I love this marinated broccoli recipe. I call it marinated broccoli rather than a broccoli salad because I love the flavor when the broccoli has a chance to sit in the marvelous dressing for a bit before serving.
This Asian-style broccoli salad doesn’t have to be served with other Japanese foods. I think it’s wonderful served with grilled chicken or fish. You can even pour a bit of the dressing over the chicken or fish as a sauce. Yum!
There is more information about miso below but it contains enough protein that this recipe can be the main protein component in a vegetarian or vegan meal. That’s a real bonus.
About Miso in This Marinated Broccoli
The dictionary defines miso as: “paste made from fermented soybeans and barley or rice malt, used in Japanese cooking.”
And also “a soup thickened with miso paste, often with added tofu or vegetables.”
If you are not familiar with miso, you can buy it in large grocery stores in most areas of North America, or in specialty grocery stores or health food stores.
Miso is very healthy. It is rich in protein. In fact the miso in this broccoli recipe gives the salad enough protein to be a main course in a vegetarian meal.
Miso also contains essential minerals and it’s is a good source of the B Vitamins as well, as Vitamins K, E and folic acid.
Miso is a fermented food which makes it a wonderful source of healthy gut bacteria, great for our intestinal health. These aren’t always pretty things to talk about on a recipe page, but they are important to know. Fermented foods are a fantastically healthy addition to our diets and should be eaten on a regular basis for great health. This is a delicious way to do it.
You can add miso paste to all sorts of dishes including soups and stews, marinades, glazes and salad dressings, like this one.
Give miso a try if you haven’t already done that. Just use a bit at first if you aren’t sure about it. You will soon be adding it to your own recipes often.
I think you will like this recipe. Don’t we all get tired of the same old, same old vegetable recipes? I know I do. This one will lift you out of any vegetable doldrums you might find yourself in.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Marinated Broccoli with Miso Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 pounds broccoli, about 1 large head or 2 small
- 1/3 cup miso, whatever variety you prefer
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons rice wine, Japanese Miren
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 green onions
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut off and discard about 3 inches of the tough lower stem of the broccoli. Cut the remaining broccoli into serving size pieces, whatever size you prefer.
- Steam the broccoli for three to five minutes, until it is just barely cooked and still a bright green. Drain the broccoli and hold it under cold running water for 30 seconds or so to stop the cooking process and to preserve the bright color. Drain it wall and set it aside in a bowl.
- To make the dressing, mix the miso with the rice vinegar, Mirin and sesame oil, then set it aside.
- Chop the green onions finely.
- Toast the sesame seeds by shaking them in a frying pan over medium heat for about five minutes, until golden. Watch the seeds closely when they are in the frying pan as they can go from golden to burnt in just a few seconds. Add the seeds to the dressing.
- Add the miso dressing to the broccoli and toss it all together gently. You can serve the sesame broccoli salad immediately or leave it for a few hours to marinate (even better I think).
- This broccoli salad is best served at room temperature.
Notes
- I like including some stem in my broccoli when I chop it up for a recipe like this. Remove the tough lower part of the stem, but the upper half is just as tender and flavorful as the flowerets.
- For the sesame oil you can use a regular sesame oil or, my favorite, toasted sesame oil. I love the additional flavor that the toasting of the sesame seeds gives this oil. Either is fine though. Use what you have or what you prefer.
- You can use this miso dressing on watercress instead of the broccoli and the salad will be just as fabulous.
Nutrition
Serves 6.
And look for this sign on recipes throughout the site. It’s the sign for our vegetarian recipes. (You won’t find it on our dessert recipes as they are all vegetarian.)
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