fruit:

Serving size:

1

Amount per service:
Calories: 123Total fat: 7 gramsSaturated fat: 1 gramUnsaturated fats: 0 gramsUnsaturated fats: 6 gramsCholesterol: 0 mgsodium: 519 mgcarbohydrates: 14 gramsFiber: 3 gramssugar: 5 gramsprotein: 2 grams

Nutrition info is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I’m using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, as many variables affect these calculations.

Low Carb Diet / Low Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Garlic Lover’s Vegetable Stir Fry is relatively low in carbs, but if you’re making it to strict low-carb eating plans, you may want to use my tip for substituting some of the oyster sauce for soy sauce. The recipe will need to substitute some of the oyster sauce for the soy sauce for the original South Beach Diet, too. If your store has several types of oyster sauce, choose the one with the least amount of sugar. If you need gluten free food, be sure to get it Gluten free oyster sauce. (affiliate link)

Find more recipes like these:
paying off Stir fry recipes For more recipes like these! Use the Diet type indicator To find recipes suitable for a particular food plan. You may also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on PinterestAnd in FacebookAnd on instagramAnd on TikTokor on YouTube See all the good recipes I share there.

Historical notes for this recipe:
Garlic Vegetable Fry was first propagated in 2012, when I had a large vegetable garden and plenty of summer veggies to use! Now I mostly make it with veggies from the farmer’s market. Recipe was recently updated with more information in 2023.