Korean Style Broccoli

This recipe belongs to my favorite korean cook Maangchi. As often the case at her kitchen, this "broccoli trees" are simple, flavorful and have a lovely gentle heat to it. 

Blog's Category:  International

Korean Style Broccoli

 

Intro

Maangchi call it Broccoli Tree. It is indeed looks like trees when you cut it the way she shows. 

Although Maangchi cook it by skillet-steaming method, I prefer to blanch broccoli - this way I can control better when my broccoli reached the right level of doneness and assure they are cooked evenly throughout the batch. This particular recipe I tried pan-steaming method but my broccoli come out unevenly cooked despite my "shake-shake-shake" actions on it. So next time I'll get back to my favorite blanching technique.

Nevertheless, even unevenly cooked broccoli turned out to be really delicious - even my not-very-adventurous-in-food hubby was caught next day on sneaking into container with broccoli...:)


What is it?

Cooked to tender-crisp condition, broccoli is mixed up with some garlic and a few spices - and voila!

Taste Description

Sweet-&-spicy, with garlic zing and flavor, these broccoli "trees" are fun to bite on.

How to Serve

Serve warm or cold as a healthy, fun and appetizing side to your today's entree. Keep in a fridge in a glass container for 2-3 days to have a nice "passing by" snack or as a topping for your sandwich.

Korean Style Broccoli 

 

• 2 broccoli heads
• 1 tsp red korean chili flakes (or 1/4 tsp regular red pepper flakes)
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbs vinegar (or lemon/lime juice or apple cider vinegar)
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1tbs salt (for blanching)

- In a pot, bring 1/2 gallon of water to boil, add salt, throw broccoli in and cook it for about 3 minutes or until broccoli are still bright-green but, when prickled with a tip of knife, they are tender-soft. Drain broccoli immediately in a colander and pour the coldest tap water possible for a 20-30 seconds to stop cooking process.

- In a large bowl, mix pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic, sugar and vinegar together. Add broccoli and stir them into spices to coat.

- Transfer broccoli onto serving plate and pour remaining spices from a large bowl over your broccoli and enjoy!

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IN PICTURES

 

Don't forget to peel a stock first to remove tough outer layer.

..ready to go..

Those were two mighty cloves of garlic ;)

For this particular recipe I was steaming the broccoli but next time I'll return back to my favorite way of cooking broccoli - blanching in a boiling water.

..cooked..

I do not bother myself by mixing up spices separately - I usually drop them one by one over and then deal with distributing them evenly throughout... Although for this recipe it is better to stick the way of mixing spices I put it above in a recipe.