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
- Trim the ends of the broccolini and boil it in a large pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes until crisp-tender.
- Briefly cool it in iced water. Squeeze out the water and place the broccolini in a large mixing bowl.
- Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan, then grind them in a Japanese mortar and pestle until smooth.
- Add the sugar and soy sauce to the crushed sesame seeds and mix well.
- Add the drained broccolini and toss well with the sesame sauce. Serve at room temperature or chill in the fridge before serving.
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
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram
Broccolini Gomaae
Ingredients
- ½ lb broccolini
- ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 3 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Rinse ½ lb broccolini in running water. Cut and discard the ends.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and put the ends of the broccolini first into the boiling water and then submerge the rest of broccolini. Boil for 2 minutes.
- Remove the broccolini and soak in iced water to cool.
- Pick up a few bunches of broccolini and squeeze the water out. Place them in a clean bowl.
- Add 3 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds in a large frying pan and toast them until a few sesame seeds start popping, about 1½ minutes. Toss the frying pan while toasting so sesame seeds won’t get burnt.
- Transfer the toasted sesame seeds into a Japanese-style grooved mortar and grind with a Japanese-style pestle until the texture becomes smooth.
- Add 1 Tbsp sugar and 1 Tbsp soy sauce to crushed the sesame seeds and mix well.
- Mix the sesame sauce with the broccolini and serve at room temperature or chilled.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for 3 weeks.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @justonecookbook on Instagram so we can see your delicious creation!
