green beans – A Story Book for Tori

Sauteed Green Beans with Peppers and Anchovies

I must love green beans a whole lot that they keep showing up on my blog. Here they are again—this time sautéed with peppers and anchovies. Yes, anchovies! I am one of those people who enjoy them. A lot of Indonesians use the fish in different dishes as flavor booster. These little babies make my sautéed vegetable dishes salty, savory, and smelling fantastic. And a little goes a long way, really. No need to go crazy.

Here’s what we’ll need to make this dish:

Two handful of green beans
3 yellow sweet peppers
5 cayenne or Thai or finger hot peppers (I like these skinny spicy peppers)
3 shallots (chopped)
4 garlic (chopped)
6 anchovies (In a can with olive oil—I rinsed mine before cooking to lessen the salt and oil content)
Black pepper
Ginger powder

Steps:

Fill up medium pot with water, bring to boil
Add string beans and let them cook for a while until the water bubble for the second time
Remove them from the hot boiling water and place under cold running water (or a bowl of ice cold water) to stop the cooking process (I am learning from various cooking sources that this process is also called blanching)
Heat up a tablespoon of canola oil in a large pan (medium heat)
Saute anchovies, garlic, shallots, and peppers for about two to three minutes (until the anchovies melt)
Add green beans, a dash of black pepper, and a pinch of ginger powder
Mix them really well, reduce the heat, and cover the pan for a minute or two
Serve with baked tempeh and rice

My favorite simple peasant plate

Thanks for reading. I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend, wherever you are.

Peace

September 21, 2013

Harini Riana3 Comments

Stir Fry: Green Beans and Tempeh

I enjoy a tasty and crunchy vegetable dish. When I want an easy one, I often turn to stir-frying (similar to sautéing) things like green beans, bitter melon, asparagus, broccoli, Chinese broccoli, Napa cabbage, carrots, and many more. Cook with a little bit of oil, shallots, garlic, hot peppers, and light soy sauce and watch how the vegetables turn into wonderful delights. When I want something more substantial out of these veggies, I combine them with either Shiitake mushroom or tempeh. Superb!

Green beans and I go back a long way. Years ago in early college days, days of my first attempts to cook, a friend noted that I cooked green beans a lot. He’d joke and say that it seemed like it was the only thing I was able to do :D. He wasn’t wrong. It was! 😀

Anyway, in this recipe I choose to mix crunchy green beans with tempeh. Tempeh, a soybeans-based patty, is so versatile and a source of protein. Indonesians use it as their meat substitute. Here in the US, tempeh can be easily found in the organic section.

Ingredient list:

1 organic soy tempeh (8 oz) (cut into four pieces and slice into thin cuts)
A handful of green beans (about 2 cups)
2 shallots (chopped)
2 garlic (chopped)
2 Thai peppers, also called as Bird’s Eye peppers (chopped)
2 tablespoon of light soy sauce
3 tablespoon of vegetable/canola oil
¼ cup of water

Steps:

Heat up a medium pan over medium heat
Add 2 tablespoon of vegetable/canola oil
Brown both sides of tempeh (turn only once)
Remove from the pan and set aside
On the same pan, use remaining oil if available, if not, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable/canola oil
Add shallots and garlic and let them cook for 2-3 minutes
Add the light soy sauce, Thai peppers, and green beans
Stir and mix them together
I usually add a little bit of water to help the vegetable cook better (about 1/4 cup)
Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for about 5 minutes or until the liquid starts to boil. Taste and adjust.
Remove pan from the heat and add the cooked tempeh. Mix everything together and serve with jasmine rice.

Hope you like it!

More favorite tempeh recipe:

Tempeh with Chilies and Vegetables

Chili-Topped Tempeh

***

A little reflection:

I think of cooking, like writing, as one of my creativity outlets. One that allows flow to happen and take over me for a little bit. Maybe my friend and fashion blogger (and a fellow cooking enthusiast), Leena, would agree that there are some similarities in the process of putting together a beautiful outfit and making a delicious dish. I imagine they both require imaginative minds; attention to texture, colors, feel, and in cooking: taste; and appreciation for beauty. Best of all, they both create enjoyable results!

Cooking might not create flow for everyone as it does for me. Besides, different folks different strokes, right?

So, what about you, dear readers?

What fully absorbs and captures your creative energy?

March 19, 2013

Harini Riana2 Comments

Sweet Corn, Green Beans, and Cabbage in Tamarind Soup

(My version of sayur asem)

Here’s another favorite, Indonesia-origin, vegetable dish in our home. Though its main ingredient is tamarind, a sour fruit typically used in many Southeast Asian cuisines, this soup has a lot more to offer than just a tangy flavor. It has a good balance of sweet, sour, and spicy. The vegetable selections of corn, green beans, and cabbage give crunchy texture to the dish, while a little bit of hot peppers adds a nice punch.

Here’s my take on this East Java version of sayur asem or the vegetables sour soup:

List of things we need:

1 small bag of frozen sweet corn
1 cup of green beans cut into shorter lengths (traditionally Indonesians use Yardlong Beans instead of green beans).
1 small cabbage (remove wilted outer leaves, halve, remove the stem, and slice). If you can’t find a smaller cabbage, use ½ of the regular size.
1 inch cube cut of seedless wet tamarind/ tamarind block
4 shallots
3 garlic
4 Candlenuts
A pinch of shrimp paste
2-3 Thai peppers
Salt
½ inch cut of Galangal root for the aroma

Cooking steps:

Fill 1/3 of a large pot with water over medium heat
Chop and mix shallots, garlic, Candlenuts, shrimp paste, Thai peppers in a food processor
Add the mixture into the pot along with tamarind, Galangal root and a little bit of salt. Bring to boil, reduce the heat a little bit, and let the broth cooks for another 20-30 minutes or until the tamarind dissolves.
Remove galangal root and tamarind pulp, before adding the vegetables into the broth, using a food colander or strainer and a big bowl. (Strain the broth using a colander or a food strainer into the big bowl and then return the broth back to the pot.)
Add the vegetables into the pot and bring to boil.
Turn of the heat and cover the pot with a lid. I let the vegetable soup rest for half hour to an hour before serving. That way the vegetables have some time to absorb all of the wonderful flavors. It taste even better the next day too!

Serve 4-6.

November 30, 2012

Harini Riana4 Comments