Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Furikake, Fish Sauce, Peanuts and Lime
GO EAGLES! Lol, just kidding I don't really watch sports. It's just Sunday night (while I'm writing this) and I'm curled up on the couch with Reuben watching the Philadelphia Eagles plays the Dallas Cowboys. Reuben should appreciate this enthusiasm though.
It's so cold. Are you cold? We just got back from a weekend in Tahoe and it was COLD up there. Like legitimately below freezing and there was snow on the ground. Reuben forced me to climb a snow and ice covered mountain and I'm still try to figure out how I am still alive writing about brussels sprouts. I'll do a quick little recap of our weekend soon, but here are the highlights: I like mustard now, I had the best matcha latte of my life, and I beat Reuben in Padiddle. We are back in San Francisco and I'm still freezing. Curse old but cute apartments and their crappy heating! I'll live.
Anyways, how is your Thanksgiving menu planning going? Are you going full turkey? Chicken? Duck? Tofurkey? At the Cho/Young/Yee family Thanksgiving we would likely have turkey, chicken, duck, AND a ham. NO LIMITS. I doubt there is a tofurkey within the Cleveland city limits. The turkey is for tradition, and my mom always tells me that I'm really the only one who enjoys turkey... Mom, you're CRAZY. It's so good! More turkey legs for me then... The chicken is for everyone because my grandma makes this amazing steamed chicken that is similar to a Hainanese chicken. The roast duck has a permanent spot at the table because it is freaking delicious, and the ham is always present because my aunt brings one every year. The sides are typically mashed potatoes, some form of noodles, a Chinese soup, and some stir-fried Asian veggies. Maybe some mac n' cheese if I'm around! If it wasn't already obvious to you, we are Chinese and my mom (head family chef) likes to create a fusion menu. One year my mom made a sticky rice stuffing and it was soooooo good. But you probably won't find sweet potatoes with marshmallows or green bean casserole at our dining table!
I've grown to appreciate the balance of American traditions and Asian traditions/twists. I mean, I live in world where mashed potatoes and sticky rice can appear on the same plate. It's pretty much what I'm all about. But really, my whole life has pretty much been about bridging the gap between growing up as a 90s kid but also a first generation Chinese American. I'll talk more about this later... you're here for brussels sprouts right?
These sprouts are the perfect combo of a classic side dish with some pretty powerful Asian flavors. They are inspired by the B Sprouts from B Star (on Clement St.) and I love them so much! At B Star the brussels sprouts are deep fried and then tossed with furikake, fish sauce, popped rice, and parmesan. YUM! I decided to roast these suckers, because I don't want to open the dangerous gate to deep frying just yet. Feel free to fry them if you're into that though. I've perfected the method of getting crispy brussels sprouts from roasting. Do this and you'll forget what a deep fryer even is! The trick is making sure that the sprouts are really dry. Towel dry or air dry them, whatever you got to do. Wet sprouts equal soggy gross sprouts. Then the second trick is peeling back the outer leaves and even pulling off a few of them. Don't throw them out though! These essentially become crispy and salty brussels sprout chips in the oven.
The sprouts are then flavored with Furikake (a sweet and salty seaweed and sesame seed mixture), fish sauce, peanuts, and lime juice. It may sounds just a little weird but I promise you that all the flavors work beautifully together. It's salty, a little sweet, a tad sour, and addictively crunchy. It's like a little bit of Thanksgiving in Thailand! If fish sauce scares you, it shouldn't. I think you're probably just scared of the name. The smell is a little intense but the flavor isn't. It's one of my favorite secret ingredients to add to a dish for that extra umami kick. I recommend using Red Boat Fish Sauce, because it tastes great and doesn't actually smell terrible!
These sprouts are quick to come together and will be a fun new addition to your Thanksgiving table! Honestly, I'm going to be making these for dinner all cold weather season! Going to order more fish sauce now...
Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Furikake, Fish Sauce, Peanuts and Lime
serves 4-6
Steps:
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Let's prep our brussel sprouts. Cut off the woody ends of the sprouts. Wash them and cut them in half lengthwise. If there is a little dirt under the leaves, give those a quick rise too. Towel dry them to make sure they are as dry as they can be. If I have time, I leave them on a baking sheet for 30 minutes to an hour to air dry. Peel back and rip off a few of the larger outer leaves of the sprouts. These will get so amazingly crispy!
2. Arrange sprouts and leaves on a lined baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Toss to evenly coat all the sprouts. Flip over sprouts so that the cut side is facing down, touching the baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until crispy and golden.
3. Removed from the oven and immediately toss with remaining 1/2 tsp salt, fish sauce and the juice of 1 lime. Transfer to serving dish and top with crushed peanuts and furikake. Serve and enjoy!
Materials:
1.5 pounds of brussels sprouts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp + 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 lime
1/4 cup crushed peanuts
1 tbsp furikake