This Vietnamese Broccolini Stir Fry Recipe is my idea of a perfect recipe that is a meal in itself. It has everything I fancy in a dish – cooks fast, is healthy, and packed with flavor. What’s not to love? 

Backstory

I love vegetables in the brassica genus family – broccoli, cabbage, and kale, to name a few. I’ve recently been eating a lot of broccolini which has become my new favorite brassica vegetable so I thought I would research its origins. 

Broccolini, as it turns out, is a hybrid of broccoli and gai lan, also known as Chinese kale. If you’re not familiar with it, broccolini has a mild taste and is identified by a small floret of broccoli with the long stem of gai lan that is tender and edible. It was developed in Japan in the ’90s and today is mostly grown in California, Arizona, and Mexico.

I like it better than broccoli because it’s easy and flexible to cook. The long thin stalks make it a great vegetable for grilling, roasting and stir frying. It pairs well with meat or fish but also as a stand alone dish.

This is adapted from Charles Phan’s recipe, Broccoli with Beech Mushrooms and Roasted Chile Paste which appears in his wonderful cookbook, Vietnamese Home Cooking. I made some alternations but otherwise, it’s pretty straightforward with a few callouts below.

Recipe notes

1. If you can’t find broccolini you can use baby broccoli or regular broccoli. Alternatively, you can also use green beans, cauliflower, other similar vegetables, or a combination of them.
2. Because this recipe calls for fish sauce, it isn’t vegetarian or vegan. If you wanted to make this vegan, I’d recommend omitting the fish sauce altogether or replacing the fish sauce with soy sauce but it would be an entirely different dish. I haven’t found a good vegan alternative to fish sauce but, if I do, I will be sure to update this section.

In conclusion

If you haven’t tried this type of brassica yet, this Vietnamese Broccolini Stir Fry is a great recipe for it. Delicious as a side dish or main meal over rice, it’s my go-to stir fry recipe to cook vegetables when I’m short on time. The saltiness of the fish sauce combined with the garlic really enhances the broccolini’s flavors. I can’t wait for you to try it and let me know what you think! 🙂 Happy cooking and bon appétit!

For other Vietnamese- or Asian- inspired recipes, try our Vietnamese Fried Rice recipe, Tofu Vegetable Stir Fry recipe, or Kimchi Soondubu Jjigae recipe.

Vietnamese Broccolini Stir Fry Recipe

Prep Time 5 min Cook Time 15 min

Servings 4 people

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Ingredients

• 2 bunches broccolini , cut in 2" pieces
• 1 tsp garlic , minced
• 1-2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp rice wine
• 2-3 Tbsp canola oil,
• Pinch salt

Instructions

1. Prepare all your ingredients.
2. In a medium pot, boil water and add salt. When water is boiling, add broccolini and boil for 2 minutes. Drain under cold water until broccolini is cool. Set aside closeby.
3. Heat wok over high heat for a few minutes. Wok is ready when a drop of water sizzles on contact. Add oil and garlic, then saute until garlic is aromatic, about 30 seconds.
4. Next add drained broccolini, water, rice wine, and fish sauce. Stir to combine until liquid reduces to half, few minutes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Instructions with photos

1. Prepare all your ingredients.

   
2. In a medium pot, boil water and add salt. When water is boiling, add broccolini and boil for 2 minutes. Drain under cold water until broccolini is cool. Set aside closeby.

   
3. Heat wok over high heat for a few minutes. Wok is ready when a drop of water sizzles on contact. Add oil and garlic, then saute until garlic is aromatic, about 30 seconds.

   
4. Next add drained broccolini, water, rice wine, and fish sauce. Stir to combine until liquid reduces to half, few minutes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

   

Recipe Notes

Ingredients	My cost
2 bunches broccolini, cut in 2" pieces	$5.98
1 tsp minced garlic	$0.09
1-2 Tbsp fish sauce	$0.02
2 Tbsp water	$0.00
2 Tbsp rice wine	$0.05
2-3 Tbsp canola oil	$0.17
Pinch salt	$0.01
Total:	$6.32
Cost per serving:	$1.58

* Note regarding pricing:  The lemon and herbs are from our garden which is why there is no cost. The price for items such as salt and pepper take into account the cost of the amount used for the recipe and not the cost if you had to purchase the entire jar or container.

** All prices in US dollars and based on Bay Area prices from my local grocery and farmers market. Prices may vary in other parts of the United States.