Eating Broccoli, Now a "Designated Vegetable," Sear-Steamed: Ryuji's One-Pan Broccoli Salad

At the start, Ryuji explains that broccoli has become a designated vegetable. According to the explanation he reads aloud, designated vegetables are those consumed in large quantities and important to people's daily lives, for which the national government works to stabilize prices and supply under the Vegetable Production and Shipment Stabilization Act. As of April 2026, broccoli was added to the existing 14 items for the first time in about 50 years, bringing the total to 15.

Ryuji takes this to mean that broccoli will now be a vegetable people can buy reliably. That's why it's good to have lots of broccoli recipes, and that is his motivation this time. He says he chose broccoli salad partly because he hadn't done a salad recipe in a while.

The basic ingredients are three: broccoli, bacon and eggs. Sausage or a frozen seafood mix is also tasty, and any of them is fine, he says. As for why he keeps the ingredients this minimal, Ryuji explains, in essence, "Broccoli is very nutritious, so with one head you don't need other nutrients. The eggs and bacon are there to make it tasty." Later on, he repeats that broccoli is rich in protein, and since sausage goes in too, this alone is enough.

The most important thing in handling broccoli, he says, is the cooking method. Boil it too long and it goes limp; boil it too little and it's hard and crunchy. He prefaces the recipe by saying he'll show the method that brings out broccoli's texture at its most delicious.

Before cooking, there's a scene where he drinks a shochu highball mixed with cider-style soda. Even though it's called cider, he says, only the aroma is sweet; the taste isn't sweet.

Wash the broccoli by turning it upside down and swishing it in water. This, he says, gets rid of dust and bugs lodged inside the florets. After washing, just drain off the water.

This time he uses a whole head of broccoli, which weighed about 450 g. After cutting off the florets, he deals with the stem. According to Ryuji, the tough outer part of the stem has an unpleasant texture in a salad, so he removes it. Looking at the cross-section, there's a gradient from green on the outside to white on the inside; if you thinly shave off the green, fibrous part, the white core can be eaten tender. The shaved-off parts are good chopped finely and made into kinpira, so he sets them aside to use later. Ryuji's view is that almost all of a broccoli can be eaten. After prep, the edible portion came to about 350 g.

At this point, Ryuji roughly chops the florets into fairly small pieces. Since broccoli salad gets broken up and tossed in the end anyway, he says, it's fine to cut it from the start. He notes that it's a method not many people use. He uses all of the white part of the stem too, because cutting it on the diagonal improves the texture.

He also explains the balance of quantities. For 350 g of broccoli, about 3 eggs is good, he says. The rule of thumb is one egg per a little over 100 g of broccoli, and for 350 g, Ryuji estimates you could have as much as about 100 g of bacon. The thick-cut bacon he prepared this time was 60 g, which he judged a bit short, so he cut up some sausage to add, bringing the total to about 100 g. He says being able to adjust with whatever's in the fridge is one of the nice things about home cooking. If you have enough bacon, it's fine to use all bacon.

He uses thick-cut bacon because of its nice texture, but regular bacon or a thawed seafood mix is fine too. With a seafood mix, about 100 g is a good amount, he says.

Add about 1 tablespoon of rice bran oil to the frying pan, then put in the bacon, sausage and broccoli together and stir-fry. There's no need to add the broccoli first. Ryuji says broccoli has a better texture when seared, and that stir-frying it and then steaming it a little is just right. He emphasizes how easy it is, since all you do is cut and stir-fry.

Once everything has some browning, clear a space in the pan, add a little oil, and crack in 3 eggs. Since there's a lot of broccoli, more eggs are better. Here Ryuji prefaces things with "this is really important," and explains that you close the lid and steam-fry the eggs using the moisture from the broccoli. Doing this, he says, makes the eggs about as firm as hard-boiled eggs.

As for why he does it this way, Ryuji cites the hassle factor. Stir-frying the bacon separately, boiling the broccoli, and boiling the eggs too is a pain, and then nobody would make it. With sear-steaming, by the time the eggs set, the broccoli is steamed as well. You can add water, but this time there's still moisture left from washing, so he says that should be enough. Stop when the eggs are slightly firm but still soft-cooked, to the point where they feel squishy when touched.

He also touches on frozen broccoli. Ryuji uses it a lot himself lately, but because it's soft, he says fresh broccoli is better for a salad.

At this stage, he tastes just the broccoli with salt. Someone with him suggests aji-shio seasoned salt, but Ryuji says regular salt is plenty, and that the broccoli has a strong flavor of its own. The other person also says it's "delicious."

According to Ryuji, boiling makes broccoli's flavor escape, so sear-steaming is absolutely tastier. In an earlier recipe he heated it in the microwave, but while tasting he reflects that lately he's come to feel that searing gives it a stronger savory flavor.

It also comes up that his broccoli videos generally get around 1 million views. Ryuji explains the reason is that he doesn't really like broccoli himself. Precisely because he doesn't like it, he wants to make it taste good, so he's particular about how he cooks it. That doesn't mean doing anything difficult, though; it means being particular about deliciousness, he says.

If you're in a hurry, it's better to transfer it to a bowl, but he also shows a method for people who find that a hassle. Wet a kitchen towel, wring it out lightly, and set the frying pan on top of it to cool. While it cools, mix everything and break up the soft-cooked eggs. The eggs set naturally with the pan's residual heat, so Ryuji says it's much easier than making hard-boiled eggs. With this method, you don't need a bowl either.

While mixing, the person with him asks whether he appears in places like Orange Page, and Ryuji answers that he can't. Orange Page has a policy of not using Ajinomoto, and unless that's changed, they still shouldn't be using it, he says.

According to Ryuji, Lettuce Club also banned Ajinomoto for a period. When he said at KADOKAWA that he'd use Ajinomoto, he was told that Lettuce Club banned Ajinomoto. When he asked why Ajinomoto was off-limits when Hondashi and chicken stock powder contain the same component, he was told, "the viewers complain." Ryuji stresses that this is a true story and says he won't appear in Lettuce Club anymore. At the same time, he adds that he does publish books with KADOKAWA, so he doesn't really get it.

He says the seasoning is best kept simple. Start with 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons of ketchup for depth, 6 cm of Japanese karashi mustard, and 1/3 teaspoon of salt. Adding karashi gives it a mustard-like aroma that's delicious, and Ryuji says karashi is better than Western mustard. When mixed, the aroma comes through, and he says, "Karashi ketchup mayo is really delicious." When the person with him says it seems good for bento too, he agrees that it works for lunch boxes as well.

He also says he used less oil than in his earlier recipe. At this point it's already plenty delicious, and an ordinary cook would stop here. Still, Ryuji says viewers of this channel would feel it lacks umami, so he adds 5 shakes of Ajinomoto.

That said, Ajinomoto is a matter of preference, and you can add it afterward, he says. If you taste it and think it lacks umami, just sprinkle some on. Ryuji also explains when to use it: if you're eating this salad on its own, it's better with Ajinomoto, but if it's part of a meal with other dishes like fish or meat, it isn't needed.

At the tasting, Ryuji and the person with him agree that it's absolutely better with karashi. Sear-steaming leaves the broccoli with a crunchy texture, and Ryuji says that stimulates the appetite. He explains that the ketchup's role is to add a little sweetness. He also says the way the sausage is cut works well.

As for shelf life, he says it keeps without any problem for about 3 days. Because the seasoning is bold, he thinks even kids who dislike vegetables would eat it. You could sandwich it, but this time he put it on a lightly toasted baguette and ate it as an open-faced sandwich. The person with him reacts, "This goes really well together."

For a flavor variation, he uses Majisco. Ryuji's explanation is that it's something like salsa, so it goes well. Since it contains not just broccoli but meat too, it's hearty, and even with plenty of vegetables it's satisfying. He says that even people who don't like broccoli might be able to eat it this way.

Ryuji wrapped up by saying that this salad lets you eat plenty of broccoli and has a good balance of protein, so he recommends it both as a snack with drinks and as a sandwich filling.