This recipe is now a bit of a default way for me to cook up broccoli. It’s easy and it’s tasty, and it always makes me laugh because…
whenever Yul Brynner comes up in conversation I have a “Pavlov’s dog” type reaction to his name:
and cannot stop myself from saying, “I really fancy Yul Brynner” and Mr R’s reaction is always exactly the same: “I KNOW!” he yells, because he’s heard it so many times.
So at the risk of repeating myself, here’s Yul’s brilliant broccoli recipe.
Oh, but just before that, further to a post a while ago, about Vincent Price’s technique for poaching eggs, I found this cute video about Julia Child’s method. She too boiled eggs for 10 seconds before poaching, but she pierced the egg first, and poached for FOUR MINUTES. Really?!
On to the broccoli… Which actually, now I think about it, would be lovely with a poached egg on top…
Yul Brynner’s Sautéed Broccoli
1 bunch of broccoli
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar
1 fresh red chilli pepper, or dried chilli pepper to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 clove garlic
1 slice fresh ginger (about 1” across), minced, or ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
½ cup cooked shredded roast pork (optional)*
Separate broccoli into spears; trim off bottom of spears. Stream broccoli until spears are almost cooked but are still firm. Set aside. Mix together soy, sherry, and sugar. Cut chilli pepper into thin slices and add to liquid; set aside. Heat oil in wok or heavy skillet. Saute garlic and ginger for one minute, add broccoli spears, and stir one minute. Pour sauce over broccoli and stir one minute. If you wish, garnish with roast pork. (Serves 4)
