When I was in Korea, broccoli wasn’t easy to find, so it wan’t a familiar vegetable in Korean cuisine. I only saw in specialty import shops in local markets and in the imported food section at large department stores. Probably it’s more widely available in Korea these days, but at that time it was a specialty item. But of course here in New York City I can find it anywhere, at a reasonable price
I’ve never liked raw broccoli – I just don’t like the texture. It’s too tough, and no matter how much I chew it, it never seems to get chewed enough. And the aftertaste is not that good, either. So I have to put a bit of work into this nutritious vegetable before I like to eat it, usually by pickling or steaming.
One of my favorite BBQ places of all time is Fette Sau in Brooklyn. They make a delicious broccoli salad as a side dish for their BBQ and customers never miss ordering it with their beef brisket, including me. It’s really tasty, but it has a lot of olive oil, so it looks and tastes really oily. It’s ok once in a while, but I couldn’t eat it all the time.
One time after going to Fette Sau, I got the idea for this recipe. When I came home, I experimented with steaming methods to figure out how to do it without hassle. I also worked on reducing the amount of oil and added crushed chili peppers and vinegar, which makes it a little Korean. The taste turned out fantastic, and I knew that I wanted to share this recipe with all my readers!
Springtime is here, so it’s a great time to eat this fresh vegetable, and this recipe makes it even fresher and brighter. BBQ season is right around the corner, so when you eat this, don’t forget to say: “Let’s eat a broccoli tree!” : )
Ingredients
- 2 heads of broccoli (1½ pounds)
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon of crushed hot pepper (optional)
- ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of white or apple cider vinegar
Directions
- Thoroughly wash the broccoli in cold water to remove any dirt from between the florets.
- Cut off the tough tip of the stem of each head of broccoli, then cut the heads lengthwise along the individual florets, toward the stem and about 4 inch long. Each piece will look like a little tree.
- Place the broccoli trees into a pot and add ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil with the lid closed for 10 minutes over medium high heat.
- Open the lid, drain, and let it cool down for a few minutes.
- Make a coating sauce by combining the olive oil, kosher salt, sugar, garlic, dried and crushed chili pepper, ground black pepper, and vinegar in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the broccoli to the coating sauce and mix it all together.
- Serve warm or cold as a side dish for barbecue or any type of meat dish, or as a snack.
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon for that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
I had broccoli as banchan many times in Korea (between 2003 and 2012). It wasn’t too uncommon in Gyeonggi-do. However, what I do remember was that it was almost always bland and unseasoned (if anything, it was served with a strip or carrot or two). I’m anxious to try it with your seasoning. Thanks! I’m cooking your dakbokkeumtang tonight and I feel obligated to serve a green veggie. Broccoli is all I really have. Anything I can do with frozen green peas?
it would be great to know, all recipes long last in fridge or room tempature. i will make this tomorrow ,its gonna tasty.
I absolutely LOVE IT! I got some broccoli at work and can’t stop eating this salad, it’s perfect! I might test it with other vegetables too soon. Thank you!
This is awesome! I made it to go with fish cake soup (which was also delicious, thank you Maangchi) and the braised baby potatoes for dinner. My boyfriend and I gobbled it up. And then I had the leftovers with some creamy turkey soup from a local deli, and it was a perfect complement to that, too!!! This is so versatile, healthy, and what a great flavor and texture. Keeps well in the fridge too. It’s going to be my go-to vegetable dish from now on =)
I’m glad you like this recipe!
Oh, i tried this last week but forgot to share the pics on time. I am so loving your site! I don’t normally cook, but with your recipes and easy to follow instructions, I am loving it now!
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I have made this a few times now. It is such a great recipe. Most recently I grabbed a bag of broccolette (also known by the trade name, Broccolini — a hybrid cross of broccoli and Chinese kale) at the grocery store. Broccolette works wonderfully as a substitute for broccoli in this recipe.
I love Broccolette,too. We call it Chinese broccoli here in New York. : ) Delicious and healthy stuff! Thank you for sharing the info!
Hi, I made some minor changes, I used balsamic vinegar glaze in place of the vinegar and used hot pepper sauce (Korean kind) because I didnt have the ground pepper, turned out deliciously. Love your recipes.
It sounds great!
I just got done finishing making this and eating it in 2 minutes! It’s so delicious!! Quick, easy, simple and most importantly tasty! :) I think this dressing would be great on any type of florets…nice time I will try it with asparagus and cauliflower!! Yummm, the red pepper flakes truly adds a kick.
“Quick, easy, simple and most importantly tasty! :)” Exactly that’s what I’m saying! : ) asparagus and cauliflower sound great!
Hi Maangchi… I just made this for lunch a while ago for my family. We had it with sisig tuna (Filipino recipe for tuna), and I can say it was a perfect combination. They really went well with each other.. When I cook broccoli, I usually steam it , and make a white sauce for it.. But I just made pasta with white sauce the other week.. I wanted to try out something different. Your recipe came at the perfect time :)
I’m glad you like this recipe!
Maangchi, I really miss your posts! I’m going to try your broccoli recipe. Thank you for uploading!
Let me know how yours turns out! : )
I am currently trying out this recipe…in the form of your broccoli pickle recipe! I am going to be trying your gamjajeon recipe as well. I have also made bap, nurungji, and sungnyung. I love nurungji! It reminds me of my favorite Japanese rice crackers and is much healthier because there is a lot less sodium I think. Keep up the wonderful videos :D!
Cheers to your nurungji! : ) Happy cooking!
This looks really good and healthy! I think I read somewhere that boiling broccoli lightly as you do here is the best way to make its nutrients available. I wonder if this recipe would be good with cauliflower…
Fette Sau is delicious!! :)
oh you also know that place! I think cauliflower will work well, too.
Greetings Maangchi! Cute hairdo. I must try this next time for banchan. It’s so quick ‘n easy, and looks delish.You eat it so deliciously at the end lol.
Sometimes I steam and sometimes I’ll poach broccoli..but microwave?? Olneydiana, I think you will notice the difference in taste and texture if you tried steaming the broccoli. And there was also a study that showed that microwaving can deprive the full nutrients of vegetables.
Lol..i actually did make this tonight. I made fried rice, and for banchan, I had this broccoli dish, kimchi, and cucumbers (dipped in gochujang)….simple quick and easy meals to satiate my hunger when I’m not in the mood for heavy cooking. The broccoli was delicious. I also added toasted sesame seeds to mine, for that crunch. I loved the savory tang of the dressing.
Hi – I microwave broccoli. I put it in a bowl, and place a small plate on top. Set microwave for 4 minutes, and it comes out beautifully! Cheers!