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Bouillon brède
Bouyon bred: a light Mauritian broth of Chinese leaves, garlic and ginger, spooned over rice
Ask a Mauritian what they eat when they are tired or under the weather and the answer is often a bowl of bouillon brède: a clear, gingery broth with soft greens, poured over plain rice next to a fried fish or a dish of lentils. The greens change with the market, from petsai (Chinese leaves) to watercress, pak choi or the leaves of the chayote vine, and the broth is never thickened, so it stays clean and almost sweet. It is done in under twenty minutes, which is why it turns up on so many weeknight tables from Rose-Hill to Mahébourg. People often boil the greens until they turn khaki and stringy; add them at the end and stop as soon as the stems are just tender. Chef's tip: crush the garlic and ginger, don't chop them, and fry them for just a minute so the broth smells warm without turning brown.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 small onionthinly sliced
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- ⅔ oz fresh gingercrushed
- 5 cups water
- 10 ½ oz Chinese leaves (petsai)cut into 3 cm pieces; or watercress or pak choi
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 spring onion (optional)sliced
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add 1 small onion, 3 cloves garlic and ⅔ oz fresh ginger and stir until fragrant and the onion is soft but not coloured.
2 minStep 2: Pour in 5 cups water, add 1 tsp salt and bring to the boil, then simmer on a low heat so the ginger flavours the broth.
6 minStep 3: Add the thick stem pieces of 10 ½ oz Chinese leaves (petsai) first and simmer for 2 minutes, then add the leafy parts.
2 minStep 4: Simmer until the leaves are wilted and the stems are just tender but still bright green.
3 minStep 5: Season with ¼ tsp ground black pepper, taste for salt and serve at once, scattered with 1 spring onion, in bowls or ladled over rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 45 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 5 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bouillon brède take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of small onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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