Umami Crunch: Anglo-Asian Greens

 🎓 Post-PhD • 📘 History • 💫 Spontaneous

This was yet another recipe borne out of the necessity to use the remnants of my vegetable drawer, and I am ever so pleased with it. I should say, the wider context was that I’d had two nights of takeaways on the trot (Indian and Thai, if you must know) and I felt no choice but to give my insides a break from all that wonderful saturated fat and excess salt and sugar. So, dinner promised to be an utterly healthy (AKA dull) affair.

How wrong could I be? Ok, I’m not saying this trumps a vibrant tangle of Pad Thai or the joy of having someone else cook, but for something boasting a limited colour range and including perhaps the more boring of vegetables—usually reserved for the obligatory ‘healthy’ accompaniment to meals—it’s bloody delicious. 

The key is to keep everything al dente, ensuring a variety of crunch. I also only add one flavouring ingredient to the vegetables—soy sauce—which is transformative enough on its own: it brings out the gentle mustardyness of the sprouts, the bright vegetal taste of the mangetout and my favourite, the sweetness of the peas which really brings it all together. 

The great thing about this recipe is that you’re not obligated to cook the sprouts in the usual torturous fashion of cutting crosses into the bottoms and parboiling. I also like to add some sushi nori because the inky shreds of seaweed look so pretty next to the spring tones of green. It is slightly pretentious, however, and therefore a completely superfluous addition. Although, it does mean I get to claim this to be more Asian than it actually is.

I had this alongside a roasted salmon fillet (sprinkled with sea salt and spritzed with lime), as well as a cup of instant miso soup. I think simplicity is better with this dish, especially if it ensures that dinner is done in under 20 minutes.

A few notes on the recipe: 


If you need to make this gluten-free, feel free to use tamari instead of soy sauce. As tamari is a lot thicker and richer than soy, add it sparingly to taste. The point is to bring out the flavours of the greens, not to overwhelm them. And don’t worry too much about ingredient measurements; just have a feel for what ratios interest you and test the level of soy sauce as you go.

Servings: 2         🥖 GF    🥛 LF    🥕 V    🌱 VE

Time:
👐 Hands-on: 10 minutes
⏳ Hands-off: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 250g brussel sprouts (around half a bag)

  • 100g mangetout (around half a bag)

  • 75g frozen peas (around half a cup)

  • Oil, for frying (any regular oil, I use olive; sesame may also work well here)

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free, see intro)

  • Approx ¼ sheet sushi nori (totally optional!), roughly torn or cut up with scissors

Instructions

  1. First, the most laborious part of the whole affair: slice the bottoms off the brussel sprouts, remove any of the dirty outer leaves and chop them in half.

  2. Pull off the stringy edges of the mangetout (I do this by pulling the slightly pointy end of the pod towards me, so it comes off and away with the stringy bit). Not absolutely necessary but it will make for a more pleasant eating experience.

  3. Heat some oil in a large frying pan or wok. Once hot, add the brussel sprout halves and toss until starting to brown. 

  4. Add the mangetout for 2-3 minutes and then throw in the frozen peas.

  5. Add the 1 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari) and toss all together until the peas are just cooked through (they should be hot but still al dente so that they almost ‘pop’ in your mouth).

  6. Take off the heat and let rest while you tear/cut up the sushi nori, which you can add if desired.

  7. You can now hold this wholesome dish aloft, signalling your virtue to all guests present. Do not skip this step.

Storage

Will keep for 1-2 days in the fridge but may lose their crunch.

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