Chinese Long Beans with Chilies and Garlic
Sometimes home cooking can induce just as powerful a craving as your favorite restaurant dish. Logic would imply that we’d usually crave the MOST outrageously decadent and delicious things we can get our hands on, but I think you’ll agree that’s not the case. And thank god. Constantly coveting blue cheese-stuffed foie gras with bacon sprinkles would leave us all fat and broke. Well, some people are fat and broke without the foie gras, but that’s beside the point. Cravings are mysterious.
Even those of us lucky enough to have access to the exotic cuisines of the world (delivered in 30 minutes or less) can find themselves obsessing about the simplest things. That’s how this dish is for my sweetheart and me - sometimes nothing else will scratch the itch. When it’s that time, there’s a 2PM text that says something like: Hey! How about that spicy pork thing tonight? The answer is, without variance: Yes.
This recipe was adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s version. I bumped and tweaked the seasoning and reduced the liquid. You can adjust for taste. This one is hard to mess up (unless you burn the garlic, in which case your kitchen will bequeath the resulting smell to your progeny and to theirs after them).
Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1 – 1.5 lbs Chinese long beans
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
7 - 8 large cloves garlic, peeled and diced finely (if it looks like way too much garlic, you’re on the right track)
3-4 serrano chilies, seeds included, diced or sliced very thinly
1 ½ tsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
¾ cup water
1 tsp paprika
SUBSTITUTIONS: You can substitute Thai chilies, red jalapeños, whatever you like. Just adjust the amount added for the heat of the chili. We like it spicy so I leave in the seeds. Instead of Chinese long beans you can use regular green beans. However, the long beans are worth getting for their extra-crunchy texture and woodsy flavor.
Heat oil in wok over medium high heat. Add garlic and chilies and stir a few times until garlic is just barely starting to brown. Add pork and cook, breaking into small pieces, until it is just cooked through.
Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cook on high heat, turning over 3-4 times, until most of the water has evaporated, about 5-6 minutes. Serve over hot rice.
EASY, RIGHT? Let the cravings begin.
Comentários