How to Cook Broccoli

Broccoli is a versatile vegetable that's available year-round. You can boil it, steam it, sauté or stir-fry it. Here are a few suggestions--easy, convenient, and hassle-free--for how to enjoy this underrated veggie in various different ways. Bon appetit!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cutting Boards
• Broccoli
• Plastic food containers
• Woks
• Vegetable Steamers
• Chef's Knives
• Cooking Pots
• sauté pans

1. Separate broccoli into stem and florets (see "Chop Broccoli" in the Related eHows).

2. Boil broccoli in salted water for 4 to 7 minutes, or until crisp-tender.

3. Steam broccoli in a steamer over boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Microwave broccoli in a covered container, with a little water, for 3 to 5 minutes.

5. Sauté broccoli with garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes for 5 minutes.

6. Stir-fry broccoli florets with garlic and ginger for 3 to 5 minutes. Try stir-fried broccoli with black bean sauce.

7. Serve broccoli with cheese sauce, lemon juice and butter or just a little salt.

Tips & Warnings

• Broccoli is done when it can be cut easily but the florets are still crisp.

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[soggdogg]

on 5/18/2009 Broccoli "zapped" in the microwave with a little water loses up to 97% of some of the antioxidant chemicals it contains. By comparison, steamed broccoli lost 11% or fewer of its antioxidants. Based on this: Avoid cooking it in the microwave or boiling on the stove, just steam it.

[scavas]

on 9/4/2008 Just throw the broccoli chopped up into a saucepan and then, once you've rinsed them off, pour just enough water into the saucepan to cover the broccoli. You mosty just need to make sure all the broccolis can be submerged. And don't worry, too much water doesn't ruin the flavor, so don't be afraid to add too much. The only hazard to having too much water is that once it gets boiling the water could foam up and boil over the edges of the pot. This mostly just smells bad but it won't hurt the broccoli....

Usually when boiling any type of vegetable, the rule is to have enough water to cover the tops of the vegetables. Or, if they're floating vegetables, like corn, enough water so they can all be submerged- usually the churning of the boiling water will ensure that all sides of the vegetable are cooked, even if it's exposed and floating on top of the water.

[VIPFAE]

on 12/10/2006 How to cook broccoli.I need explicit instructions. When the recipe is "cook in water"- how much water? Too much, I would think would take away flavour. Too little must be watched not to burn.But how much I would like a measure