TracyFood

Recipe: Green beans with Asian flavors 30 August 2007 5:28 pm

Posted by Tracy in : cooking, eating, friends, garden, recipes, restaurants, reviews, travel, vegan, vegetarian , trackback

This tasty treat is based on some green beans I got at a little deli in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island in Washington State during our bike trip around Puget Sound last August. I’d rummage through my notes on that trip some more in the hopes of rediscovering the name of that deli, except that I’m almost 500 miles away from them, visiting friends in Davis, CA for the weekend. Whee! But anyway, on to the recipe.

What You Need

Green beans (maybe a pound, preferably fresh-picked from your garden but I’m very spoiled like that and I should point out that this preparation will spruce up even sad and tired supermarket beans)
Garlic (at least four or five cloves but maybe as much as a whole head, minced — again, homegrown is awesome but I am ever so very spoiled)
Cooking oil: a few tablespoons of something that can take high heat (the last time I made this I used a mix of canola and peanut oils and it was very tasty)
Crushed red pepper, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon depending on how well you like your sinuses cleared
Mirin (sweet rice wine for cooking — you can substitute sherry in a pinch), maybe 1/4 cup.
Maybe a splash of water
Soy sauce (shoyu, tamari, whatever you like — at least a tablespoon, or more if you like salt
Maybe a splash of lime juice or rice wine vinegar if you like things sour (optional!)
Optional garnish-y things like a tablespoon or two of raw or toasted sesame seeds, or maybe a few leaves of basil, thinly sliced (very optional)

What You Do

Clean your green beans and trim them to pieces of more or less uniform length (I like around 1 1/2 inches but I’m sure your preferences are fine too). Clean and mince the garlic. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a pan big enough to hold all the beans (using the pan as a bean prep container is always a good way to double-check its size). Add the garlic and sauté briefly, just until it smells like awesome. Add the crushed red pepper and give everything a stir and a sniff if you’re feeling congested. Add the beans and stir/toss until coated with deliciousness. Splash on the mirin and maybe a little water if you’re worried it won’t cook (but it will). Cover the pan and let the beans cook (the fresher they are, the quicker this will be — I say they’re done when they’ve turned bright green, but I like them crunchy, so give one a taste and decide for yourself). Season with soy sauce and something acidic like rice wine vinegar or lime juice if you want them to be sour. Wham. Delicious and done. If you’re feeling really fancy, serve the beans garnished with toasted sesame seeds, thinly sliced basil, or maybe thinly sliced toasted nuts (almonds are nice).

Makes about a pound of beans delicious hot, cold, or at room temperature. I really like green beans, so for me this might be as little as two servings, but if you’ve got other food to distract people you could probably share this four to six ways. Yum!