Salt & pepper sprouting broccoli with sriracha mayonnaise

Spears of fried broccoli make a brilliant vehicle for transporting moreish sriracha mayonnaise into your mouth. Any leftover mayo certainly won't go to waste

Prep:25 mins
Cook:15 mins

Serves 6
More effort

Nutrition per serving

kcal 475
fat 36g
saturates 3g
carbs 31g
sugars 1g
fibre 4g
protein 4g
salt 0.9g

Ingredients

1 egg
1 lime, juiced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
250ml rapeseed oil
1-2 tbsp sriracha, to taste
140g cornflour, plus a little extra for dusting
60g plain flour
1 tsp black peppercorns, toasted and coarsely crushed
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and coarsely crushed
160ml sparkling water, chilled
handful of crushed ice
500g sprouting broccoli, trimmed
sunflower oil, for deep-frying
1 tsp sunflower oil
3 spring onions, sliced diagonally
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 red chilli, finely sliced into rings
1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)

Method

For the mayo, blitz the egg, lime juice and garlic in a food processor until light and frothy. With the motor running, add the oil in a thin, steady stream until the mixture thickens and emulsifies. Switch off, season, then fold in the sriracha. Chill until needed.
Slowly heat the oil to 175C in a wok or deep-fat fryer (a drop of the batter will sizzle and turn brown in 20 secs). To make the batter, mix the flours with 1 tsp sea salt and the peppers. Whisk in the sparkling water and crushed ice. Dust the broccoli first in corn flour, then dip each piece in the batter, shaking off any excess. Add the broccoli to the hot oil in batches and fry for about 2 mins or until golden and crisp. Scoop out using a slotted spoon, and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Heat the sunflower oil in a wok. Add the spring onions, garlic, onions and chilli, and stir-fry for 2 mins or until fragrant.
To serve, arrange the broccoli on plates or on a platter, scatter with the stir-fried aromatics, drizzle over the mayo and serve with some lime wedges, if you like.