This vegan broccoli aglio e olio is a simple Japanese-inspired side dish made with garlic, olive oil, chili, and shio koji — a traditional Japanese fermented rice seasoning often used in place of salt. Shio koji adds gentle umami and a subtle sweetness, bringing good depth of flavor with just a handful of ingredients.
I often make this recipe when broccoli is in season or when I have extra florets to use up. It keeps well in the refrigerator, making it just as useful for lunchboxes and meal prep.
It's also an easy recipe to adapt. Add maitake or shimeji mushrooms for a heartier dish, or swap the broccoli for vegetables like cabbage, asparagus, or cauliflower.
Once you know this simple sauce, you'll have an easy way to turn almost any vegetable into a satisfying side dish.
🧺 Why You'll Love This
- Ready in about 10 minutes
- Rich in umami from shio koji with just a handful of ingredients
- Vegan and dairy-free
- Enjoyed warm or cold, making it great for meal prep and lunchboxes
- Easy to adapt with different vegetables or mushrooms
🥦 Ingredients
This recipe uses simple ingredients, with shio koji adding depth and umami to the classic aglio e olio flavors.
- Broccoli: This is the main ingredient, so its texture really matters. I like to boil it just until tender but still crisp, so it keeps some texture after a quick sauté.
- Shio Koji: Shio koji is a traditional Japanese fermented seasoning made with rice koji, salt, and water. Unlike regular salt, it adds gentle umami, a subtle sweetness, and depth of flavor, elevating this simple aglio e olio into a more flavorful dish. → 📖 How to Make Your Own Shio Koji
- Extra virgin olive oil: A good amount of olive oil helps carry the garlic flavor and coats the broccoli with a rich, savory taste.
- Garlic: Garlic creates the classic aroma of aglio e olio. Thinly sliced garlic slowly infuses the olive oil, building the base flavor of this simple dish. Some varieties have a much sharper flavor than others, so adjust the amount depending on the garlic you use.
- Chili peppers: A small amount of chili flakes adds aroma and a subtle heat that balances the richness of the olive oil. I mainly use chili for its aroma rather than heat, so it can be omitted if you prefer to make it without chili.
- Salt: Depending on the saltiness of your shio koji, you may need only a small amount of additional salt at the end.
For exact amounts, please check the printable recipe card👇
📖 How to Make
The trick to this recipe is doing two things at once—boiling the broccoli while preparing the sauce.
Work quickly and don't overthink it. This is one of those dishes that turns out better with a little speed and confidence than careful precision.
- Preparation:
- Roughly chop the garlic, deseed the chili pepper and cut it into pieces
- Cut the broccoli into bite-size florets.
🗝 Start boiling water for the broccoli at the same time.
- Make the sauce:
- Heat the olive oil with the garlic and chili pepper in a frying pan, and cook until the garlic turns a light golden color — watch it closely so it does not burn.
- Once it is golden, stir in the shio koji and take the pan off the heat.
🗝 Add as many chili seeds as you like for extra heat.
- Boil the broccoli:
- Once the water is boiling, add the broccoli — about 1 minute for thin stems, 1 minute 30 seconds for thicker ones.
🗝 Broccoli stems take longer to cook than the florets. If you are cooking them separately, drop the stems in first, then add the florets 30 seconds to a minute later so everything finishes at the same time. Adjust the timing to get the texture you like.
- Toss it all together:
- Drain the broccoli quickly — no need to shake off every last drop of water — and tip it straight into the frying pan while it is still hot.
- Put the pan back on the heat and toss everything together so the broccoli is evenly coated with the sauce.
- Finish with a little more shio koji or salt if it needs it, then plate up.
- Skip the cleanup and enjoy it while it is still hot, when the texture is at its best.
🗝 A little moisture left on the broccoli helps the sauce cling to it, so don't worry about draining it perfectly. Just give it a quick toss.
📘 Variation
You can also add less broccoli and mix it with other ingredients to make different meals. Here is what I suggest:
- Add shimeji mushrooms: Shimeji mushrooms add an extra layer of umami and flavor.
- Turn it into pasta: Toss in cooked spaghetti and this becomes a full, simple pasta lunch on its own.
- Make it a bento side: A small amount of thin spaghetti (about 1.2mm) or macaroni tossed in turns this into a filling side dish for a bento box.
🫙 Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
The dish is well seasoned with a good depth of umami, so it stays good even cold.
📚 Questions
If you want a bit more kick, add a few extra red pepper seeds. If you prefer something milder, remove all the seeds before adding the chili.
Salt works as a simple substitute, though the dish will have less of the sweet, rounded flavor that shio koji brings.
Fresh broccoli holds its texture and flavor best, but frozen broccoli works in a pinch. Just cook it a little less to avoid a mushy texture.
🥄 Recipes with Shio Koji
More shio koji recipes:
🍝 Vegan Pasta Recipes
Here are some recipes for vegan pasta:
✏️ Recipe Card
Shio Koji Broccoli Aglio e Olio Peperoncino
Equipment
- frying pan
- cooking chopsticks
- pot
- colander
- kitchen knife
- cutting board
Ingredients
- 135 g broccoli (approximately)
- 1 tablespoon shio koji
- 4 g garlic (adjust depending on variety)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ chili pepper
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil for the broccoli.
Prepare the ingredients
- Roughly chop the garlic.4 g garlic
- Deseed the chili pepper and cut it into pieces.½ chili pepper
- Cut the broccoli into bite-size florets.135 g broccoli
Make the sauce
- Heat the olive oil, garlic, and chili pepper in a frying pan over medium-low heat.1 tsp olive oil
- Cook until the garlic turns lightly golden, being careful not to burn it.
- Stir in the shio koji, then remove the pan from the heat.1 tbsp shio koji
Boil the broccoli
- Once the water is boiling, add the broccoli.
- Boil for about 1 minute if the stems are thin, or about 1½ minutes if they are thicker. Adjust the cooking time as needed for your preferred texture.
- Drain the broccoli briefly in a colander.
- Transfer the broccoli immediately to the frying pan while it is still hot.
Finish
- Return the pan to medium heat and toss until the broccoli is evenly coated with the sauce.
- Season to taste with additional shio koji or salt.
- Serve immediately while the broccoli is still hot and tender-crisp.
If you like peperoncino, try the Rape Blossoms Shio Koji Peperoncino recipe as well. Cabbage or broccoli works well in place of the rape blossoms if you cannot find them 🌼
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