Momofuku Inspired Brussels Sprouts

Last night we were supposed to go out but ended up staying in. I rooted around the vegetable drawer in the fridge and found some Brussels sprouts that we had bought. I love brussels sprouts. So I went to my tried and true Momofuku inspired recipe.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs of Brussels sprouts
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• ½ cup peanut oil
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp sesame seed oil
• 2 scallions
• Fresh ginger
• 2 limes
• ¼ cup coconut milk
• Sesame seeds
• 1.5 cups rice
• 3 cups water

Okay preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Let’s get the sauce ready. In a nice big bowl put all the liquid ingredients in. The soy, oils and stock go in first, mix them up a bit. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve it all. Add the red pepper and the scallions (I always slice my scallions really fine along the bottom white part and ½ strips with the top dark green part) only add the white and light green right now. I always use my microplane for this next step, if you don’t have one mince the ginger as fine as you can, if you do have one grate the ginger into the bowl. Mix it all thoroughly.

Wash the Brussels sprouts and cut off the stem part on the bottom, remove any discolored outer leaves and cut them in half top to bottom. Once they are in half chuck them in the bowl, after you get all these done mix those really well to get them coated with the sauce. Take them out and line them up cut side down on a sheet pan. Toss them into the oven for 20 minutes or until the outer leaves are dark brown. Reserve the sauce that’s left in the bowl, we still need it.

While they are in the oven add the rice (I love jasmine rice for this) to the rice cooker and cook away. It should be ready close to the same time.

For the sauce get out a small sauce pan or pot and put it on medium high heat, add the reserved sauce and squeeze the juice from one lime into it and bring to a low boil, now lower it down and simmer it, watch out the sugar in it doesn’t burn or stick, mix it often. Once it has reduced to half its volume, stir in the ¼ cup of coconut milk and add some sesame seeds. Let it sit there on low heat until everything is done, stir occasionally.

When the rice and sprouts are done mound up a nice big pile of rice, add the sprouts along one side and on the rice and top with the sauce and the dark green scallions. This is always a hit at my house.