SESAME BROCCOLI STIR-FRY
About the only way my husband will eat broccoli is if I make a stir-fry. He loved this recipe and it gave me the opportunity to cook with the unhulled sesame seeds he just purchased.
I was inspired by this recipe at “Gimme Some Oven”: Chicken and Broccoli. Obviously I did not use chicken or oil. See my instructions below.
Sesame seeds are high in nutrients, especially calcium, Vitamin E, and special phytonutrients called lignans. See this article from Berkeley Wellness for more information about the studies. Potential benefits of sesame seeds includes:
-Help balance hormones
-Reduce risk of hormone-related cancers
-Lower cholesterol
-Reduce blood pressure
Here's a 30 second video on how to toast sesame seeds.
Ingredients for the stir-fry:
1 pound broccoli florets cut into bite-sized pieces
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
8 oz soy curls, re-hydrated then drained and excess liquid squeezed out
3 green onions, sliced
1 TBSP toasted sesame seeds, hulled or unhulled, plus more for garnish
Ingredients for single batch of the sauce (though I made a double batch since my husband likes his "saucy"):
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari
3 TBSP rice vinegar
2 TBSP corn starch
2 TBSP maple syrup
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 TBSP tahini
1/4th tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
Directions
1. In a bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients.
2. Dry saute the broccoli, mushrooms and soy curls in a large skillet or wok. Stir almost continuously once pan hot. If food starts to stick add a splash of water. When mushrooms and broccoli nearly softened to your liking, add the sauce and cook several minutes until thickened.
3. Toss in the toasted sesame seeds and green onion slices.
4. I served on top of cooked rice but you could toss in some cooked Asian pasta instead. My husband does not like brown rice so I made a batch of half brown, half white rice in my rice cooker. Sprinkle more sesame seeds on top and if desired, more red pepper flakes.
Hulled (left) vs Unhulled (right) sesame seeds