Even brussels sprout-haters will love these

My family eats just about everything, but for a long time the one food they all uniformly rejected was brussels sprouts. I think it started with my husband who takes pride in eating most everything, but the one thing he truly hated was brussel sprouts. My kids picked up on his feelings and before I knew it everyone despised brussel sprouts. There were actually a few brussel sprout moments where my kids will tell you I tortured them into just eating one.  But that is another story....

Over the years, I finally got my family to willingly eat a few brussels sprouts by roasting them with copious quantities of pancetta, because everything is tolerable with a little pancetta. Until the other night when I made David Chang's Asian brussels sprouts from his Momofuku restaurant cookbook. Lured in by their luscious aroma, my husband dug in before I even got them to the table.  JP promptly proclaimed them "incredible." You will find versions of these brussels sprouts all over the internet, but just in case you missed them, I am going to post them here too, because nobody should miss these! I have simplified the recipe a bit for the home cook.

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Seasoned Rice Krispies garnish

You can make these brussels sprouts with or without the seasoned Rice Krispies garnish, but if you five extra minutes, go ahead and make them. The seasoned Rice Krispies are fun, add heat, texture and crunch. You can substitue cayenne pepper for the shichimi-togarashi.  If you like a little heat, I would recommend trying a bottle of this Japanese chili pepper and herb blend. You will find all kinds of use for this spice.

Also great for cauliflower

While David Chang's brussels sprouts have gotten all of the attention, his fish sauce vinaigrette is equally good on cauliflower. I like to make both at the same time, but I roast the cauliflower and brussels sprouts in separate pans to better time the roasting of each vegetable.

Tips

• See my posts on brussels sprouts, Asian fish sauce and  schichimi togarashi before making this recipe.
• When selecting your brussels sprouts, pick out the smaller rather than larger ones.
• Make sure you roast the brussels sprouts and cauliflower cut-side down.
• Do not overcrowd the vegetables on the baking sheet or they will steam instead of roast.
• For the vinaigrette, you can substitute a couple squirts of sriracha for the thai chilis.
• For the vinaigrette: I reduce the sugar to 2 tablespoons, whereas David Chang calls for 4 tablespoons. I don't think the extra sugar is necessary. You decide.
• For the vinaigrette: I make it it a Cuisinart mini-prep. It takes a couple seconds and there is no hand-cutting the garlic and the herbs.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Momofuku’s brussels sprouts & cauliflower in Asian vinaigrette

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Even brussels sprout haters will love Momofuku’s succulent umami-rich Asian-style brussels sprouts. And don’t forget the cauliflower!

• Author: Something New For Dinner
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

Ingredients

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• 1/2 t canola or grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup Rice Krispies or other puffed rice cereal
• 1/2 t schichimi togarashi or cayenne pepper
• 1 pound brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and halved
• 1 pound cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets about the same size as your halved brussel sprouts
• 2 T canola or grapeseed oil
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/3 cup fish sauce or vegetarian substitute
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 T rice vinegar
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 T sugar
• A few thin slices of red bird eye chilies, to taste (or a few squirts of srirachi chili sauce)
• 3 T mint, roughly chopped, plus some for garnish
• 3 T cilantro leaves roughly chopped, plus some for garnish

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Instructions

1. If you are going to make the optional seasoned rice Krispies, make then first. Add grapeseed oil to a medium hot frying pan add grapeseed oil. Let it get hot and add the Rice Krispies. Toast for a minute or two, stirring so they do not burn until they darken a shade or two. Remove from heat, sprinkle with schichimi togarashi and remove from pan. Set aside. (This step is optional and more about a fun presentation than an essential ingredient for the dish.)
2. To roast the vegetables: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place cauliflower and brussels sprouts on separate baking sheets. Toss each sheet of vegetables in about 1 T of oil. Once vegetables are evenly coated in oil, place each vegetable cut-side down on the baking sheet, taking care not to over crowd the baking sheet. Roast for about 12 minutes and check. When the cut-side of the vegetables have browned flip them and roast a few minutes longer, until they are fairly browned and tender, but not burnt. The roasting time for the cauliflower and the brussels sprouts may be slightly different.
3. For the vinaigrette: Put garlic in a food processor or Cuisinart mini-prep. Chop the garlic. Add fish sauce, water, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, sugar, garlic, srirachi sauce, mint and cilantro. Blitz it a couple times to combine.
4. Toss the roasted vegetables in the vinaigrette, top with mint and cilantro leaves and seasoned Rice Krispies.