Asian Style Brussels Sprouts

Asian Style Brussels Sprouts

Winter in Seattle can be a little boring for locavores. Think about the vegetables we have to pick from over the winter. There’s kale, rutabagas, kale, carrots, kale, brussels sprouts, kale, turnips, kale, parsnips, kale, and lastly, more kale. Now we love kale. LOVE kale. You might even say we’re obsessed with kale. Kale chips, kale casserole, garlicky kale, kale and tomato pesto… we love kale. But man (and woman) cannot live on kale alone. So when we find a new and different way of preparing non-kale vegetables, we jump on it.

Back to our new cookbook from The Steamy Kitchen. I came across a recipe for Asian Style Brussels Sprouts. Hmm. Brussels sprouts – check. Red onion – check. Garlic and red pepper – check. Ok, I can deal with this. Now a few words about getting ready to make this recipe. In general, we try to make sure that you can make our recipes whether you have a professional restaurant kitchen or a barely equipped kitchen. We hope that you’ve got a sharp knife, a cast iron pan, and a couple of other sizes of cookware. We hope you’ve got some sort of mixer, either a stand mixer or a hand mixer. But beyond that, we try to keep those recipes that need other equipment to a minimum. You can certainly make this recipe without a food processor or a wok. However, it is going to be a heck of a lot easier if you do have both items.

Asian Style Brussels Sprouts adapted from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

Crunchy and spicy

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts
• 1.5 Tbsp high heat cooking oil
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
• 1 fresh red chili pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1.5 Tsp lemon or lime juice
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Salt

1. Trim the stalk off of the Brussels sprouts and peel off any damaged outer leaves.
2. Slice the sprouts thinly, either very carefully with a sharp knife, or if you have one, using the slicer attachment on your food processor.
3. Heat a wok over high heat. When hot, coat with the cooking oil.
4. Add the red onion and chili pepper slices and cook for 30 seconds.
5. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
6. Now mix in the Brussels sprouts.
7. Using a wooden spoon, spread the Brussels sprouts all over the pan in a thin layer.
8. Cook for 1 minute. Stir and spread again. Cook for 1 minute longer.
9. Add the lemon or lime juice, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir thoroughly.
10. Serve.

Steamy!

Notes: Ever since I tried Brussels sprouts again (last year), I’ve been looking for ways to eat them that don’t involve roasting them nearly into oblivion or frying them with bacon fat. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of those preparations, they are both incredibly tasty. However I wanted to branch out and try them with just a light cooking and some seasoning. I was worried they’d be slimy, like cabbage. But this recipe was anything but slimy. Since there’s SO MUCH to cook here, not all of the Brussels sprouts actually cook fully. This is actually what you want though. You want some soft slices and some crisp slices. We used a fresh red pepper, but since those can be few and far between during the winter, just take a dried pepper (whole) and rehydrate it in a bowl of warm water for about 20 minutes or so before slicing. It won’t be as crispy as a fresh pepper, but the flavor will be there.