Recipe: Rosheen Kaul’s Stir-Fried Zucchinis With Perfect Soy Dressing Is a Nod to Her Etta Era

“Summer has always been my favourite season for produce,” writes Rosheen Kaul in her new cookbook, Secret Sauce. “Summer squash varieties can take very high-heat cooking because they char beautifully and soak up lots of flavour. I wait all year for zucchini flowers, all sweet and tender.”

The sturdy summer squash is the basis of this dish – but the star is an all-purpose stir-fry sauce that’s been Kaul’s go-to for years. She even used it in her “forever-favourite” dish from her time as head chef at Melbourne wine bar Etta: a golden square of fried egg tofu topped with seasonal vegetables cooked over fire in a perforated wok.

“With just the right amount of acid to enhance sweetness, supporting notes of aromatic ginger and garlic, and just enough soy sauce to enrobe the dish in umami,” she writes. “It was the most wonderful way to celebrate the best of the season using a bright, savoury dressing that let the vegetables speak for themselves.”

Kaul says the dressing is “genuinely good” with just about anything, making it a foil for a variety of seasonal veg. Pair with brassicas in winter or beans in spring, or with shredded and blanched potatoes with a slick of chilli oil throughout the year. “But heirloom squash and zucchini flowers in summer will always be my favourite.”

Rosheen Kaul’s stir-fried zucchinis with perfect soy dressing

Serves 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes

Ingredients

3-4 zucchini flowers
1 teaspoon neutral oil
300g mixed heirloom squash, cut into 23cm chunks
¼ cup perfect soy dressing (see below)

Perfect soy dressing
⅓ cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
⅓ cup rice vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup good-quality extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

Method

Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. The sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Slice the zucchini flowers lengthwise, remove and discard the stamens (the pollen) carefully with your fingers.

Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan until smoking, then add the zucchini flowers and squash.

Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes on high heat until just tender, then turn the heat off and add the dressing. Stir to combine and serve immediately.

This is an edited extract of Secret Sauce by Rosheen Kaul, published by Murdoch Books. RRP $39.99.

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