Long Beans

We were at the Davis farmers market this weekend and found this brilliant bundle of green tendrils, straight out of a child's nightmare. I absolutely had to cook it. I did some research when we got home and it looks like these are fairly common in Chinese cooking. They are similar in taste to green beans, but have more crisp texture. I decided to just kinda wing it, combine all the flavors I enjoy in Chinese cooking and go from there.

1 bunch long beans

1 inch minced ginger

3 minced garlic cloves

3-4 small red chili peppers (sub 1 tablespoonful crushed red peppers if need be)

olive oil

sesame seed oil

soy sauce

salt 

pepper

I started by washing and drying the beans, then cutting the tops and bottoms off, just about an inch. Next I cut them into 4-6 inch long segements to make for easier cooking and eating, but if you are more adventurous they can be cooked whole pretty easily. I also chopped and minced the garlic, ginger, and peppers.

Next heat a wok over medium high heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is heated, add the beans and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the beans turn brighter green and start looking more cooked, add the ginger, garlic, and pepper.

 Cook and stir constantly for 2 minutes, then remove the beans to a plate. You should have something like the photo below left in the pan. 

Reduce heat to medium low, and add a half teaspoon of sesame seed oil and two tablespoons of soy sauce. Let cook for 40 seconds or so, just until everything smells amazing, then pour the sauce over the beans.

Shannon's Asian Sauce

I use this sauce for stir fry or lettuce wraps mostly.  These are my go to ingredients that help me make a pretty convincing Asian sauce for my tastes.

1/4 cup Soy sauce
1/4 cup Rice vinegar
1 Tbsp  - 1/2 Dijon and 1/2 whole grain Dijon
1 thumb sized piece of ginger - minced
1 large clove garlic - minced
2 tsp Sesame seed oil
1 Tbsp Sweet and Sour Thai Chili Sauce
2 tsp Siracha (or chili paste)
1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1 tsp Brown sugar (optional for sweetness)
1 tsp fish sauce (optional)

Whisk all ingredients together.  These are approximate proportions, it is a good start but if you like more sweet or more spice add more of a certain ingredient.  Just keep tasting along the way until you find what you like.