Fried kohlrabi with honey and soy

I love kohlrabi raw in salads, slaws or as crudités but was keen to experiment with different ways of cooking this crisp brassica. I saw Beth @boroughchef frying it on Instagram and I knew I had to try it. If you are on Instagram I really recommend her account - lots of brilliant recipes using seasonal vegetables and never too complicated!

Beth flavoured hers with rosemary and honey and served it with crumbled goat’s cheese, which also looked delicious, but I thought the texture and flavour of kohlrabi would go really well with some of my fave Asian flavours too. Frying the kohlrabi intensifies it’s flavour, you get a good wallop of brassica bitterness which is nicely balanced out by the salty soy and sweet honey.

Serves 2 as a light meal with rice or noodles and 4 as a side

1 medium to large kohlrabi
2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or another flavourless oil)
1 red chilli
3 tablespoons white rice vinegar (or use white wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
A small bunch of coriander, leaves picked off

Trim and peel the kohlrabi. The skin on kohlrabi can be quite thick and woody so you may need to cut off a thick layer, especially at the root end. You are aiming to be left with just the crisp white flesh. Cut the kohlrabi into quarters or sixths and then cut into 1cm slices.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot add the kohlrabi in a single layer and cook until caramelised on the outside and tender in the middle. This takes about 15 minutes and you do need to keep an eye on the pieces and move them around as some parts of the pan will be hotter than others and you don’t want it to brown before it’s cooked in the middle. Turn them over about half way through cooking so both sides are crispy and golden.

Slice the red chilli, put in a small bowl and add two tablespoons of the rice vinegar. Set aside to pickle for a few minutes.

In a small bowl combine the honey, soy and remaining tablespoon rice vinegar and mix well.

When the kohlrabi is golden and cooked through (tender but still with some resistance) add the honey soy mix to the pan and cook for another minute turning the pieces over in the sticky sauce. Then turn off the heat.

Serve the kohlrabi warm with fresh coriander, pickled chillies and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.