Zucchini is a food that helps cool the body and provides vitamins, making it very popular in cooking. Today, TasteVN will take you into the kitchen to guide you on 2 simple and delicious steamed dishes with zucchini for your family meal!
1. Steamed Zucchini with Meat
-
Preparation
15 minutes
-
Cooking
30 minutes
-
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Steamed Zucchini with Meat Serves 2 people
Zucchini 2 pieces Ground meat 300 gr Shrimp 200 gr Carrot 40 gr Dried shiitake mushrooms 40 gr Seasoning 1/4 tablespoon Pepper 1/3 tablespoon MSG 1/3 tablespoon Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Chopped shallots 30 gr Green onions 30 gr
How to Choose Good Ingredients for the Dish
How to choose fresh shrimp
- If buying frozen shrimp, you should choose shrimp that are intact, feel firm, and have a natural softness (to avoid buying shrimp that have been injected with gelatin to increase weight) and especially do not have a fishy or spoiled smell.
- Choose live shrimp to ensure freshness, with shiny shells that look firm and healthy; when pressed, they should have some elasticity, and the shells should not be too soft.
Tools needed
Steaming basket, bowl, knife,…
How to prepare steamed zucchini with meat
-
Prepare the zucchini
Leave the zucchini unpeeled, wash it clean, and then cut it into pieces about 3 – 4cm long.
Use the tip of the knife to make a circular cut in the middle of the zucchini to create a hole for stuffing the meat, leaving one end of the zucchini intact. Then use a knife or spoon to pry out that circular part and remove the seeds.
Tip:
The skin of zucchini contains a lot of vitamins, so you don’t need to peel it for cooking.
-
Prepare other ingredients
Shrimp peeled, head, legs, and tail removed, cleaned, use a small knife to make a vertical cut along the back to remove the shrimp vein, gently squeeze the shrimp body with your hand to make the vein stick out a bit, then pull it out with your hand. After that, cut the shrimp into small cubes.
Shiitake mushrooms soaked in hot water until expanded, then washed and chopped finely. Carrots peeled and diced.
Chop the green onions finely.
Tip for soaking dried shiitake mushrooms:
- Method 1 (soaking): Soak the mushrooms in water for about 1 – 2 hours, then rinse with clean water, and drain before cooking. To help the mushrooms expand faster, you can soak them in water at 60 – 80 degrees Celsius, and after 7 – 10 minutes, the mushrooms will be ready.
- Method 2 (boiling mushrooms): Rinse the mushrooms briefly with clean water, then boil them in a pot of boiling water for about 3 – 5 minutes.
-
Mix the stuffing
Place the minced meat and diced shrimp in a bowl. Season with 1/4 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1/3 tablespoon of pepper, 1/3 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate, and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. Then add 40g of chopped shiitake mushrooms, 40g of carrots, 30g of minced shallots, and 30g of chopped green onions into the bowl. Use your hands to mix and knead all the ingredients together.
-
Stuff the filling
You take some filling and put it inside the zucchini. Then, arrange the stuffed zucchini on a plate, ready to be steamed.
-
Steam the dish
Place a pot of water on the stove and add the steaming basket. Boil for about 5 – 10 minutes to stabilize the temperature inside the pot.
Finally, place the plate of stuffed zucchini into the steaming basket. Cover and steam for about 15 – 20 minutes, then turn off the heat.
-
Finished Product
The sweet zucchini is enjoyed along with the filling that is seasoned just right. Inside, there are shiitake mushrooms and crunchy carrots. You can dip the stuffed zucchini in a bit of garlic chili fish sauce to enhance the flavor of the dish.
2. Steamed Zucchini with Mushrooms
-
Preparation
15 minutes
-
Cooking
30 minutes
-
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Steamed Zucchini with Mushrooms For 2 people
Green zucchini 1 piece Yellow zucchini 1 piece Tofu 1 piece Chicken leg mushrooms 50 gr Dried shiitake mushrooms 3 pieces Carrot 1/2 piece Chopped scallions 10 gr Vegetarian seasoning a little Sugar 1 tablespoon Salt a little Soy sauce 3 tablespoons Vegetarian oyster sauce 2 tablespoons Ketchup 1 tablespoon Chili sauce 1 tablespoon
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose good tofu
- Color: Good tofu will always have an ivory white color. On the contrary, tofu containing gypsum tends to be yellower; the more yellow it is, the more gypsum it contains. Therefore, you should avoid buying tofu pieces that are yellow or slightly yellow.
- Touch: If you touch the tofu and feel it is soft and light in hand, then it is advisable to buy it. Pieces of tofu that are heavy, firm, slightly hard, and rectangular should be avoided, as these are usually tofu mixed with gypsum.
- Smell: Pure tofu will have a fragrant smell, while tofu with gypsum will smell like lime or have no smell at all.
How to choose good chicken leg mushrooms
- Choose mushrooms that are white, bright, without black spots, bruises, or broken parts.
- It is advisable to choose firm mushrooms that are not soft or wilted.
- Do not choose mushrooms with cracked caps, as these may have been kept too long; instead, choose those with firm, hard caps.
Tools needed
Steaming basket, bowl, knife,…
How to prepare Steamed zucchini with mushrooms
-
Prepare the zucchini
Green and yellow zucchinis should be left unpeeled and washed clean.
Cut the zucchini into pieces about 4 cm long. Use a knife to carve a round part in the middle of the zucchini, then use a knife or the handle of a spoon to scoop out the carved core, removing the seeds.
-
Preparing the mushrooms
First, we should clean the chicken thigh mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms thoroughly.
You add 1 tablespoon of salt and half a liter of water into a basin. Soak the chicken thigh mushrooms for about 10 minutes. The dried shiitake mushrooms should be soaked in hot water to expand quickly for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, take the mushrooms out and rinse them with cold water, then squeeze out the excess water. Finally, chop these two types of mushrooms finely.
-
Mixing the filling
Chop half a carrot finely. Put the tofu in a bowl and use a spoon to mash it. Then gradually add the chopped shiitake mushrooms, chopped chicken thigh mushrooms, and a bit of chopped carrot into the bowl, mixing well.
Add 1/3 tablespoon of vegetarian seasoning and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to the bowl, mixing all the ingredients together.
-
Stuffing and Steaming the Dish
Scoop the filling into the zucchini, pressing it tightly. Do this step by step until the filling is used up.
Add water to the steamer, boil for about 10 minutes to stabilize the temperature in the pot. Finally, place the stuffed zucchini on a plate into the steamer, and steam for about 15 minutes.
Tip: Steam just long enough for it to cook; otherwise, the zucchini will become mushy and lose its crunch.
-
Making Oyster Sauce
Place a pan on the stove, add a little cooking oil, and heat it up. Then add minced scallions, and sauté until fragrant.
Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of vegetarian oyster sauce, 1/3 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of ketchup, 1 tablespoon of chili sauce, and 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Stir the mixture over medium heat until the sauce thickens, then turn off the heat.
Tip: Turn off the heat before adding the liquid ingredients to avoid burning the scallions.
-
Finished product
Crispy zucchini that retains its natural sweetness. The filling has the sweet taste of mushrooms combined with the creaminess of tofu, along with a bit of sour and spicy sauce, making the dish extremely attractive.
How to choose fresh and delicious ingredients
How to choose good zucchini
- Choose fruits with smooth, shiny, vibrant green skin, still with the stem and without cuts or blemishes.
- Gently press with your finger; if it feels firm and not soft, it’s fresh zucchini.
How to choose fresh carrots
- Choose roots that are brightly colored, deep orange, with smooth skin, still firm and not too large in size.
- The smaller the core in the middle of the carrot, the sweeter it will be.
- Avoid choosing roots with leaves or stems at the base, and those with thick and large shoulders, as these are usually roots with large cores, not sweet and low in nutrients.
- Do not buy bruised carrots, those with distorted shapes, or leaves that are wilted or rotten.
How to choose dried shiitake mushrooms
The shape of dried shiitake mushrooms is similar to that of fresh shiitake mushrooms, but they are dried and therefore lighter in weight. Choose mushrooms that are not broken and have a light brown cap (there is generally no significant color change when mushrooms are dried). In particular, pay attention to ensure they do not have a musty smell or any strange odors, and that there are no white mold spots on the mushrooms.
See more:
You just viewed 2 ways to make steamed zucchini with meat and steamed mushrooms to treat the family! Wish you success!
*Compiled and referenced information from YouTube sources: Diệu Pháp Âm and Feedy Delicious Dishes.
