Broccoli -Stir Fry Sichuan

By

Cook's Illustrated

STIR-FRIED SICHUAN BROCCOLI

Published May 1, 2007. From Cook's Illustrated.
Serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main course.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To achieve the chewy texture and spicy tang of a traditional Sichuan broccoli recipe, but without the mess of deep-frying, we stir-fried the broccoli longer than usual, so they became charred in places, giving them the deep, caramelized flavor we wanted. To create the right sauce for our Sichuan broccoli recipe, we combined dry mustard, dry sherry, a little sugar, ground white pepper, chopped scallions, and a drizzle of sesame oil, then added simple ground pork, which worked fine as a replacement for the shredded bits of Chinese barbecued pork often added at restaurants.

To make this dish vegetarian, substitute 4 ounces of shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and minced, for the pork. If using mushrooms, you will need to add a teaspoon of oil to the pan in step 3 before adding the mushrooms. The cooking of this dish goes very quickly, so be sure to have all of the ingredients prepped before you start. If your broccoli stalks are especially thick, split them in half lengthwise before slicing. Serve with steamed white rice. This recipe is a variation of our Stir-Fried Sichuan Green Beans, (see related recipe).

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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon dry sherry
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 5 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 1/4 pounds broccoli , florets cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices about 1 1/2 inches long
  • 1/4 pound ground pork
  • 3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 3 scallions , white and light green parts sliced thin
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Preparation

Step 1

1. In small bowl, stir together soy sauce, sherry, sugar, cornstarch, white pepper, pepper flakes, mustard, and 2 tablespoons water until sugar dissolves; set aside.

2. In 12-inch nonstick skillet with tight-fitting lid, heat oil over high heat until just smoking. Add broccoli stems in even layer and cook, without stirring, until browned on bottoms, about 2 minutes. Add florets to skillet and toss to combine; cook, without stirring, until bottoms of florets brown, about 2 minutes longer.

3. Add remaining 3 tablespoons water and cover skillet; cook until broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until water has evaporated, broccoli stems are tender, and florets are tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer broccoli to large plate.

4. Reduce heat to medium-high and add pork to now-empty skillet. Cook, breaking pork into small pieces, until no pink remains, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Stir sauce to recombine and return broccoli to pan with sauce. Toss and cook until sauce is thickened, 5 to 10 seconds. Remove pan from heat and stir in scallions and sesame oil. Serve immediately.

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