My dear husband loves, loves, loves broccoli – I think he would happily eat it every day. Because of this, I’m always trying to find interesting ways to cook it so we don’t have the same old roasted broccoli every day. I never boil it as it was brought to the table in my childhood rendering it soggy and completely unappetizing.
When last in San Francisco – in that other time when we could travel and visit far away places and eat anywhere that pleased us – we had a few wonderful meals at China Live (chinalivesf.com). It is an amazing emporium and restaurant highlighting great Chinese products and foods. We came home with some of their soy sauce, vinegar and chili oil – each one better than the other. Once you try their soy sauce, it is very hard to go back to the supermarket choices. The black vinegar is delicious and the chili oil incredible. You can easily order all of these products online.
This is an easy and very tasty method of introducing broccoli into your menu IF you are not fond of it. And, if you, like my husband, love it, this recipe will make you love it even more. If you don’t have the China Live chili oil, use any Chinese chili oil you have on hand.
In case you don’t know this easy technique to mince garlic and ginger – just peel them and use a rasp grater to quickly grate. Easy-peasy!
Serves 4 to 6
1 head broccoli
½ cup plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
One ½-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
1 teaspoon China Live chili oil
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Line a baking sheet with sides with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil. Set aside.
Trim the broccoli, discarding the leaves and cut it into florets with some stem attached. If the broccoli is older, check to make sure that the stems are not woody. If they are, cut most of them off.
Combine the yogurt with the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, chili oil and chile flakes in a large mixing bowl, stirring to blend well. Add the broccoli and toss to evenly coat.
Lay the seasoned broccoli out in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the preheated oven and roast, turning occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until the florets are lightly browned and the stems are tender.
Remove from the oven and serve.
judithchoate.com 