Although I’m pretty sure this dish isn’t authentic (due to the inclusion of butter), it tastes exactly like what I’ve eaten at dim sum restaurants before and is really simple (and fast) to make. The sauce, given a kick from garlic, ginger, and five-spice, is a great match to Chinese broccoli, but should work wonderfully on other vegetables as well. It’s not often that I find something that only takes about 10 minutes to make and still tastes delicious, so I know I’ll be coming back to this recipe.
Chinese Broccoli with Five-Spice Sauce (adapted from Epicurious)
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 pound Chinese broccoli, trimmed*
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2″ piece fresh ginger, minced
- 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice
- 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/3 cup peanuts, finely chopped
*You can substitute broccolini or, in a pinch, regular broccoli.
Method:
- Fill a wide pan with an inch of water, and heat until steaming. Add 1 pound Chinese broccoli, trimmed, put a lid on the pan, and steam until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the broccoli from the pan and drain water.
- In a small pan, melt 4 Tbsp butter over medium heat, then add 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1/2″ piece fresh ginger, minced, and 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice and sautee until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, and whisk until combined. Remove from heat, and pour over the broccoli.
- Top with 1/3 cup peanuts, finely chopped.
