You know you’re getting old when St. Patrick’s Day arrives and instead of wondering where you put your green belt and shamrock earrings, you make a mental note not to drive anywhere after 6 PM and place bets on how many drunks are going to stagger by at 3 AM singing Danny Boy at the top of their lungs.
Whether you find this video achingly sentimental or innocently humorous will depend on how many green beers and whiskey shots you’ve had. Since I’m stone cold sober, I think it’s pretty funny. But then again, they had me the moment the Swedish Chef bobbed on stage.
In honour of St Patrick’s day, I’m not wearing shamrocks, downing Guinness or posting a recipe for artificially green food. Instead, I’m typing with a delightful lilt and sharing a recipe for a food that’s naturally emerald green and close to my heart. Beans. Gotta love ‘em no matter what the calendar says.
This recipe is from In a Pinch by Caren McSherry. I didn’t realize she had an Irish name until after I made the dish. Coincidence or luck of the Irish? You make the call.
Recipe: Spicy Green Beans
Summary: Excerpt published with permission from In A Pinch: Effortless Cooking for Today’s Gourmet by Caren McSherry. Published by Whitecap 2010.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup chili paste
- 2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
- 1 pound green beans, trimmed
- 1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix the soy sauce, chili paste, ginger and garlic together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat a nonstick medium frying pan over high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat. Toss in the beans and stir until they begin to crackle and brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce mixture to the browned beans and toss to coat. Let the beans saute in the mixture for about 1 minute before transferring to a serving platter and garnishing with the toasted sesame seeds.
Quick Notes
IN A PINCH NOTES: Choose the thinnest beans you can find. I always use the French haricots verts when they are available. They cost a bit more, but they are worth it.
Cooking time (duration):15 mins
Diet type: Vegan
Diet (other): Low calorie, Gluten free
Number of servings (yield): 4
Meal type: dinner
My rating:
These sound delicious! I love soy sauce and green beans. The chili paste would be a great spicy kick, too!
Andrea the Kitchen Witch recently posted…Chicken Enchiladas with refried beans
You’re right. The chili paste does add a nice kick — depending on the kind you use. I love beans with chili so thought this was a natural combination. Nothing Irish about it but the color.
Christie, you make recipes come alive. Wish you were writing for us. Thanks for the green bean receipe. Something new for me to try. We heap on tons of garlic pepper spice when cooking green beans and love the garlic taste. http://www.coloradoescapefinder.com
I am a proper chilli addict but d’you know I’d never considered pairing it with green beans? I shall have to try this, it has all my favourite flavours!
Emma recently posted…Hot blue cheese sauce with bacon- honey & thyme to accompany sprouting broccoli
I had green beans with chili a few years ago at a friend’s house and really liked it. He just added some dried chilis to the water he cooked the beans in. I think this allows you to control the heat a bit better — plus you get the garlic and ginger which I just love.
Nice to know I’m not the only green bean addict.
I love you picture, looks so yammi and the garlic and chilli is one of my favourite combinations too.
La Bonne Bouche recently posted…Memories
Thanks for your kind words. It was hard to take a photo when the beans smelled so good, but it was worth the wait.
These were great! Nicely spicy but not overwhelming. Even better than you get in most restaurants. I think I’ve found the recipe I’ve been looking for for years! Thanks so much!
High praise, indeed! I’m so glad you liked the results. Spice is always such an iffy subject.
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know how they turned out.
OK – I stopped thinking I would like the beans at the title, but I LOVED the video. Where do you get this stuff???
Love from your super-taster not chili paste type person sister.
If I left out the chili paste, you’d probably like the beans. The soy sauce, garlic and ginger is not too spicy. Honest.
And the video was from YouTube. It’s so incredibly silly. Made in a simpler, more innocent time, but no matter how old I get, that Swedish Chef just cracks me up. Glad you liked it.
I love your blog’s tagline — so true!
Those string beans look tasty. I love Asian flavors.
J3nn (Jenn’s Menu and Lifestyle Blog) recently posted…The Children’s Table
There are days when I would love to be more like Martha Stewart, but Murphy seems determined to keep me humble.
The Asian flavours in this dish are quite addictive. I think I ate half the plate myself once I put the camera down.
I wonder if I could sneak these beans past my children who are suspicious of Asian flavours. Great recipe.
Sally – My Custard Pie recently posted…Taste of Dubai and gingerbread cake
When I was a kid, the name of a dish put me off as much, if not more, than the taste. Can you call this something that won’t give away its Asian roots? Caren’s beans? Or Sesame Beans? Or Bloggers Beans?
Good luck getting this by the kids.
Reminds me of a bean dish I had in a wonderful restaurant in Vancouver’s china town. They were to die for. I will have to definitely try out this recipe!
valerie
A Canadian Foodie recently posted…Giant Pasta Shells- Turkey- Garlic and Sundried Tomato Pesto
Hope this recipe lives up to your memory!