We were able to get in late on Live Earth Farm's CSA shares this season, and we have been thoroughly enjoying our weekly bounty! A couple of weeks in a row, we got an abundance of green beans; Dylan loves green beans, but he can't eat them all up on his own, so we decided to try one of the recipes included in the Live Earth Farms weekly newsletter.
This is modified slightly -- we reduced the amount of sugar and, for my bday dinner, we added ginger and basil to the flavor mix!
The secret to this recipe is in the sauce -- we had not yet been able to hit the soy sauce to rice vinegar ratio in our stir frys until this recipe gave us the key: 2:1.
The first time we made this (without the basil and ginger), it smelled so good cooking up, we just ate it immediately with some rice and left the rest of dinner unmade! The aroma matched the taste. It was yum.
Ingredients
- ~ 1 lb. green beans, stemmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tsp. sugar
- red pepper flakes (make as hot as you wish!)
- 2 tbsp. peanut or canola oil
- 2 leeks cut into thin wedges (or some scallion equivalent -- so far, we have only made this with leeks)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- a large handful of basil chiffonade
- some ginger (about half as much as the amount of garlic)
Super yummy sauce: Mix soy, vinegar, sugar, hot pepper flakes and 1 tbsp. water in a small bowl.
Green beans prep: Heat oil in a large saucepan or wok over high heat.
Add green beans and cook until slightly charred and crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
Add leeks (or scallions) and cook until charred and beans are tender, another 3-4 minutes.
Make a well in the center of the pan and add garlic and ginger.
Mash with 1 tsp. oil with back of spatula, about 5 seconds.
Add sauce and toss vegetables and garlic until well coated.
Turn off the heat and toss in the basil.
