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Stir-Fried Sichuan Broccoli

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

40 minutes

Yield

Serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main course

Stir-Fried Sichuan Broccoli

Ingredients

2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon dry sherry 1 ½ teaspoons sugar ½ teaspoon cornstarch ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes ¼ teaspoon dry mustard 5 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 ¼ pounds broccoli, florets cut into 1 ½-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on bias into ¼-inch-thick slices about 1 ½ inches long¼ 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 thin1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Before You Begin

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 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).

Instructions

  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.
Stir-Fried Sichuan Broccoli

Stir-Fried Sichuan Broccoli

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

40 minutes

Yield

Serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main course

Ingredients

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
5 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ¼ pounds broccoli, florets cut into 1 ½-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on bias into ¼-inch-thick slices about 1 ½ inches long
¼ 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

Ingredients

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
5 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ¼ pounds broccoli, florets cut into 1 ½-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on bias into ¼-inch-thick slices about 1 ½ inches long
¼ 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

Ingredients

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
5 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ¼ pounds broccoli, florets cut into 1 ½-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on bias into ¼-inch-thick slices about 1 ½ inches long
¼ 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

Why This Recipe Works

Inspired by gan bian si ji dou, stir-fried Sichuan green beans, we wanted to create a recipe for broccoli with a similar chewy texture and spicy tang. To achieve this, we stir-fried the broccoli florets longer than usual so that they became charred in places, giving them the deep, caramelized flavor we wanted. To create the right sauce for our Sichuan-inspired broccoli recipe, we combined dry mustard, dry sherry, a little sugar, ground white pepper, chopped scallions, and a drizzle of sesame oil and then added simple ground pork, which worked fine as a replacement for the shredded bits of Chinese barbecued pork sometimes added to this dish.

Before You Begin

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 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).

Instructions

  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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Appears In

Magazine

May / June 2007

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