Pan Fried Honey Soy Brussel Sprouts
Super quick and easy pan fried brussel sprouts tossed in a sweet honey soy sauce glaze! No need for ovens or a roasting pan for this one!
Servings: 3 Servings
Calories: 205kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb brussel sprouts (fresh, not frozen. approximately 25 small ones)
- 1 small onion (approx. ½ cup. sliced)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped, or grated)
- 1 tablespoons butter
Honey Soy Sauce Glaze
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Instructions
Preparing the Honey Soy Sauce Glaze
- In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cold water and 1 teaspoon corn starch and mix until the starch has dissolved.
Prepare the Brussel Sprouts, Onions, and Garlic
- Slice 1 small onion up and set aside
- Use the side of your knife and smash 2 cloves garlic to flatten it. Set it aside for later
- For each brussel sprout, remove any yellowed outer leaves from the brussel sprouts and slice off the dark tips at the ends and cut them in half lengthwise.
- Give them a good soak in water and dunk it a few times to remove any dirt or soil from between the leaves. Drain them once they are clean.
Browning the Brussel Sprouts
- In a cast iron skillet or frying pan, set to medium heat and add a little oil and 1 tablespoons butter
- Once the pan is hot, and the butter has melted, add in the onions and cook them for approximately 1 minute
- Add in the brussel sprouts into the pan and try to keep all the brussel sprouts flat side down to brown them (this will take approximately 3-5 minutes depending on how hot your stove is)
- Once the brussel sprouts are brown on the flat side, add in the garlic and stir everything together. Flip the brussel sprouts and brown the rounded side of the brussel sprouts for a minute.
- Once both sides are brown, stir everything together again for a few more seconds and add in ¼ cup of water or broth and cook the brussel sprouts until the water evaporates. **If my brussel sprouts are very large, I like to use a lid at this point to trap in the steam to make it easier to cook them all the way through.
- Once all the water has evaporated, and the brussel sprouts are soft, transfer everything off the frying pan onto a plate and cover it while you make the sauce.
Putting It Together
- With the same pan, set the heat to medium-low
- Mix the sauce in the bowl with a fork again (the corn starch may settle on the bottom) before adding it into the pan.
- When the pan is hot, add the sauce to the pan and keep stirring the sauce until it has thickened. If the sauce boils too violently, turn down the heat. You still want the sauce to gently bubble and thicken. Depending on how hot your stove is, this should take about 1-3 minutes.
- Add all the brussel sprouts back into the pan and toss it with all the sauce and serve with toasted sesame seeds!
- Enjoy! :)
Notes
- Always use fresh, raw brussel sprouts and avoid frozen brussel sprouts if you don't want soggy brussel sprouts
- Use a large pan to make it easier to cook these brussel sprouts, flat side down in one layer.
- When picking brussel sprouts at the store, pick smaller ones, instead of large ones. The smaller ones are more tender, and sweeter.
- To make this recipe simpler, I will often skip 2 steps:
- I only use brussel sprouts, and skip adding in the onions and garlic.
- I do not cook the honey soy sauce with corn starch to thicken it. Instead, I just add the soy sauce and honey directly into the bowl of cooked brussel sprouts and toss everything together (do not include the water and corn starch). The sauce will be runnier but I find that it's still flavors the brussel sprouts well. :)
