Vegetable Stir Fry (for Garlic Lovers)

This mixed Vegetable Stir Fry has eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and onion all flavored with garlic and Oyster sauce! See tips in the recipe for making this garlicky stir fry with vegetables lower in carbs, or ideas for other vegetables you can use.

PIN the Vegetable Stir-Fry recipe to try it later!

This simple Vegetable Stir Fry is perfect for garlic lovers, and this is a recipe I’ve been making for years! Even if you don’t have a wok, stir frying is a simple way to turn out great-tasting vegetables using just a few ingredients. And this garlic and vegetable stir fry recipe is a favorite summer side dish for me, so I’m featuring it as my Friday Favorites pick this week.

This fun recipe was first inspired by the last few vegetables I picked from my garden one year. And when I had a big vegetable garden I used to make this every summer! Now I make the mixed veggie stir fry with vegetables from the Farmers Market. Or sometimes I’m lucky enough to get garden produce from friends or family members!

I used a combination of eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and onion for this recipe. But you can definitely make this with just one or two of those ingredients. And if it’s not garden season, see below about how to vary the recipe with other vegetables to make a tasty vegetable stir-fry dish any time of year! 

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• zucchini
• yellow squash
• eggplant
• Peanut Oil (affiliate link), or other high smoke-point oil
• Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
• onion
• salt
• Oyster Sauce (affiliate link), Gluten-Free Oyster Sauce (affiliate link), or Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (affiliate link)

Use the Principles of Chinese Cooking for the Vegetable Stir Fry:

I learned how to stir-fry years ago by taking a Chinese Cooking class taught by a visiting professor from China. Once you master these basic techniques, you can get good results with many different combinations of ingredients. In the class I learned these Five Principles of Chinese Cooking that have helped me make so many stir fry dishes:

1. Preheat the wok or pan (before you put the oil in).
2. Season the oil (with whole pieces of garlic and sometimes ginger root, which you usually remove when you add the food to be cooked).
3. Symmetry of cut (all pieces must be cut the same size and shape).
4. Have all ingredients cut and sauces mixed before you cook.
5. Use very high heat and cook fast.

The only thing that’s slightly different in this recipe is the use of minced garlic, which is left in the finished dish. I used a lot of garlic, but if you’re as much of a garlic lover, you can use a bit less.

Tips for making this mixed vegetable stir fry with other vegetables?

• If it’s not summer vegetable season make this stir fry with other vegetables. Remember all veggies need to be the same size and shape.
• For harder veggies like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower,  need to be added to the wok first. Cook them for a few minutes before you add softer veggies.
• Medium-firm vegetables like sugar snap peas, peppers, or celery will need just slightly more cooking time than the veggies used in this recipe.
• Besides zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, and onions, mushrooms would be delicious in this recipe and will cook in about the same amount of time.
• The sauce used here will taste good on a wide variety of different vegetables!

Can you make this stir fry recipe without a wok?

I love to use a wok for my stir-fry cooking, but if you don’t want to buy a special pan you can definitely make this recipe in a large heavy frying pan!

How to make a vegetarian version of this stir fry recipe:

People who are vegetarian are not going to want to use Oyster Sauce. Just make this recipe with Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (affiliate link) to make it a vegetarian dish.

How many carbs are in this mixed vegetable stir fry?

This recipe makes 4 generous servings, and each serving has 11 net carbs and a small amount of protein. Oyster Sauce is the highest-carb ingredient here. If you’d like to make a stir-fry recipe that’s lower in carbs, replace some or all of the oyster sauce with Soy Sauce or Gluten-Free Soy Sauce.

How to Make the Vegetable Stir Fry:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. These are the very last vegetables from my garden, and this is actually a tiny colander, so some of these were baby veggies, perfect for stir-frying.
2. If you make this with bigger zucchini or squash, cut the zucchini into fourths lengthwise. Then cut away the inner part of each strip, and cut into strips about 1/2 inch side.
3. “Symmetry of cut” in Chinese Cooking means that the food should be cut into pieces that are approximately the same size and same shape. That’s important so everything cooks in the same amount of time.
4. I also cut the onions so they were a similar size and shape as the other ingredients.
5. Before you start to cook, have all ingredients cut, have the oil, garlic, oyster sauce, and salt on the counter, and have measuring spoons ready.
6. If you don’t have a wok, use the largest heavy frying pan you have. This recipe doesn’t need a lid.
7. Start by heating the wok or pan for 1-2 minutes, until it’s too hot to hold your hand over it.
8. Add 2 T peanut oil, let the oil heat for about 30 seconds, then add the minced garlic and sliced onion and stir fry 20 seconds, stirring the entire time.
9. Then add the vegetables and salt all at once and continue to stir-fry about 4-5 minutes, stirring every 20-30 seconds.
10. Cook until vegetables are just starting to soften.
11. Then add Oyster Sauce and stir to coat all vegetables with sauce.
12. Cook about 2 minutes more, stirring a few times.
13. Serve the mixed vegetable stir fry hot, and enjoy.

Make it for a low-carb Meal:

Since this stir fry with summer vegetables does have some carbs, I’d serve it with an extra low-carb main dish like one of these:

• Grilled Fusion Chicken
• Grilled Lamb Chops with Garlic and Herbs
• Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks
• Marinated Grilled Pork Sirloin Chops
• Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Vinegar

More Amazing Stir-Fried Vegetables:

• Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan
• Garlicky Green Beans
• Bok Choy with Soy Sauce and Butter

Want more ideas for cooking zucchini?

This stir fry is a great idea for using zucchini when it’s abundant in the garden. And when you have lots and lots of zucchini, my collection of 50 Amazing Zucchini Recipes has so many good ideas for cooking them!

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Yield: 4 servings

Vegetable Stir Fry (for Garlic Lovers)

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

This Vegetable Stir Fry is the perfect way to use garden vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash, but you can use any vegetables that you have. And this vegetable side dish is flavored with garlic and a small bit of Oyster sauce.

Ingredients

Toggle ingredient group

• 1/2 lb. zucchini (see notes)
• 1/2 lb. yellow squash (see notes)
• 1/2 lb. eggplant (see notes)
• 2 T peanut oil (see notes)
• 2 T finely minced garlic (or less)
• 1 onion, sliced top to bottom in strips about 1/2 inch wide
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 T Oyster Sauce (see notes)

Instructions

1. Cut vegetables into pieces that are the same size and same shape, cutting away the inner seeds from squash and larger eggplants before you cut them into short strips about 1/2 inch wide.
2. Get oil, oyster sauce, salt, and measuring spoons out and have ready on the counter near the stove.
3. Put wok or frying pan on the stove and heat 1-2 minutes, until it’s too hot to hold your hand over it. (You should be able to almost see the heat shimmering up from the wok.)
4. Add the oil and heat about 30 seconds.
5. Then add minced garlic and sliced onion and cook 20 seconds, stirring constantly.
6. Add the rest of the vegetables all at once, add salt, and cook 4-5 minutes, stirring every 20-30 seconds, or until vegetables are barely starting to soften.
7. Add oyster sauce, stirring gently so all the vegetables are coated with sauce.
8. Cook about 2 minutes more, stirring a few times.
9. Serve the vegetable stir fry hot.

Notes

Use any combination of zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant or substitute other vegetables you have on hand. Be sure all veggies are cut in same size pieces.

If you substitute other veggies, harder vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower should be added to the wok first and cooked a few minutes before you add the softer veggies.

Peanut Oil (affiliate link) is ideal for stir fry cooking, but you can use any neutral flavored oil that will hold up under high temperatures.

Oyster Sauce (affiliate link) is widely available, look for it by the Asian foods in any supermarket. If you need gluten-free, be sure to get Gluten-Free Oyster Sauce (affiliate link).

If you want a lower-carb version, switch some of the oyster sauce for soy sauce.

Recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from Cooking from the Heart: The Hmong Kitchen in America. (affiliate link)

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 123Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 0mgSodium 519mgCarbohydrates 14gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Vegetable Stir Fry is not extremely high in carbs, but for strict low-carb eating plans just use my tip of replacing some of the oyster sauce with soy sauce. The recipe would also need to have some of the Oyster Sauce replaced with soy sauce for the Original South Beach Diet. If your store has several brands of Oyster Sauce, choose the one with the lowest amount of sugar. If you need gluten-free, be sure to get Gluten-Free Oyster Sauce. (affiliate link). And you can use Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (affiliate link) if you prefer.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Check out Stir-Fry Recipes for more recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The garlicky mixed vegetable stir fry was first posted in 2012, when I had a big vegetable garden and lots of summer veggies to use! I still make it, but now I mostly use veggies from the Farmers Market. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2026.