With vegetables, sometimes simple is better. In the case of the broccoli dish at Ramen Hood, the vegan ramen stall at Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles, simple means frying broccoli florets, dousing them with a pungent sauce and putting them in a bowl -- then watching as the dish sells out, again and again.
Take a bite of the broccoli -- crisp as tempura, the edges caramelized yet still the essence of the bright vegetable, loaded with the zingy sauce -- and you'll see why people keep ordering it. If you're at the ramen counter, you'll probably order another one. If you're at home, you can just double the recipe. You're welcome.
Ramen Hood's Fried Broccoli
For the sauce:
1/2 cup malt vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon chile flakes, more to taste
For the broccoli:
Oil for frying
1 pound broccoli, cut into florets (save the stems for another use)
Thinly sliced green onion, for garnish
To make the sauce: In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and chile flakes and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring once or twice. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. This makes about 3/4 cup sauce, more than is needed for the remainder of the recipe; the sauce will keep for up to 2 weeks, refrigerated.
To make the broccoli: Fill a large pot with enough oil to come up about 4 inches and heat the oil until it reaches 375 degrees. Fry the broccoli, in small batches until the pieces are a light brown color, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drain the pieces well, and repeat until all of the broccoli is fried.
Place the broccoli in a bowl and drizzle with about 1/4 of the sauce, tossing the broccoli to coat. Drain the pieces and place on a platter, garnishing with the green onion. Serve immediately.
Makes 2 to 4 servings.
Adapted from a recipe by Ramen Hood in Los Angeles
Food on 07/20/2016