Normally when someone says they’ve made Brussels Sprouts, the instant reaction is something slimy and very smelly too. I never liked sprouts in general growing up, but this is one of those recipes that will make that fear of this green vegetable go away.
The trick is to roast the sprouts, without salt or pepper in the oven. Your aim is ensure these dry out completely while roasting. If you season these early before roasting they will become soggy which is definitely not what you want. Another trick is to lay these out in a roasting pan ensuring they do not touch each other.
The glaze we make in a separate fry pan and keep it ready to toss the roasted sprouts in. What you end up with are delicious crispy Brussels Sprouts coated in a glistening glaze that is packed with lots of flavour. My version results in a fairly dry meal, you can easily double the quantities if you want really rich and heavily glazed sprouts. If you plan on keeping the sprouts for another day then I recommend making the recipe below (i.e. the dry version) so that they do not go soggy. Personally I love these the day after because the delicious Sichuan peppers really soak into the sprouts.
You will notice that there is no added salt in the recipe below because I’ve used salted peanuts and soy sauce inherently is salty. If you don’t have salted peanuts, or feel like it needs more salt go ahead and add some to the glaze. DO NOT salt the sprouts – they will go soggy.
Watch how I made these in the video below
Soy Glazed Brussels Sprouts
Equipment
- Fry pan
- Oven
- baking tray
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 500 g Brussels Sprouts halved
- 1½ tbsp. soy sauce
- ½ tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp. honey or maple syrup
- ¼ tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 2 tbsp. salted peanuts
- ½ chopped red chilli
- ½ tsp black or white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp. chopped coriander leaves cilantro
- Olive oil spray
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line a baking tray with baking paper. Spray a little olive oil over the baking paper
- Arrange the Brussels Sprouts halves on the prepared baking tray. Spray some olive oil over the sprouts. Season lightly with pepper but no salt at this stage
- Place the tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the sprouts are lightly charred and crispy. Rotate the sheet halfway through to ensure even browning
- In the meantime, heat up the fry pan over a medium high heat and toast the peanuts. Once golden brown, remove and set aside
- In the same pan, toast the sesame seeds until they start to turn golden brown. Remove and set aside
- In the same pan, toast the Sichuan peppers until just about to smoke. Remove and set aside in a mortar and pestle
- Lightly grind the Sichuan peppers in the mortar and pestle to release all the flavour
- Lower the heat of the fry pan to the lowest setting. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, and honey then add this to the fry pan
- Add the Sichuan peppers, half of the sesame seeds, and chopped chilli and let all the flavours infuse and thicken to make the sauce
- Add the roasted Brussels Sprouts fresh from the oven and toss everything through
- When ready to serve, add the peanuts and remaining sesame seeds. Serve hot!
