• Meat Recipes
  • Meatless Recipes
  • Sugary Treats
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Fuss Free Cooking

With A Side of Lifestyle

  • Home
  • About
  • Collaboration
  • Contact
  • Index
  • Recipes
    • Kitchen Tips
    • Meat Recipes
    • Meatless Recipes
    • Sugary Treats

Meatless Recipes Vegetables

Spicy, Sweet & Savory Brussels Sprouts


Hello everyone! It’s been a while since my last post and I’m glad to say after spending a couple of days of unpacking, my kitchen is finally ready for operation. Also, after spending a couple of days using internet on a stick (wait, I mean USB stick ;P) I’m more than ready to bid goodbye to my temporary fix of internet and welcome back my ADSL. During these times, I can’t help wondering how on earth did I get by with dial-up speed while I was in high-school??

So here’s my first post from my new kitchen – spicy, sweet and savory brussels sprouts. A dish inspired by my favourite Szechuan cabbage dish picked up from a cookbook. In effort to capture the basic elements of a Szechuan dish, one needs to add chili for spiciness, sugar for sweetness and vinegar for souriness. Usually dried chili is preferred in this type of dishes for its intense spiciness and smokiness. But if your chili tolerance is on the low side, you can try with fresh chili or red bell peppers.

Spicy, Sweet & Savory Brussels Sprouts

(inspired by A Little Taste of China)

Serves 2 as a side dish

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes (including pre-boiling the brussels sprouts)

Ingredients:

  • 8 Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut into half
  • 1-inched ginger, peeled & sliced
  • 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes (adjust according to taste; or 1 thinly sliced fresh chilli)
  • 2 tbsps light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsps white vinegar
  • 2 tbsps brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp cornflour + 3 tbsps water (for sauce thickening)
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
  • A recently boiled water from the kettle

Method:

  • Lightly toast sesame on a dry pan. Set aside. (Don’t walk away while doing this as it should only take a few seconds on medium flame.)
  • In a bowl, mix light soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, black pepper and sesame oil and stir to combine. Set aside.

  • Pour boiling water into a medium sized pot and place over medium flame. Wait until it starts boiling and add about a tablespoon of salt. Add Brussels sprouts and let them cook in the water for a half minute or until it is slightly tender in the middle when pierce with a fork. Drain and set aside.  (Note: If you’re not sure, it is better to under-cook the sprouts at this stage.  FYI – The salt in the water will help the sprouts to stay bright green when cooking)
  • Grease a pan/wok with some vegetable oil and place over medium flame. When the oil is hot, add ginger and saute until aromatic.
  • Add chili flakes and saute for 4 seconds. Then, reduce the flame to low (to minimise the splatter) and stir in the sauce mixture.
  • Then add in the Brussels sprouts and mix to combine with the sauce. Cook until they achieve your desired texture. Remove the Brussels sprouts  from the pan with a slotted spoon and leave the sauce behind. Set aside.
  • Add cornflour mixture to the sauce and boil on high heat until thickens. Spoon the sauce over the Brussels sprouts and sprinkle with sesame seeds just before serving. Best served with rice.


30 Comments

Stay Up To Date

Get all the latest recipes straight to your inbox

« Strawberry Crumble
Easy Walnut & Zucchini Loaf »

Comments

  1. Liz says

    January 30, 2011 at 11:52 pm

    I have to try your recipe…it sounds phenomenal!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      January 30, 2011 at 11:56 pm

      Thanks Liz…hope you’ll enjoy it! 😀

      Reply
  2. Roxan says

    January 31, 2011 at 12:34 am

    Emily! Brussels sprouts is one of my favorite vegetables. I know… weird right? Most people hate them, but I could seriously eat a bowl of roasted brussels sprouts like it was popcorn. These look amazing. You prepared them to totally look like little bok choys 🙂

    Reply
    • Emily says

      January 31, 2011 at 12:43 am

      Yeah brusells sprouts are my favourite too…and therefore, this is not weird at all…haha!

      I can’t believe people actually hate them, my beloved included…but that said, I think maybe because some people are scarred from overcooked and bland brussels sprouts.

      Eating like popcorn huh? Well, I must say you take your love for the sprouts to a whole new level…hehe!

      Reply
  3. meemsnyc says

    January 31, 2011 at 1:47 am

    Oooh, I’ve never thought to cook brussel sprouts like this before. Sounds awesome.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      January 31, 2011 at 1:51 am

      Thanks. I love my brussels sprouts to be really tasty and to be eaten with rice (okay it’s very Asian of me :P). This is no doubt one of my favourite ways of cooking BS. 🙂

      Reply
  4. ceecee says

    January 31, 2011 at 2:22 am

    always looking for good brussel sprouts recipes! thanks!
    ceecee

    Reply
    • Emily says

      January 31, 2011 at 2:51 am

      You’re welome. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Annie says

    January 31, 2011 at 2:36 am

    This looks so good. Brussels sprouts are my absolute favorite vegetable but I am definitely in a rut with how to prepare them. This is just the fix I need.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      January 31, 2011 at 3:41 am

      Thanks Annie…I know what you mean, it happens to me sometimes too. I’m glad that I can help. 😛

      Reply
  6. chocolatesuze says

    January 31, 2011 at 3:33 am

    rofl @ internet on a stick! mmm too bad it wasn’t deepfried too

    Reply
    • Emily says

      January 31, 2011 at 3:40 am

      It may not be a bad idea…haha!

      Reply
  7. a frog in the cottage says

    January 31, 2011 at 10:44 am

    OOHH i would really enjoy to have some !!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      February 1, 2011 at 12:02 am

      Thanks….I’m sure you will… 😛

      Reply
  8. Tiffany says

    January 31, 2011 at 12:34 pm

    These flavors sound WONDERFUL! (P.S… I have major love for Brussels Sprouts!)

    Reply
    • Emily says

      February 1, 2011 at 12:01 am

      Woo hoo…another brussels sprouts lover! Welcome to my BS club…hehe!

      Reply
  9. sweet road says

    January 31, 2011 at 8:43 pm

    looks delicious! I’ll be trying that out soon.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      February 1, 2011 at 12:01 am

      Thanks. Hope you’ll enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply
  10. Allison [Haute Box] says

    February 1, 2011 at 1:14 pm

    I’ve never had brussel sprouts with this flavor profile. It’s mouth watering. I’ll certainly try it soon. I LOVE brussel sprouts!

    Reply
  11. Urs says

    February 5, 2011 at 4:23 pm

    …..and really great pictures

    Reply
  12. Kevin (Closet Cooking) says

    February 16, 2011 at 1:25 am

    Nice way to enjoy some brussels sprouts!

    Reply
  13. Claire says

    September 23, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    Ah….another way to eat one of my favourite vegetables. Who knows, I might even convert a few new people to loving these sprouts.

    Reply
  14. Anat says

    January 23, 2012 at 8:00 pm

    Dear Emily,
    These brussel sprouts of yours just made my dinner delicious. perfect! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      January 30, 2012 at 2:37 am

      Thanks for your feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Katie says

    January 27, 2012 at 1:21 am

    Finally found the time to make these! I cooked them alongside a classic mac & cheese and it was an incredible combo! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      January 30, 2012 at 2:38 am

      Hi Katie,

      Never thought it would go well with mac & cheese. I may give this combo a try some time. Thanks for your feedback! 🙂

      Reply
  16. Mark Perloe says

    December 31, 2012 at 4:00 pm

    Wish you had a print button to easily print and share the recipe.

    Reply
  17. Martha Griggs says

    June 7, 2013 at 12:08 am

    This looks amazing! I just made some brussel sprouts for dinner and am wishing I had found this recipe… idk how well it woulda gone w rice n beans tho lol

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Food Standard | Metro(poetry)lis says:
    March 22, 2011 at 12:35 am

    […] Brussel sprouts in the fridge and access to sesame seeds. Roasted. With potatoes. And soy sauce. Kind of like this recipe from Fuss Free Cooking. via Fuss Free […]

    Reply
  2. Repollitos de Bruselas con semillas de sésamo | Las Recetas says:
    June 6, 2011 at 4:54 pm

    […] sé que bien preparados pueden transformarse en un plato maravilloso y ese es el caso de estos repollitos de Bruselas con semillas de sésamo. Los repollitos tienen un escaso valor calórico por lo que, si te estás cuidando, este puede ser […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fuss Free Cooking aims to make your weeknights cooking a breeze & tasty.

For business enquiries, including paid partnerships and collaborations, contact me directly by completing the contact form here. I look forward to hear from you.

Search this blog

On My Youtube Channel

Food Advertising by logo
Instagram Feed
Something is wrong.
Instagram token error.
Follow

Leftover Makeover

Golden Fried Rice

Butter Fried Rice | Fuss Free Cooking

Butter Fried Rice

Easy Broccoli & Egg Fried Rice

10 Creative Leftover Recipes - Fuss Free Cooking

10 Creative Leftover Recipes

CHINESE EGG DROP SOUP, RICE PORRIDGE STYLE (AKA CONGEE)

Chinese Egg Drop Soup, Rice Porridge Style (aka Congee)

Disclaimer

This blog is a personal blog written, photographed and edited by me unless it was stated otherwise. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blogger’s own. Although it may claim otherwise, this blog does not offer any kind of professional advice, unless otherwise noted. See here for my disclosure policy.

© Fuss Free Cooking 2010 - 2019

Copyright © 2022 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2022 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in