I was gifted with a lovely batch of yellow string beans earlier this month from a friend's garden. I did not know such a thing existed so I was excited to try them.
I wanted to be careful not to overpower their flavor, especially since I did not know how strong it would be. I had a few green onions left over from a batch of salsa I had made earlier in the week, and I thought a simple stir fry using just those two ingredients might be just the thing.
I have a tendency to go overboard on stir fries, but I wanted to keep this one simple. In just a few minutes I had a delicious side dish. The beans were tender, but satisfyingly crisp. This is a dish that would go well with any entree. In fact, it paired quite nicely with broiled tilapia. And the recipe would work beautifully with regular green beans if you can't find the yellow ones.
STIR-FRIED YELLOW STRING BEANSServes 2
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1/2 lb yellow (or green) string beans, washed, trimmed and broken in half (or thirds of large)
1 tsp garlic/ginger paste (or 1/2 tsp fresh of each, minced)
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 green onions, separated, whites cut into 1/4-inch pieces and greens cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 tsp toasted sesame seed oil
1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Heat wok until it starts to smoke. Add the peanut oil, swirl it around, then add the beans. Cook for about 3 minutes, until they just start to soften. Add the garlic/ginger paste and cook for another minute, then add the white parts of the green onion and cook until they just start to become transparent. Add the green parts and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce and cook until it has reduced to the consistency of a glaze.
Remove from the heat and add the sesame oil. Serve garnished with the sesame seeds.