Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Stir-fry Long Beans with Chicken

It is not easy to find long beans here at my small Asian grocery store and if I see any I will definitely buy some. Since it is around summer I do see them appearing on the vegetable shelves. I actually like the lighter green and fatter version beans like the one we find back home but I can’t seems to get that variety here. The one sold here are much greener, thinner, and harder and takes a bit longer to cook. I like to make omelet, long bean rice and curries with it and this is one of those dishes that my mom used to cook at home and you will see it on our dinner table at least once a week.

Ingredients:

1 pound long beans – cut into 1 ½” length
1 piece chicken breast – removed skin and slice thinly
2 cloves garlic - chopped
1 shallot – sliced thinly
2 tsp black bean paste/tau cheong
1 tsp sugar
A few dash of pepper
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)


Seasoning for Chicken:

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
½ tsp corn starch
¼ tsp sesame oil
A few dash of pepper

1. Marinate chicken and set it aside for 15 minutes. Heat up the wok with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add in the garlic and shallot. Stir-fry until fragrant and lightly brown. Add in the chicken. Continue to stir fry until the chicken for a minute.
2. Add in the black bean paste and continue to stir fry for a minute. Add in the long beans. Reduce the heat to medium and continue stirring for a few minutes. At this stage you can drizzle in a little bit of water.
3. Add in the sugar and pepper, continue to stir fry until the beans are cooked through and tender but still have a nice crunch to it.
4. Check seasoning (see if it need a bit of salt) if necessary and add in the red pepper flakes. Transfer to a plate and serve with rice.

Note: I didn’t add any salt to this dish as I find the black bean paste give this dish enough of saltiness.

9 comments:

Shereen said...

Gert,
Baru today I went looking for green beans too..got driver,ma..muahahaha.It is also difficult to find the variety you mentioned here.What to do kan,beggers can't be choosers...as long as it's long and green, just buy.Yum, I love the way you cook the beans.My late mom also masak like that but she like to cook it a little bit 'nua'(soft?)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Usually I stir fry with fresh prawn, yum !

Biren @ Roti n Rice said...

I love long beans and cannot resist buying some when I see it. My mom usually fries it with tau cheong and shrimps. These days I usually fry it with fermented bean curd. Will have to try your version with chicken and pepper flakes.

lena said...

the fatter and the lighter green variety is also not very easily available here, only available from certain sellers. I usually use that to cook long bean rice cos they tend to be get softer quicker. Using tau cheong to stir fry is also another great way to enjoy this long beans!

ann low said...

I love long bean too! Always cooked with sambal chilli, curries and fry with eggs and I'm going to try your version for sure :)

Jeannie said...

I like this vegetables too, very versatile and can keep a long time in fridge.

Little Corner of Mine said...

I just posted a long beans dish too before I saw yours.

A Taste of Memories-- Echo's Kitchen said...

So homely and yet tasty! The kind of taste I miss dearly...

ICook4Fun said...

Shereen, after being here for so long I only found that type of beans once from Chinatown. My mom too like cooking it longer but I prefer the crunch :)

Sonia, if I use pranws I will usually stir-fry it with sambal.

Biren, yea we like it tau cheong too.

Lena, really, I thought you can get it easily back home. Yes that type of long beans is great to cook long bean rice.

Ann, hope you like this version.

Jeannie, this type of bean last about a week in my fridge.

LCOM, I like your version too.

Echo's Kitchen, yes this is a homey dish.