Pan Fried Honey Soy Brussel Sprouts

5 from 29 votes

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!

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Side

Cuisine: American, Asian

Servings: Servings

Calories: 205kcal

Ingredients

In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cold water and 1 teaspoon corn starch and mix until the starch has dissolved.
Then add the 2 tablespoons soy sauce to it, and then mix in 3 tablespoons honey. Set aside.

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.

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.

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! :)

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. :)