Happy Mother’s Day!
As the food blogosphere is filled with Mother’s day meal ideas, I’d pay a tribute to my brilliant paternal grandmother could always turn the common ingredients into a great meal.
I was very fortunately to spend quite some time living with my grandparents when I was little. I was even more fortunate to have grandparents who were both great cooks.
Unlike my grandfather who is a master with live poultry, fancy meat dishes, and delicate desserts such as this one here, grandma on the other hand was more of cook who specialized in simple and quick meals. Many of her signature dishes were either quick stir-fried dishes or cold dishes.
In honor of her great cooking and the countless meals I enjoyed when I was little, today, I am going to recreate her classic spicy Chinese long bean dish. This cold vegetarian dish is extremely easy to make yet it is so delicious that it has remained one of my all time vegetable dishes.
As the name suggested, Chinese long beans are long. Find out a little more about Chinese long beans here if you are not familiar with them. You can spot them in papaya salad at a Thai restaurant. They are normally sold in Chinese and Southeast Asian supermarkets in bundles. Try to get the ones that are flexible and not too thick as the bigger ones are not as tender.
This dish is traditionally served as an appetizer and it goes well with beer in the summer time.
Now lets find out how these tasty long beans are made through the step by step illustrations:
Cut the beans into 2-3 inch long segments and boil them until just cook. Cool to room temperature.
Make the Sichuan spicy dressing and toss it with the cooked beans. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
Ingredients
- 1lb Chinese long beans
- 3 tbsp Soy sauce
- 2 – 3 tbsp hot chili oil (add more if you like it spicy)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tbsp Chinese dark vinegar (or rice vinegar)
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- ½ tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp each chopped scallion and chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Rinse the long beans and remove both ends. Cut the beans into 2-3 inch long segments. In boiling water, add 1 tbsp of salt and 1 tsp of oil.
- Boil the long beans until just cooked. About 5 minutes. Drain the water and cool to room temperature. Do not overcook as the beans will become soggy.
- To make the spicy Sichuan dressing, combine all spicy sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix. This can be done in advance.
- Toss the cooked beans with the spicy dressing. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I remember my aunt everytime i see this vegetable. This is really her favorite one and she almost cooks it almost everyday, not that advisable though. How to grow chinese long beans hydroponically? click here
http://farmingeek.org/farming-how-to/how-to-start-your-hydroponic-farm/how-to-grow-chinese-long-beans-on-an-hydroponics-farm
My mom loves this vegetable, she said it’s very good for your digestive system~!
Hey Cindh, thank you for the information I actually didnt know it was good for the digestive system. Now I am going to have more this year!! Thanks.
Yi, I like this dish, especially when the beans are cooked to perfection…slightly crunchy…love the spiciness of the dressing.
Hope you are having a great week
Thanks Juliana. Yup I don’t like it soggy either.
this looks deceptively not spicy until I read the ingredients calling for sichuan peppercorns and chilli oil. I love it! back home my mum would stirfry long beans with spicy sambal belachan, so I can imagine that same combination of spicy working with the vegetables here!
Thanks for your visit Shuhan. Yea, I also stir fry these beans too.
Yi, I loved this recipe. I live in Hong Kong and have this dish often here. I was just wondering how the localites make this dish….this looks yummy and something I must try!!
Thanks for your visit Purabi. I am glad that you get to eat these beans in HK.
Great tips about long beans. I’ve had them in restaurants but have never cooked them. Now I know what to look for when I go shopping. And I love the flavors in this dish! Spicy speaks to me, and this dish is certainly shouting my name! And a nice Mother’s Day tribute. Thanks for a great read.
Thanks for stopping by kitchenriffs.
We usually stir-fry these long beans, so it is good to see another way of preparing them as a cold appetizer.
yeah i love to have them stir fried as well.
This looks great Yi! I also loved my Grandma’s cooking, she used to take a lot of efforts to prepare 2 of my favorite dishes, I miss her dearly!
I’ve never eaten long green beans this way, most give it a try very soon!
thanks for stopping by Jeno. Yup nothing can beat grandma’s cooking!
No wonder you are a great cook Yi! So jealous you grew up eating yummy food your grandparents prepared. I’ve seen long green beans all the time at Asian market but I still haven’t bought them before. I should give them a try. I’ve eaten these before of course but just haven’t cooked at home yet. Thanks for the great recipe from your grandma!
Thanks for your visit Nami.