Fry

Momofuku's Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Fish Sauce Vinaigrette

by:
November  7, 2012
4.3
29 Ratings
Momofuku's Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Fish Sauce Vinaigrette
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 35 minutes
  • Serves 4 to 6, as a side
Author Notes

This recipe will add much-needed spark to your winter diet (and your Thanksgiving spread). Adapted lightly from Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan (Clarkson Potter, 2009) —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Momofuku's Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Fish Sauce Vinaigrette
Ingredients
  • Roasted Brussels Sprouts
  • 2 tablespoons very thinly sliced cilantro stems, plus 1/2 cup leaves
  • 3 tablespoons chopped mint
  • 2 pounds brussels sprouts (smaller ones are better)
  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil (or 3 cups if frying instead of roasting)
  • Fish Sauce Vinaigrette
  • 1/2 cup fish sauce (adjust to taste -- some fish sauce brands are saltier)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 lime)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 red bird’s-eye chiles, thinly sliced, seeds intact
Directions
  1. Roasted Brussels Sprouts
  2. Combine the vinaigrette (below), cilantro stems, and mint in a bowl, and set aside.
  3. Peel away any loose or discolored outer leaves, trim the dry end of the stems with a knife, and cut the sprouts in half. Cut any especially large ones in quarters. Do not wash, especially if frying the sprouts. If roasting, and you must, dry very well.
  4. To roast the brussels sprouts (recommended): Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or just enough to evenly coat the bottom of the pan) in 2 oven-safe wide skillets (12 to 14 inches) over medium heat. When the oil slides easily from side to side of the pan, add the brussels sprouts cut side down. When the cut faces of the sprouts begin to brown, transfer the pan to the oven to finish cooking, about 15 minutes. Alternately, if you don't have 2 large skillets or are cooking more sprouts for a larger crowd, roast them in the oven: toss them with 1 tablespoon of oil per pound and spread them on a baking sheet, cut sides down. Roast in the oven, checking for browning every 10-15 minutes, tossing them around with a spatula only once they start to brown nicely.The sprouts are ready when they are tender but not soft, with nice, dark brown color.
  5. To fry the brussels sprouts: Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a deep saucepan over medium-high heat until a deep-fry or instant-read thermometer registers 375°F. Line a plate with paper towels. Fry in batches that don’t crowd the pan -- be careful, these will pop and spatter. Brussels sprouts will take about 5 minutes: when the outer leaves begin to hint at going black around the edges—i.e., after the sprouts have sizzled, shrunk, popped, and browned but before they burn—remove them to a paper towel–lined plate or tray.
  6. Serve warm or at room temperature. When ready to serve, divide the brussels sprouts among four bowls (or serve it all out of one big bowl), top with the dressing to taste and cilantro leaves, and toss once or twice to coat.
  1. Fish Sauce Vinaigrette
  2. Combine the fish sauce, water, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, garlic, and chiles in a jar. Taste; If too salty, add more water and/or lime juice. This vinaigrette will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.
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65 Reviews

brushjl
brushjl January 22, 2023
The roasted Brussels sprouts were great, but the vinaigrette ruined it. Sorry, I don't think you'll ever need a half cup of fish sauce for anything. Two tablespoons would have been fine and the sugar was totally unnecessary. A waste of roasted Brussels sprouts.
 
Ro R.
Ro R. October 9, 2022
I had hopes that I could tweak the recipe into goodness per the suggestions, but having tasted the results, I think it doesn’t have the right ingredients to begin with. Don’t waste the goodness of roasted Brussel sprouts on it.
 
Rachel
Rachel January 12, 2021
I made this with broccoli, putting the tray back in the oven for a bit after adding the vinaigrette to allow it to soak into the florets and caramelize.
I was using Red Boat fish sauce which is strong, and mine was old and concentrated, so I cut it down to 2 tbsp. I used brown sugar and instead of chiles I roasted the broccoli with chile flakes.
 
Kristina T.
Kristina T. November 27, 2020
Winner for Thanksgiving. Nice contrast to all the rich flavors on the table. Love the cilantro. Roasted first then tossed with vinaigrette, kept it simple. Will definitely cook this again.
 
Rachel
Rachel November 27, 2020
I made this for Thanksgiving last night. To say it was not a hit would be an understatement. My husband’s face changed expression abruptly. He got very quiet. My young son took a forkful, jumped up from the table and fled to the kitchen to spit it out, shrieking. I used about 1/4 of the finished sauce on the roasted Brussel sprouts. And I made a half recipe of the sauce to begin with. The brand fish sauce, Thai Kitchen, overpowered all other flavors in a most unfortunate way. I have used this brand (not my favorite) before in my recipe for pad Thai and it has been fine.
 
girlwithaknife
girlwithaknife November 18, 2020
Overall a solid recipe. The sauce is a keeper! I’ve made similar versions but this stands out because of the cilantro stems—who knew they had so much flavor! OTOH, I prefer pan-roasting the Brusselies a la Dan Barber: more caramelization and less mushy (I prefer a slight crunch). I served this with Vietnamese caramel salmon (by Melissa Clark) over rice and it was a gourmet weeknight meal.
 
craftaddiction
craftaddiction November 28, 2019
Thank you for the recipe. Made it for Thanksgiving and it was a hit.
 
Gwynnie
Gwynnie October 29, 2019
So good!! I threw the whole bunch of cilantro that I bought in since I know my tendency to let herbs wither in the fridge...tossed it all with some soba and ate it chilled later on in the day. Delicious :)
 
Chris G.
Chris G. March 2, 2019
If you liked this dish, with the sauce, I'm pretty sure you will also like the Vietnamese Pancakes recipe, which uses a very similar fish sauce vinaigrette and you can use up the excess sauce with it!

Vietnamese Happy Pancakes, or Bánh xèo
https://www.curiouscuisiniere.com/banh-xeo-vietnamese-happy-pancakes/
The tough part about the above recipe is getting the Vietnamese "crepe" or pancake
cooked right...but it is well worth the trouble! (we first had this "above" dish at at "Pho 36"
restaurant in Lynnwood, Washington (state)...happy eating! (by the way the sauce keeps well in the refrigerator (in a covered glass jar for about a week!)
 
Ashley
Ashley December 5, 2018
This is so delicious! I wanted something different than standard roasted sprouts, and this was the ticket. The cut sides were well browned and crispy, and the insides were soft and buttery, and the vinaigrette was a perfect unusual accompaniment. I didn't have fresh chiles, so I crushed a couple of arbol chiles, which were plenty hot.
 
Zenzero
Zenzero September 26, 2018
12 Tbsp (3/4) cup lime juice from 1 lime... that is 1 big lime!
 
AlexM
AlexM September 26, 2018
I think this recipe (in this particular link/page) is misprinted. If you search this recipe on the Food 52 site, there is another recipe page (with the same title, but instead of a Genius Recipe it is by an author (Kristin something)), it has proportions that are more in line with what literally every other version of this recipe has out there- juice of one lime (period). I use the following ratios (from the other link)

1/2 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 to 3 red bird's-eye chiles, thinly sliced, seeds intact
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. September 28, 2018
Hi there—thank you both for noting this. Indeed some of the measurements in this recipe had recently been bungled in an effort to standardize the ingredients, but I just gave the recipe an edit. Please shout if you notice anything else amiss.
 
Catherine W.
Catherine W. September 24, 2018
I would substitute mirin to taste for the sugar
 
W R.
W R. June 26, 2018
Is it actually possible to get 12 tablespoons of juice from one lime? How big is this lime?
 
Jude T.
Jude T. July 15, 2018
I asked myself the same thing. That lime would have to be the size of an orange - 12 tbsp = 3/4 cups! I just kept tasting it until it suited what i liked... i think i ended up using 2-3 limes
 
Mary
Mary January 14, 2016
I made this dish for Christmas ... everyone loved it! There was more sauces than needed. As others have stated, you can save time by making the sauce a day or two ahead. Super easy, super yummy!
 
Natalie R.
Natalie R. November 25, 2015
I just made this with my 9 year-old daughter for an early Thanksgiving dinner with friends. She said it was the best thing she's ever tasted; I keep catching her red-handed with a fork in the dish and there's not a whole lot left for us to take to dinner. Next time, I'm doubling the amount of Brussels sprouts - I don't think I need to double the vinaigrette, though. We had way too much. Also, resist the temptation to salt the Brussels sprouts before you put them in the oven to roast because the fish sauce in the dressing is very salty. I'm going to make this tomorrow with cauliflower. Thank you for a recipe that children and adults can enjoy together!
 
Nancy
Nancy February 17, 2017
Agree these sprouts are delicious! Was thinking of making other vegetables (wedges of cabbage, stalks of broccoli) like this and saw your comment on cauliflower. Did you make it and, if yes, how did it turn out?
BTW, agree with you about not making more sauce when doubling the recipe...plenty left as written.
 
Natalie R.
Natalie R. February 18, 2017
Hi Nancy, I did make it with cauliflower (twice) and it was good - but not as good as with the sprouts. For some reason, the fish sauce and sprouts are like culinary magic. The broccoli stalks may be a better choice? I may try broccoli, too.
 
J H.
J H. March 29, 2015
My trick to "save" time or make this faster is to make the vinaigrette the day or 2 before. On the day of, you just need to cut and roast the brussels sprouts and mix in the dressing. Perfect recipe...blows away my dinner guests every time.
 
laura
laura January 27, 2015
Former brussels sprout hater here, newly converted by this recipe. The roasting method is key I think, but the vinaigrette is great too - granted I haven't tried it as written, I heavily modified it for the amount of ingredients I had on hand, reduced the sugar and left out the chilies so my kids would eat it.
 
Crystal
Crystal January 14, 2015
Probably the only way to mask that bitterness associated with brussel sprouts, love this recipe so much it's now converted me to a brussel sprouts lover hehe.
 
AlexM
AlexM November 18, 2014
Why does this printable recipe call for 1/2 cup fish sauce to 1/4 each water and sugar, when all of the other recipes for this dish (from the cookbook, epicurious, serious eats) use a 1:1:1 ratio?
 
Crystal
Crystal January 14, 2015
I think it might depend on the brand of fish sauce you use, different brands are stronger in flavors then others. It's best to play it by ear and taste it as you put it together.
 
SPersaud
SPersaud October 13, 2014
Love this recipe. You'll get a rice crispy sprout using the roasting method, I forgot to add sugar at all and it still turned out delicious.