I have never been a fan of brussels spouts, the smell as they were being cooked never settled well with me so I always avoided them.  Enter my Pinterest board…I was perusing my Recipes section when I came across this recipe for Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts from Real Simple.  The title of the article that was originally from Real Simple was titled, “I Just Made Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts, and I Might Never Order Takeout Again”.  Now that is a title!  I am not sure how (since I have always hated brussels sprouts), but my mouth began watering!I viewed the ingredients and I instantly fell in love – they were simple and with the exception of the brussels sprouts, I had everything on hand.   The recipe as listed in Real Simple is made up of garlic, scallions, ginger, crushed red pepper flakes, soy sauce, maple syrup and rice vinegar.  After making this, I found that I needed either reduced sodium soy sauce or since I only had full sodium soy sauce, I used half soy sauce and half chicken stock when I made these the second time.   I loved the sauce, so the second time I made these I doubled the sauce recipe so I could drizzle it over the chicken and brown rice I served the brussels sprouts with.

If you love brussels sprouts you should definitely give this recipe a try and if you are on the fence about these little cabbages,  I would still give it a try.  They are really, really good and if all else fails you will find a recipe for a delicious kung pao sauce that can be used on other veggies and dishes.   Enjoy, I hope you love these as much as I do!

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Print Recipe

Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts

Delicious brussel sprouts with a sticky, sweet sauce.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs brussel sprouts
• 3 T. vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Kung Pao Sauce

• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic finely grated
• 4 whole scallions white and light green parts chopped, save green parts
• 1 T. ginger finely minced
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes more or less, if you like it spicy
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 2 T. chicken stock (or other stock of your choice)
• 3 T. maple syrup
• 2 T. rice vinegar

Instructions

Brussel Sprouts

• Heat oven to 400°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
• Place brussel sprouts, vegetable oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl and toss together. 
• Place the sprouts on a rimmed baking sheet. You know those outer leaves that come loose when you cut the sprouts? Scoop 'em up and make sure they make it onto the sheet tray. In fact, the more, the better—they get extra charred and crunchy.  Make sure to spread the veggies out so they aren't touching too much.
• Roast the sprouts for about 30 minutes or to your desired doneness.
  

Kung Pao Brussel Sprout Sauce

• Heat vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Add garlic, the white and light green parts of  chopped scallions (save green parts for serving), ginger and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add soy sauce, maple syrup, and rice vinegar. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Toss with cooked brussel sprouts and enjoy!