Sesame Green Beans with Ginger
Beans cooked dry in a hard, hot pan until they blister, then tumbled off the heat with ginger, soy and crushed sesame.
Why it works
Green beans carry enough water to cook themselves, so a dry, properly hot pan blisters the skins while the insides steam — no boiling, no draining, no second pan. Crushing half the sesame seeds in a mortar releases the oil in them, and that oil makes the dressing cling to a slippery bean instead of sliding off.
Method
- Put a wide, heavy pan over a high heat with nothing in it. While it heats, top the beans, grate the ginger and crush half the seeds. The pan is ready when a flicked drop of water skitters across it.
- Add the beans dry and leave them alone for 90 seconds, then toss and leave again. After about 4 minutes they should be blistered brown in patches and bending rather than snapping.
- Pull the pan off the heat, add the sesame oil, ginger, soy, mirin and chilli, and toss for 30 seconds. The residual heat is plenty — left on the flame the ginger scorches and the soy turns bitter.
- Tip onto a plate and scatter with the sesame seeds, crushed and whole. Time it to land in the four minutes the main is resting, and serve warm rather than hot.
For the toddler
Give a few beans an extra minute in the pan at step 2 so they are tender all the way through, then lift them out before the soy, mirin and chilli go in. Split those beans lengthways and cut them into short pieces. A drop of sesame oil and a little grated ginger is dressing enough, and crush the sesame seeds fine or leave them off theirs.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Tenderstem broccoli or asparagus, both a minute quicker. Sugar snaps need only 2 minutes.
Mix the ginger, soy, mirin and oil in a cup while the pan heats; the finish is then one pour and a toss.
Grilled salmon and rice, a bowl of miso soup, or sticky teriyaki aubergine.
Keeps 2 days chilled and is good cold, chopped short and folded through rice with more sesame oil.