Chinese Garlic Broccolini with Chili

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Sometimes it’s the simple dishes that are the ones that become the most memorable. Simple ingredients cooked well. That’s what good cuisine is all about in our opinion. This recipe is right up that alley. Our Chinese Garlic Broccolini with Chili dish packs a whopping amount of flavor, using simple ingredients, prepared well. Not only that, it takes absolutely no time at all to make!

So, if you’re looking to prepare a big Asian-inspired feast, or just looking for some healthy vegetables to have as a side dish for a weekday meal, this recipe is one that should definitely appear on the menu

The flavor of this dish is amplified ten-fold by the addition of Garlic, Chili, and Peppercorns

At its heart, this is a very simple dish. Blanch the Broccolini, then finish it off in the pan with some aromatics. It’s so easy to make, yet the flavor it produces is simply unbelievable. This is, in fact, due to the ingredients that go into that pan when you’re finishing off the Broccolini

The combination of Garlic, dried Chili Flakes, and Szechuan Peppercorns that is lightly sautéed in Oil alongside some freshly cut Scallions creates such a powerful flavor. Spicy, Sweet, and Tangy are the profiles that’ll hit your tongue all in quick succession as you devour this wonderful dish

The Garlic is, naturally, a prominent flavor in the dish given its namesake, yet does not overpower the overall flavor. You’ll get a beautiful sweetness from the dried Chilis right before that little bite of heat hits you. It’s not too spicy, but just enough to add a lovely additional dimension to the dish. Those amazing Szechuan Peppercorns then bring that lovely tangy, zing to the Broccolini

We do highly recommend you use Szechuan Peppercorns in this dish. They can be readily found at many grocery stores these days. If yours doesn’t stock it, hit up your local Asian Grocery Store and you’ll be bound to find them there. The unique flavor and feeling of eating Szechuan Peppercorns is truly unique in the culinary world. They are one of those ingredients that completely transform a dish, but in a good way

If you’re not a fan of Szechuan Peppercorns, or not willing to travel around a bit to find them that’s totally ok. You can simply replace them with regular Black Peppercorns and the recipe will still be great

Maintain the beautiful crispy ‘snap’ of the Broccolini by blanching it

Blanching is a very common way to cook vegetables, and a method that we highly recommend. Blanching is the technique of adding the vegetables into hot water and only ‘just’ cooking them. We’re talking 1 – 2 minutes max. You then remove the vegetables from the hot water and set them aside to cool. Sometimes this involves hitting the vegetables with cold water or ice water to completely stop them from cooking

This method is great because it can become very easy to overcook vegetables, which is not what you want for this dish. We want the Broccolini to be cooked, but to also maintain a lovely snap and crispiness still when eaten. Also, by cooking the Broccolini following this method you are left with the most brilliantly colored green vegetable. It looks so appetizing to eat

So, remember, to avoid overcooking your green vegetables like Broccolini, Asparagus, and Green Beans, try blanching them in hot water for 1 – 2 minutes. Hit them with some seasoning and they’ll be perfect to eat!

Adding a dash of Sesame Oil completely transforms the Chinese Garlic Broccolini dish into something special

Sesame Oil is the secret weapon in this dish. It is a wonderfully flavored Oil that automatically gives a meal a beautiful, familiar flavor of Asian cuisine. Usually, Sesame Oil is used in marinades, however for this preparation it is used like how you would good quality Olive Oil

Once the dish is complete, the finishing touch is to drizzle a little bit of Sesame Oil over the top of the Broccolini as a garnish. You don’t need to use too much however, as Sesame Oil is an incredibly strong ingredient. Too much will completely overpower the dish. The right amount though; it tastes amazing!

The Chinese Garlic Broccolini Recipe is adaptable to many other Vegetables

The great thing about this recipe is that you can use it on so many different types of vegetables. You’ll, of course, get a different flavor given each vegetable is different. However, the recipe is so versatile that it works great with lots of different options

So, if you’ve tried this recipe a few times, or just want something a little different, why not try it with Asparagus, Bok Choy, Spinach, or even Green Beans? All these vegetables can be prepared in the same way as the recipe below, so you can mix and max flavors to see which you prefer. We would highlight though that some vegetables will take a little longer, or a little less time to blanch. For example, Spinach will take about half the time as the Broccolini, whereas Asparagus you’d want to double the blanch time

It’s a great side dish for most Asian Meals. Or, simply with Steak!

The Chinese Garlic Broccolini dish is so versatile it will go with literally any homemade Asian dish you’re making. It is such a common side dish in Chinese cuisine that you literally cannot go wrong when serving this as a side dish. So, if you’re whipping up an awesome Sweet and Sour Pork, or perhaps some tasty Cumin Lamb Skewers you’ll be treated well with this dish as a side

However, there’s no rule that say you must pair this traditional Chinese side dish with a Chinese main course or protein. To put this theory to the test we went over and above and did the hard work for you. What we mean by this is, we ate it alongside a beautiful Butter-basted Filet Steak

The results? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that it tasted amazing! There was nothing Chinese about the preparation of our Steak. In fact, it was about as European as Steaks get. With a hot sear and then Butter Basted with Garlic until a perfect medium rare. The pairing of the Chinese Garlic Broccolini with this Steak was amazing. The Broccolini brought a beautiful freshness to the richness of the Filet. The crunchiness of the Broccolini also added a lovely texture which contrasted well with the Steak

Chinese Garlic Broccolini with Chili Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of Broccolini (about 8 individual pieces)
• ½ cup Scallions, roughly chopped
• 6 Garlic Cloves, finely sliced
• 1 tsp. Dried Chilis
• 1 tsp. Szechuan Peppercorns (you can replace with regular peppercorns)
• 1 tsp. Sesame Oil
• 1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
• Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Blanch the Broccolini by placing it in a large pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Strain and set aside
2. Heat the Vegetable Oil in a medium sized frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the Scallions, Dried Chilis, Garlic, Peppercorns, and ½ tsp. of Salt. Cook while stirring constantly for about 2 minutes
3. Add the Broccolini to the frying pan and heat through for about 30 seconds. Drizzle the Sesame Oil over the top of the Broccolini then place them into a serving bowl / plate
4. Finish by spooning a generous amount of the Scallion mixture on top of the Broccolini and sprinkling with a touch of finishing Salt
   
   

The Chinese Garlic Broccolini recipe is such a beautiful and versatile dish, which I hope you’ve enjoyed making. We’ve got plenty more amazing side dishes here to pair with your next meal. If you enjoyed this recipe, here are a few of our favorites we’d love for you to check out:

• Garlic Lemon Broccoli with Chili
• Portobello Mushrooms in Sherry
• Roasted Mushrooms with Garlic Butter
• Crispy Hasselback Potatoes
• Roast Eggplant with Balsamic
• Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
  
  

Happy Cooking!