Black Miso Rice with Brussels Sprouts

This is lifted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for vegetarian Christmas. With an Asian spin of black miso rice and the old stand-by brussels sprouts, this dish is non-traditional. However, it’s hard to beat the excitement in the air when you bring black miso rice with brussels sprouts to the table. Invariably, it gets a fair share of question marks and stares. Notably, there is more than meet the eyes with bright colors of green and red from the vegetables and spices. The flavor and texture of this dish is equally compelling.

If you haven’t cooked with miso, you’re missing out a high umami-packed ingredient that delivers a satisfying savory punch to any dish. Think what bacon, anchovy and mushroom can do to the flavor department. These days, you can buy miso paste in most supermarkets. Use a few spoonfuls at a time and you’ll be convinced of its usefulness.

Miso Paste is a paste made from a mixture of fermented soy beans, rice and barley used to season soup, sauce and in this recipe, the black rice. Here, the white miso is what Ottolenghi recommends. It has a sweeter and milder flavor, while the red miso has a saltier and mature taste. Sometimes I stock both in my fridge and mix them up depending on the recipe.

In fact, Ottolenghi is going all out with Asian ingredients in this dish. I follow his lead primarily, other than the peanuts (I use pine nuts instead). Besides the miso, the Asian ingredient list is quite extensive: ginger, sesame seeds, sesame oil and mirin. So mise en place the essential ingredients.

Then it’s time to fry the brussels sprouts until they turn golden brown and crisp. This is my prefered method to cook brussels sprouts (rather than boiling them) since it retains a bite. In addition, I love the sustaining wonderful aroma when brussels sprouts are panfired. To me, that smell is as satisfying as eating the sprouts. This is a unique multisensory experience.

I haven’t said much about the black rice. From my experience, different type of rice absorbs water differently. Black rice requires more liquid and takes longer time to cook. Therefore be watchful, especially when you’re cooking a different brand of rice for the first time. If in doubt, check for the manufacturer’s instructions. It might not be a bad idea to start with more liquid than you normal do and go from there.

Print Recipe

Black Miso Rice with Brussels Sprouts

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 700g Thai black rice
• 160g white miso
• 90ml rice vinegar
• Salt
• 90ml neutral oil
• 6 cm piece ginger, peeled and julienned
• 5 red chillies, deseeded and julienned
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 120g small peanuts, skin on (I used pine nuts)
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1.2kg brussels sprouts, trimmed, cut in half lengthways (or quartered, if big)
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 20g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 limes, halved

Instructions

1

Put the rice in a large saucepan with 1.8 litres water, the miso, two-thirds of the vinegar and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer gently for an hour, until very little liquid is left. Shake the pan every once in a while to stop the rice from sticking to the base. Take the pan off the heat, cover and set aside for 10 minutes, until the rice is cooked but still retains a bit of a bite; by this time, any remaining liquid should have reduced to the consistency of thick jam.

2

Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over a medium-high heat, then fry the ginger, chilli and garlic for two minutes, until the garlic goes translucent. Add the peanuts, fry for three minutes more, until everything is golden-brown and crisp, then transfer to a small plate with a slotted spoon (you want to keep the oil in the pan). Mix the sesame seeds and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt into the peanut mix.

3

Return the pan to a high heat, add the sprouts and half a teaspoon of salt, and fry for six to eight minutes, stirring often, until the sprouts are dark golden-brown and starting to go crisp. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil, mirin and remaining rice vinegar.

4

To serve, spoon the rice into a large, shallow serving bowl and top with the sprouts. Sprinkle over the coriander and squeeze over the lime juice, top with the crisp chilli and peanuts, and take to the table.

Notes

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/dec/04/yotam-ottolenghi-recipe-vegetarian-christmas