Once upon a time, when he was an edgy comedian and lived in DC, Jay decided to be a vegetarian for a little while. I'm not sure why, but during this time he developed a fondness for Asian-style green beans.
You know that stable at Chinese buffets where there's garlic and green beans and brown sauce? Those.
I love them too, so the other night we decided to make some!
Asian Green Beans
I had about 2 cups green beans and we ate them all in one sitting - they were that good!
First, I heated a skillet with a light oil (not olive) until it was very hot, then I sliced two chili peppers and trimmed the green beans.
These are dried chili peppers that I keep in the freezer and use for everything. Full disclosure: Two was WAY too hot for me and Jay, and we love spicy food. I think one or even a half of one would have been plenty spicy. If you don't keep weird peppers in your freezer, use a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes - as much as you can handle! Put the red pepper into your oil for about a minute, then when the oil is very hot add the green beans.
Let the beans sear for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally. Now, let's examine our other ingredients:
Oyster sauce, 1 clove crushed garlic, and ponzu sauce.
Oyster sauce is found EVERYWHERE in the Asian section of grocery stores and is the brown sauce that makes food taste....Chinese. Seriously. It doesn't taste like oysters. Buy some and keep it around!
Ponzu is, per the label, citrus seasoned soy sauce, great on seavood & sushi dipping, steak, tofu, & potsticker.
Furthermore, Mizkan, which makes ponzu, is bringing flavor to life.
If you don't have ponzu, don't flip out. Use soy sauce with 1/2 teaspoon of a vinegar of your choice. Problem solved!
Once the green beans have started to sear but are still a little crunchy, add 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, the garlic, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce/vinegar or ponzu. Stir everything around, and add a splash of water to make things saucier.
Yum! Add more seasonings if you like things to have a stronger flavor, and ENJOY. I served these with grilled fish cooked with soy sauce and plain white rice. These are so delicious and flavorful, and add a ton to your meal!
Meal idea: If you make a simple Asian meal like this, start it out with a healthy, crunchy Asian salad. Yum!
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