When I plan out meals for the week, usually I can choose the main dishes fairly quickly. However, the challenging part for me is always what to make for the side dishes! If you are stuck making the same veggie side dishes again and again, I hope you’ll try this easy and appetizing Broccolini Gomaae (ブロッコリーニの胡麻和え) recipe. It’s quick to make and my family loves it! Let me show you how simple it is to make at home.
What is Gomaae?
Gomaae or goma-ae (pronounced “go-ma a-e”) literally means “dressed in sesame sauce” in Japanese. The nutty, sweet, and savory sesame sauce enhances the flavor of blanched or steamed green vegetables. When blanched spinach is dressed in sesame sauce, it’s the famous Japanese spinach dish called spinach gomaae (horenso no gomaae). When we use green beans, it’s called green bean gomaae (ingen no gomaae). Goma-ae can be a perfect side dish to accompany a rich protein or heavy winter dinners. It’s also a wonderful palate-cleansing dish to eat between dishes.
What is Broccolini?
Broccolini is a green vegetable similar to broccoli, but it has smaller florets and longer thin stalks. I didn’t know this until researching for this post, but broccolini was originally developed in Yokohama, Japan (my hometown!) in the early 1990s. The end result is a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli. If you love broccoli or Chinese broccoli, you’ll love this veggie. It has the texture of Chinese broccoli but without the bitter taste, more similar to the flavor of regular broccoli. It has lots of vitamin C, and also contains vitamin A, calcium, and iron. The stems are very soft and you can eat the entire vegetable!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Quick – It takes less than 15 minutes to prepare from start to finish. I can usually cook it while I prepare the main dish. Simple – You only need 4 common ingredients for the sesame dressing. Delicious – The nutty, salty-sweet sesame sauce complements the fresh and mild vegetable taste. Nutritious – This veggie is full of vitamins and minerals.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Broccolini Gomaae
broccolini – if you can’t find it, use broccoli, green beans, or spinach kosher salt – I use Diamond Crystal brand toasted white sesame seeds soy sauce sugar
How To Make Broccolini Gomaae
My Accidental Creation
I created this dish by accident. I was going to make Green Bean Gomaae, but I realized that my green beans had gone bad already. Then, I found a big bag of organic broccolini from Costco in the fridge and thought I’d use it instead. Broccolini and gomaae complemented each other really well and it’s been one of our favorite side dishes since. You can also make this same dish with regular broccoli. I hope this broccolini goma-ae becomes a popular vegetable side for your family and you, too.
Other Vegetable Sides You’ll Love
Spinach with Sesame Miso Sauce (Goma Miso Ae) Green Bean Gomaae Spicy Bean Sprouts Salad Chrysanthemum Greens Salad Okra with Ginger Soy Sauce Blistered Shishito Peppers Spinach Ohitashi
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