Sauteed Green Beans w/Soy, Shallots, Ginger, Garlic & Chile

Amarante

Sun, Jul 26 2015, 10:18 am

I didn't bother with making the scallion garnish, just sliced them. This goes nicely with any kind of simple roasted chicken or fish.

ETA - You can blanch the beans ahead of time so that you don't have this additional step when you are preparing at dinner. Also, I microwave my veggies instead of boiling them because it's easier for me but whatever method you use, you want to do it for a brief period of time so that the beans remain crisp when stir fried instead of soggy and overcooked.

Also the beans should be dry when you put in the pan to sauté so they will crisp and caramelize nicely.

Sauteed Green Beans with Soy, Shallots, Ginger, Garlic and Chile

Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Level: Easy

Ingredients
• 2 scallions, for garnish
• 1 pound green beans
• 2 tablespoons peanut or sesame oil
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 3 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 medium red chile, like jalapeno, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

Prepare the scallion garnish: Finely slice the scallions on an angle and drop them into a large bowl with ice and water - this will make the scallion threads curl up nicely so they look like ribbons. Set aside.

Wash green beans under cold running water. Cut off the root ends and discard. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the beans and blanch until bright green, about 2 minutes. Shock in ice water then drain in a colander.

Heat a large wok over high heat. Add the peanut oil, then add the shallots, garlic, ginger and chile. Stir the mixture around so it fries in the oil and gets fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the green beans and toss a couple of times to coat everything evenly. Saute for a couple of minutes so the beans get a little caramelization. Add the soy sauce and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes; the beans should still be nice and crisp. Transfer to a large platter and garnish with drained scallion curls.

Last edited by Amarante on Sun, Jul 26 2015, 1:06 pm; edited 1 time in total

Amarante

Sun, Jul 26 2015, 11:07 am

The heat of jalapeños is in the seeds and also in the white stuff inside the pepper. If you don't use the seeds and scrape off the white stuff inside, you will not get heat but you will still get the "tam" of the pepper. Just halve the pepper and scrape out the seeds and the white stuff inside (I am having a brain lapse and can't remember what the white stuff is called :-)). All peppers (including bell peppers) have those kind of raised things inside.

Also red jalapeños are less hot than green in general but the flesh of the peppers isn't hot. Also, it's a pretty small amount of pepper for the entire recipe so would add minimal spice anyway.