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Garlic Scapes Stir Fry: Simple Homemade Stir Fry Sauce (using pantry ingredients)




 Recipes at the Top:  Chit Chat at the Bottom

 

Garlic Scapes:  Stir-Fry w/ Simple Homemade Stir-Fry  Sauce

Printable Recipe (one page view) HERE 


Ingredients:

·        1 pound cubed chicken, pork, or steak (meat is optional) (I didn’t use any meat.)
·        vegetable oil (I used olive oil) (used for stir frying any meat and the for stir-frying the vegetables separately)
·         6 cups chopped vegetables (use any but below are some good options, including GARLIC SCAPES):
  • garlic scapes, harvested early just after they curl into a loop, washed, blossoms trimmed off and cut into 2-4 inch lengths (as big as you might for fresh green beans or asparagus) – or you can actually use asparagus or fresh green beans if garlic scapes are not available for this dish
  • mushrooms (if canned, drained; if fresh – sliced)
  • bell pepper, onion, carrots, squash (washed/peeled/sliced for stirfry)
  • broccoli (bite sized pieces, washed if fresh; I used frozen because I had that)
  • fresh snap peas (snow peas) (washed & "little hats” removed)

·         stir fry sauce of your choice OR my simple Homemade Stir Fry Sauce  (recipe below)




 

Homemade StirFry Sauce  

Whisk these ingredients together in a separate dish or measuring cup:

·         1/2 cup chicken broth (I used a teaspoon of chicken bouillon w/ ½ cup hot water) 
·         1/3 cup soy sauce (I used lite low sodium soy sauce.)
·         2 Tablespoons honey (or brown sugar)  
·        1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or ground cayenne pepper (I used about ½ teaspoon.  Could also use prepared hot sauce instead of spices to increase heat)
·         1 teaspoon garlic powder or 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
·         2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger (I omitted because I didn’t have any.)
·         1 Tablespoon cornstarch (I don’t care for thickened sauce so I omitted this.)

Instructions:

·         Heat 1-2 Tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or wok.  Add 1 pound of meat (chicken, beef, pork) and cook until browned and cooked through.  Transfer to a clean plate.

·         Add 1 more Tablespoon of oil to the skillet.  Add 6 cups of vegetables (garlic scapes, snap/snow peas, onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, etc.) to the skillet.  Stir fry until crisp-tender (still bright in color). 

·         Return any meat to the skillet with the vegetables.

·         Add the stir fry sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes.

·         Lastly, add any broccoli as it only needs to steam in the skillet until bright green and crisp-tender.


Serve over steamed rice.


This scape isn't quite ready to harvest.  I like to harvest just after they make a loop.

THE CHIT-CHAT!


About Garlic Scapes


What are garlic scapes?

Garlic scapes are the curly shoots (flower stalks) that grow from hardnecked garlic several weeks before garlic bulbs are ready to harvest. (Garlic is harvested when half the greens have started to die back).  The plant sends out a garlic scape (flower stalk) which then curls to form a loop.  At loop time, you want to cut the scape because cutting off the scape causes the garlic bulbs to get larger and.. well, size matters!  

How to harvest:

Garlic scapes should be harvested by cutting as close to the base of the plant as possible and/or sometimes you can gently pull them out or snap them off.  I snapped off my garlic scapes.  They keep in the fridge for up to a month and can be frozen.

What do they taste like?

Garlic scapes have a mild, garlic/onion flavor and the crisp stalks have the texture of fresh green beans or asparagus.  They remind me a lot of asparagus!


Where can I get some?

If you don't grow your own garlic, garlic scapes are sometimes found in farmer's markets or grocery stores in late spring/super early summer.  I harvested my garlic scapes on June 2 in my mid Missouri garden.  My garlic was planted around October 31, 2024.


Are garlic scapes THAT special?

Garlic scapes are so delicious that it would be worth planting garlic JUST for the scapes ... even if you didn't get any garlic bulbs!  Definitely I will be planting more garlic this fall, just so I can get more scapes next spring.  MMmmm!


What are other dishes that I can make with garlic scapes?

Garlic scapes can be eaten raw, added to salads, blended into hummus or pesto, stir fried in a skillet and added to scrambled eggs, quiche, pizza, rice or pasta dishes.  You can even chop them into small pieces like chives and blend into cream cheese.  Think I'm adding bagels to the menu for this weekend's garlic scapes cream cheese! 


This was my first year growing garlic AND my first year eating garlic scapes.  They are like the buffalo dip to your hot wings; the deviled eggs to Easter dinner; the first taste of salty pasta to a full plate of slow cooked spaghetti sauce.  Garlic scapes are THAT special and I will be looking forward to this time next year - for garlic scapes!

I'm also sharing my post at Harvest Mondays June 9, 2025:  Dave's Happy Acres Blog.  Special thanks to Dave for his awesome site and offering a great place to share harvest updates!

Enjoy!


Gina


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