After a childhood of being served watery, overcooked courgettes (sorry, Mum), it was a bit of a surprise to discover how good they can be when they’ve retained a bit of crunch, whether served raw and doused in a dressing at the last minute (see here) or cooked very quickly over a high heat. The aim in the latter method, used here, is to char the edges before the flesh softens too much.
Simple charred courgettes are a good side for many meals – just dress them with lemon and olive oil. However, if, as here, you add ginger, sesame oil, sesame seeds and soy sauce too, then turn the heat off, throw in some hastily chopped chilli and garnish with fresh mint, the result moves from merely good to really fantastic. Great as a week-night stir-fry supper with a fried egg or perhaps some salmon, rice or noodles; or as part of a banquet with, say, crispy pork belly or a whole baked bream.
Ingredients
- 2 green courgettes (about 200 g)
- 2 yellow courgettes (about 200 g)
- 1 round green courgette (about 100 g), or 1 additional ordinary one
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 6 cm ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 medium red chilli, finely chopped
- 8 stems mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1 lime juice
- Cut the long courgettes into chunky triangles (the best way to do this is to cut them diagonally widthways, rolling the courgette a half-turn in between each cut). Cut the round courgette in half, then each of those halves into four segments.
- Set a wok over a very high heat. Add the sunflower oil and heat for 30–60 seconds until smoking hot. Add the larger pieces of round courgette (if using), flat-side down. Don’t move them around – we want colour.
- After about 1 minute, or once they’ve browned a bit, remove them from the wok and add the long courgettes, adding a little more oil if you think it’s required. Again, cook flat-side down until charred, then turn them over and char for 45–60 seconds more, making sure they’ve still got a bit of bite. Don’t let them turn translucent.
- Return the round courgette pieces to the pan and add the sesame oil, soy, ginger and most of the sesame seeds. Quickly stir once, then turn the heat off. Add half the chilli, half the mint and all the lime juice. Stir again, then transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with the remaining sesame seeds, chilli and mint.
