Sesame Garlic Beans

My Mom grew up in Singapore and whenever she talks about her childhood; food was always the highlight of her stories. (Yes, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree) 30 years later and here I am talking through my days about what I eat, cook and dream about cooking! :-)

Now that I think about it, a lot of what my Mom cooked reflected her love of the South East Asian cooking flavors and techniques. She loved to stir fry instead of saute, sear instead of brown and julienne instead of dice! Her favorite spice was red chill and garlic, and her cant_do_without_condiment was soy sauce. She also introduced me to the magnificent flavor of toasted Sesame oil early. A drizzle of this stuff will get you to the orient quicker than any pan asian flight!

Here is the simplest of all her dishes- a stir fry of green beans and garlic. The dish is flavored with garlic and sesame oil- that's it!

Serves 3 or 4 as a side dish
Preparation time 30 minutes

8 oz french green beans
4-6 large cloves of garlic, slivered (the more the better!)
3 tsp ginger, minced
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
4 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
3 tbsp water
1 tsp red chili flakes or 2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
Salt to taste

In a large hot saute pan or wok, heat the oil.
Add the onions and garlic, saute for about 2 minutes
Add the green beans, water and the soy sauce. Turn down the heat and cover. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the beans are almost done (they should have some bite to them)
Turn the heat back up, season with salt, pepper/chili flakes and the sesame seeds. Stir well.

Serve as a side or along with hot rice.