Chinese Long Beans

The other day, I stopped by Sweetbay Supermarket by my home and found a bunch of Chinese Long Beans. They come in long bundles – typically they are 12″ – 30″ long, hence the nickname, “Yard Long Beans.” The best tasting Chinese Long Beans are young, 12″ – 16″ long. Purchase beans that have no black spots, flexible but not limp and do not look dry.

Chinese Long Beans are chewy, very hearty and can withstand instense spices and chilis. However, I love the simplicity of this recipe – combining stir fry and steaming in just a couple of steps.

Stir-Fried Chinese Long Beans

1 lb Chinese Long Beans, washed and trimmed to 3″ lengths

2 tsp Garlic, minced

1/4 c Water

3 Tb Fish Sauce (Three Crabs Brand)

1 tsp Sugar

Heat up your wok, add oil. When barely smoking, add minced garlic. Fry just for a few seconds until fragrant, but not brown. You want to make sure that you don’t wait too long before adding the garlic to the oil, otherwise the oil will be too hot and the garlic will burn.

Add your long beans, fry in wok for 30 seconds, incorporating the garlic throughout the beans.

Add water, fish sauce and sugar. Cover the wok. Let the beans steam for 5 minutes on medium heat. Check to see if beans are almost tender, but not too soft. If not, re-cover and steam an additional 1 minute. Uncover, let the rest of the liquid evaporate, about an additional minute. Serve.