Brussel Sprouts, the marvelous little green buds. Almost my entire life I thought they were baby cabbages, I couldn’t have been more wrong. They are in the same family, but they are little green buds that grow in helical patterns along the side of long, thick stalks of about 60 to 120 cm (24 to 47 in.) in height. Once in a while you might be able to find them on the stalks, but they usually already cut. From time to time, I find them at my local grocery store and I don’t know why, but I’m super excited every time.
Some people say they are gross and I don’t remember seeing them on any restaurant menus 10-20 years ago. But now, they are everywhere. They are now the ‘it’ veggie. With brussel sprouts, just like other veggies, when you cook them right they are super yummy. I think they got a bad reputation from bad childhood meals, being mushy and overcooked. Yuck! I made Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta before and it was amazing. I was inspired by what I had at one of my favorite restaurants in town. It was my first brussel sprouts love.
Recently I went to our favorite sushi restaurant in town, they had this new crispy brussel sprouts on the menu. Crispy brussel sprouts tossed in creamy lemon miso sauce and toasted cashews. They were light, crispy outside and in a little bit sweet and lemony sauce, with some crunchy cashews on top. It’s not exactly a salad, it’s more like an appetizer or side dish and it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I had it so many times and everyone whom I convinced to try loved it, too.
So, here’s the thing. I had to make it. Because I wanted to eat 2-3 plates of it every time I went there. I want unlimited of this thing at my house. After searching on Pinterest, I found a few recipes. But I had to try to make it as close as to what I’ve enjoyed at restaurants. I think I nailed it and I’m so excited to share this easy and simple Brussel Sprouts with Lemon Miso Vinaigrette with you.
You can fry the brussel sprouts if you have an air fryer or a deep fryer, but I like them roasted under the broiler. They get deep brown in color and a little crunchy outside with some smoky flavor.
For the dressing (or you can call it “sauce”), you will need the following, and you can use the links to get them from Amazon.com.
3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of white miso
Speaking of miso, it is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting soybeans. It is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as Miso Soup. It’s high in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals. If you like Miso Soup, follow this link to my Miso Soup recipe.
Let’s cook some food!
Lightly coat the brussel sprouts with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place them cut-side up on a baking sheet.
Cook them under the broiler, on high.
Here’s mine, after about 5 minutes.
Flip them after 5-10 minutes.
Then put them back under the broiler, on high, for another 5 minutes. The goal is to get a good deep brown color and smoky flavor. Mine took about 15 minutes total.
While waiting for the brussel sprouts, make the dressing.
Add lemon juice, white miso, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper into a large bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
Once the brussel sprouts are done, add them into the dressing bowl. Toss them gently.
Serve hot with some chopped roasted cashews sprinkled on top. Enjoy!
I hope you give this Brussel Sprouts with Lemon Miso Vinaigrette a try. The recipe card is below.
- 1 lb. brussel sprouts, halved
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons white miso (shiro)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 5 tablespoons regular olive oil (3 for the dressing, 2 for cooking brussel sprouts)
- 1 tablespoon chopped roasted cashews
- salt
- pepper
- Lightly coat the brussel sprouts with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place them cut-side up on a baking sheet.Cook them under the broiler, on high and flip them after 5-10 minutes.Then put them back under the broiler, on high, for another 5 minutes. The goal is to get a good deep brown color and smoky flavor.
- While waiting for the brussel sprouts, make the dressing. Add lemon juice, white miso, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper into a large bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
- Once the brussel sprouts are done, add them into the dressing bowl. Toss them gently. Serve hot with some chopped roasted cashews sprinkled on top. Enjoy!
Great recipe but big mistake, please note. They call for broiling using olive oil. Research shows at high temperatures it becomes a carcinogen. Use canola or avocado instead.
Thanks for the comment, Shirley. I love when my readers are paying close attention to the recipe and keep me on my toes!
I used to believe that olive oil is bad for high temp cooking but some say otherwise. Here’s an article from healthline.com – https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-olive-oil-good-for-cooking#nutrient-loss, they said otherwise. Here’s the information I copied from their site.
“When fats and oils are exposed to high heat, they can become damaged.
This is particularly true of oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats, including most vegetable oils like soybean and canola.
When overheated, they can form various harmful compounds, including lipid peroxides and aldehydes, which can contribute to cancer (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source).
When cooked, these oils release some carcinogenic compounds that may contribute to lung cancer when inhaled. Simply standing in a kitchen as these oils are used can cause harm (3, 4Trusted Source).
If you want to minimize your exposure to potentially harmful and carcinogenic compounds, you should only cook with fats that are stable at high heat.
There are two properties of cooking oils that matter most:
Smoke point: The temperature at which the fats begin to break down and turn into smoke.
Oxidative stability: How resistant the fats are to reacting with oxygen.
Olive oil performs well in both categories.”
Additionally, under the topic “Cooking May Destroy Some of Its Antioxidants”
“Normal cooking use is unlikely to oxidize or significantly damage olive oil.
However, it may degrade some of the antioxidants and vitamin E, which are sensitive to heat.
In one study, heating olive oil at 356°F (180°C) for 36 hours lead to a decrease in antioxidants and vitamin E, but most of the trace compounds were intact (18).
One of the main active compounds in extra virgin olive oil is oleocanthal. This substance is responsible for olive oil’s anti-inflammatory effects (19Trusted Source).
Heating olive oil at 464°F (240°C) for 90 minutes reduced the amount of oleocanthal by 19% according to a chemical test and 31% according to a taste test (20Trusted Source).”
However, we are not cooking it very long under the broiler, only 10-15 minutes so I think we should be o.k. 🙂
Hi there, what temperature do you broil the brussel sprouts at? I really want to make this recipe and I’m writing it down before I make it for the first time. Thank you for posting! We probably live close to the same restaurant.
I did it on high which is about 500 degrees. I hope you give it a try and let me know how it goes!