Broccoli: It's what's for dinner

My small son was dismayed to come to the dinner table and find nothing but a big bowl of broccoli and some veggie fried rice.  It was a delicious meal of Ginger Garlic Broccoli and yummy rice, but it held no charms for him.  Admittedly I am no lover of broccoli either, but in an effort to bring more green veg to the family I have been trying some new recipes.  This is a cool season vegetable, so now is the time to find it on sale along with cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and greens such as spinach.       I had high hopes that this recipe would magically transform the broccoli into an irresitably savory mouthful that even my child wouldn't be able to resist.  This dish is very tasty, but it's not magical.  I followed the recipe I found on Simply Recipes and just increased the flavor a little bit here and there.  The grown-ups at the table were pleased with the result.

Broccoli with Ginger and Garlic

1 pound broccoli

2 Tablespoons fresh ginger finely chopped

3 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 Tablespoons cooking oil

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons sesame oil

1 pinch red pepper flakes

sesame seeds to sprinkle on top

Begin by washing and chopping up the broccoli.  Separate the florets from the stems.  Peel the stems with a vegetable peeler and chop them up.  Break the florets apart to your desired size and put them in a separate pile.

Heat the cooking oil in a big saute pan and add the broccoli stems.  Let them cook for a few minutes before adding the florets because the stems will cook more slowly.  Stir everything so that it's all evenly coated.  Now scoot the broccoli to the outside of the pan so that you have a little space right in the middle to add the garlic and ginger. You may need to add another splash of oil here to get it going.   Let the garlic and ginger become fragant, then stir everything together and add the stock, soy sauce and sesame oil.  Stir and cook on high heat.  If the broccoli is getting over done, you can take it out with a slotted spoon and let the sauce reduce on it's own.  Continue cooking the sauce until only a few tablespoons remain, then add the broccoli back to the pan.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Comments

[sonya]

Thanks Anna! I'll look up that recipe for sure.

[Anna]

Try Catherine Newman's "crack broccoli" (from her Ben and Birdy blog a month or so ago). Oven roasted with salt and a little sugar. The grown-ups at our house love it and the middle son says it is only "medium gross".

[Jehan]

Perhaps if I had read this prior to your visit, I would not have served up broccoli. I really only like it three ways: the way we had it, sauteed in olive oil and garlic then topped with kosher salt and red pepper flakes and then steamed; steamed with a little lime on top; and baked with garlic and then topped with a healthy dose of Parmesan cheese.