Stir-fried courgette and sesame seeds: a great vegetable side to accompany your Chinese meal, or a dish on its own. Batons of courgette are lightly fried with onion, stirred through with a mix of sweet and savoury Asian flavours, and finished with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and spring onions just before serving. It’s super quick to make and only requires a handful of ingredients. Perfect to throw together as a vegetable side to your Chinese feast.
Need a quick vegetable side dish for your Chinese meal?
If you’re looking for a quick vegetable side to round out a Chinese‑inspired meal, this stir‑fried courgette and sesame seeds dish is one that quietly steals the show. Courgette batons cook in minutes, turning tender while still keeping a little bite, soaking up the sweet‑savoury Asian flavours beautifully.
The key is to fry the courgette lightly so it gets a hint of golden colour without turning soft or watery. Once it’s just starting to caramelise, everything comes together fast. A splash of soy for saltiness, a touch of honey for sweetness to balance it, and whatever aromatics you love. Garlic, ginger, chilli… they all work, and you only need a small amount to make the courgette taste vibrant and full of flavour.
A scattering of sesame seeds right at the end adds a lovely nutty crunch and makes the dish feel instantly more “finished”. Easy to make and it slots perfectly alongside noodles, fried rice, dumplings or any bigger Chinese feast you’re building.
Other courgette side dish recipes
Some other side dishes you might want to try are below:
Growing Courgettes
Courgettes are remarkably easy to grow in the UK and are perfect for beginner gardeners. They thrive in the British climate when planted after the last frost (typically late May or early June) and can produce abundant harvests from just two plants throughout the summer months, making them one of the most easiest and rewarding vegetables to plant at home.
Courgettes like a rich, well composted soil, and above all else constant watering – especially in hot weather – as plants can produce 1-2 courgettes per day which requires a lot of water. Ensure you regularly harvest the courgettes to encourage further production.
Varieties of courgettes
For maximum yields, several varieties stand out as particularly productive in UK conditions. ‘Defender’ is disease-resistant and produces plenty of straight, dark green courgettes. ‘Black Beauty’ is famous for its reliable production and high-yield potential with soft, tasty, glossy, dark green fruits. If you’re looking for something different then ‘Eight Ball’ produces round courgettes, whilst a good yellow variety is ‘Golden Delight’. A new variety I have tried this year was ‘Sure Thing’ and it’s certainly lived up to it’s reputation – producing at least a fruit a day!
No, this won’t change the flavour. It just looks more appealing to have green and yellow courgettes.
Stir-fried Courgette and Sesame Seeds
Equipment
- Wok or large non-stick frying pan
Ingredients
- 50 ml soy sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 2 tbsp sriracha
- 2 tbsp hoisin/oyster sauce
- 2 medium courgettes cut into batons
- 1/2 onion sliced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 spring onions finely sliced
Instructions
- In a glass measuring jug, whisk together the soy sauce, sriracha, honey, and garlic. Set aside.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan or wok over a medium-high heat, and add the sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add the courgette batons and sliced onion to the pan. Sauté until the courgette has browned slightly, but still keeps some bite, stirring regularly. This should take around 6 minutes or so.
- Pour the sauce into the pan and toss with the courgettes for about a minute or so to warm through and coat everything nicely.
- Remove from the heat, pour into your serving dish, and sprinkle with sesame seeds and finely sliced spring onions before serving alongside your Chinese meal. Or, double up the recipe and serve as a main with some steamed rice.
Notes
- If you can, try to use a mix of green and yellow courgettes