Spicy Asian Zucchini (10 Minute Side Dish)

This Spicy Asian Zucchini can be whipped up in 10 minutes and makes a great summer side dish.ย 

This Spicy Asian Zucchini is a quick and easy summer side dish.

I firmly believeย there is a direct correlation between the amount of zucchini we have available to us, and how excited I am to use it. At the beginning of the season when the first small zucchinis show up in our gardens or our CSA boxes,ย it’s a thrill. Weย make our first zucchini bread, toss them into omelets, and maybe even saute them for a sandwich. But then they keep coming. They grow in both size and number, and by mid-season, when the zucchinis are taking over our gardens and our countertops, we’re sick of them. We research recipes on Pinterest for zucchini tots, zucchini brownies, and zucchini casseroles. We think if one more baseball-bat-sized zucchini dares show up at our house, we’ll just have to pack up and let the zucchinis have the place.

This gluten free side dish recipe is a great way to use up all that zucchini!

It’s when you’re in that place of sheer desperation that this recipe comes in handy. It’s super simple (as in 5 ingredients and 10 minutes prep time), it uses at least one of those pesky zucchinis, and it’s a welcome departure from the more traditional cheesy zucchini casserole or zucchini bread.

This dish gets it’s flavor from a mixture of soy sauce, sriracha, and honey which provides a good punch of spicy heat to the otherwise (dare I say) lackluster flavor of the zucchini. A little sprinkling of sesame seeds and green onion round out the deal.

This Spicy Asian Zucchini Recipe is a great 10 minute side dish!

So don’t pack up your things just yet. Fight back the onslaught of zucchinis and enjoy a fabย side dish all in one shot. Now that’s what I call killing two zucchinis with one recipe.

Spicy Asian Zucchini on a white plate

Spicy Asian Zucchini

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

This Spicy Asian Zucchini is a quick, 5 minute side dish that's perfect for using up summer zucchini. You'll love this quick sweet, spicy, and savory sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 large or two small zucchini, cut into long strips
  • Sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce (Tamari if gluten free)
  • 2 Tablespoons sriracha sauce
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat 2 teaspoons of sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the zucchini (you may have to saute them in batches depending on the size of your skillet and how much zucchini you have). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and saute until browned and tender. Remove from heat. Repeat with remaining zucchini if needed.
  2. Whisk together the soy sauce, sriracha, and honey. Pour the mixture over the sauteed zucchini (again, you may not need to use all the sauce depending on how much zucchini you have. Taste as you go). Toss to combine. To serve, sprinkle the zucchini with sesame seeds and green onions. This side dish is tasty warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 62Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 822mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 2g

Please note nutritional information for my recipes is calculated by a third party service and provided as a courtesy to my readers. For the most accurate calculation, I always recommend running the numbers yourself with the specific products you use.

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a review, or head over to Instagram and share a photo! Tag your projects with #neighborfoodies!


Recipe by Neighborfoodย 

60 Comments

  1. I spiralized the zucchini instead of cutting it lengthwise, and in hindsight, I think I could double the zucchini and still have an excellent dish! Am dieting, so this was a main dish for me. I’ll definitely make this again!

  2. Thanks for the recipe. We had it tonight with salmon and rice and it was delicious! We will definitely make it again!

  3. My family absolutely devoured it! So delicious, healthy and will be repeated many times! P.S. I’m glad the recipe said it might not need all the sauce as my courgettes were clearly a little smaller and the sauce is potent (salty). Luckily,this means I have left over sauce to try on other veg too this week. Nom nom

  4. I was able to leave a comment, but couldn’t figure out how to rate it for a review. I wholeheartedly give this recipe 5 stars!

  5. Excellent! Easy to make & so flavorful! I didn’t have sriracha but I had Harissa on hand so I used that instead. Wow! I loved it & couldn’t stop eating it! Now I’m thinking of using this sauce on all different kinds of veggies. Soooo good!

  6. Just made this and it was amazing, I seriously can’t wait to make it again, my absolute new fav..๐Ÿค—๐Ÿค—๐Ÿค—THANK YOU

  7. I made a few adjustments in that I used 2 med-large zucchini, and sautรฉed them all at the same time on high heat (instead of in batches). I also added the sauce and green onions straight to the pan for it to cook down a bit. I found it tasty but very salty. Could have been my sriracha or maybe the Thai soy sauce I used (definitely wasn’t a low-sodium version). I’d definitely make this again though!

  8. I’m trying to come calories and this nutrition information doesn’t add up. 38 calories as served? So the entire dish is 38 calories? Or is the serving size 1/6 of the recipe because it says that it yields “6”

  9. Thank you so much for this recipe. I’m glad that you wrote that it could be eaten room temperature because, I’m cooking for my family for my 4th of July cookout. It will be a hit. I was looking for something besides the same boring potato salad, baked beans and Mac and cheese that we have at every cookout. My family loves spicy and this recipe is going to be a winner.

  10. I can’t even tell you how excited I was to find this recipe! I make two zucchini side dishes…..pretty much always Italian inspired and for YEARS. This is easier, faster, and tastier! Love this recipe so much!

  11. Haha! I love the zucchini desperation season, as weird as it sounds. And I love the flair of this side dish, too–will need to try it tonight!

  12. I totally hear you on this. Zucchini is so exciting at first. And then it just keeps coming…and coming. I’ll definitely be keeping this recipe in my back pocket, because I always have all of the ingredients on hand. Beautiful photography, too. Love it!

  13. So need this recipe! Impulse bought way too many zucchini this weekend at the farmers market, because it was so darn cheap, and I’ve been trying figure out what to do with it. You are my hero!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.