Fresh, crunchy, healthy and very easy to cook, purple sprouting broccoli and prawn stir-fry is a great seasonal dish to try.
I bought three purple vegetables and fruit from the local market last weekend: aubergine, blue berry and another vegetable that I’ve never seen before, purple sprouting broccoli, a cousin of regular broccoli. In our Red House, we have broccoli at least once a week. This week I cooked purple sprouting broccoli and prawn, stir-fried with garlic and crunchy baby corns.
Apparently, purple sprouting broccoli is commonly available in Britain during the Spring (between February and April). Unlike regular broccoli’s big dome-like floret, purple sprouting broccoli has smaller, individual florets and thinner stems. According to my online research, its florets lose the beautiful deep purple colour when boiled or steamed. I guessed it might keep the colour if cooked for a shorter time, quickly stir-fried for example.
Purple sprouting broccoli and prawn stir-fry confirmed my assumption. All the lovely florets were still purple on the serving plate. It takes less time to cook than cook regular broccoli. In terms of taste, I would say they are very similar. Purple sprouting broccoli seems to have a hint of bitterness, which is rather pleasant.
On Chinese dinner tables, either at home or in restaurants, stir-fried greens are a must for multi-dish meals. Garlic, oil and salt, that’s all you need to prepare a plate of delicious vegetable. For this recipe, please be generous with garlic. You may slice them (for a better look) or crush them (for a stronger taste). I like broccoli stir-fried on its own. But sometimes I add prawns for protein.
A few tips on cooking prawns:
- If you wish to achieve a more appealing look, put prawns flat on a chopping board then cut sideways from the back (Do not cut through).
- To marinate them, you may replace rice wine with white wine.
- For best texture, do not overcook them. That is why you need to fry them on their own, then combine them with the cooked broccoli and baby corn.
What I like most about this purple sprouting broccoli and prawn stir-fry is its simplicity. The natural flavour of the vegetables is not overpowered by seasoning. It’s fresh, crunchy and super healthy, a great seasonal dish to try.
Purple sprouting broccoli and prawn stir-fry
Ingredients
- 160 g medium prawns, peeled and deveined, 5.5oz
- 130 g purple sprouting broccoli florets, or regular broccoli, 4.5oz
- 5 baby corn, sliced
- ½ tsp Shaoxing rice wine
- ½ tsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 5 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Put prawns flat on a chopping board then cut sideways from the back (Do not cut through). Marinate the prawns with rice wine and corn starch for 5 mins.
- Heat up the oil in a wok (or a deep frying pan) on a high heat. Stir in the marinated prawns. Cook until they curl up and become pink (do not overcook). Transfer to a plate.
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add garlic into the remaining oil. Leave to sizzle until fragrant. Stir in broccoli florets, baby corn and soy sauce.
- Pour the prawns back into the wok when the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with salt. Stir for another 30 seconds or so.
Hope you enjoyed reading my post. You might also be interested in another stir-fry dish “Spicy dry-pot cauliflower”. Happy cooking!
Really nice. I replaced garlic with ginger (ran out of garlic) and added a drop of oyster sauce. Needed a bit of water. And lots of your chilli oil recipe 🙂
That’s great to hear Jacob!