I first had these beans in Chicago at Urban Belly, chef Bill Kim’s noodle bar; a tasty temple to deliciousness. This simple gourmet experience left me salivating memories and a pledge to return. To turn these into a complete meal you could add a couple of handfuls of cashew nuts or almonds. They would also be delicious with rice.
Serves 4-6 as a side dish
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2.5cm/1 inch fresh ginger root, grated
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed
7 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer leaves removed and stalk cut lengthways into 4 pieces
1 tablespoon Umami Bomb
14oz fine green/string beans, trimmed
2 splashes fish sauce
2 splashes soy sauce
furikake or toasted sesame seeds, to serve
Method
- Put 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil, the tablespoon of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, lemongrass and Umami Bomb into a food blender and blitz until it becomes a rough paste.
- Heat a wok until it is smoking hot then add the other tablespoon of sesame oil and the blended paste and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the beans and stir-fry until they are coated with all the paste.
- Add the fish sauce, soy sauce and a splash of water, continuing to stir. As the water evaporates keep adding additional splashes of water until the beans are softened and begin to wrinkle, but are still al dente.
- Serve with a sprinkle of furikake or toasted sesame seeds.
