Spicy Sesame Green Beans for Oahu Fresh

A few weeks ago we cooked up long beans as our featured veggie – I made a yummy chickpea curry with longbeans and peas. After the cooking video, I had some leftover long beans and so I turned them into a quick lunch using a few of my pantry staples like toasted sesame oil, tamari, and honey. It was so SIMPLE and so GOOD that I decided to write it down and share with you along with our newest featured veggie, Blue Lake beans.

Blue Lake is an heirloom variety of green beans (bush beans), but you can use any type of green bean here (even long beans). This easy recipe would also be great with asparagus, carrots, or broccoli – veggies that are firm and crispy. You’ll see that the measurements are really small – this is to ensure that the mixture becomes more of a glaze that caramelizes quickly and coats each piece of green beans.

See all my other Oahu Fresh recipes here and watch the WEEKLY cooking videos on Oahu Fresh Instagram TV! 

Spicy Sesame Green Beans

1 Tablespoon coconut oil
8 ounces green beans, ends trimmed
1 teaspoon garlic flakes (or 2 cloves fresh, minced garlic)
¼ teaspoon chili flakes (more if you like it HOT)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce/shoyu
¼ cup chopped macadamia nuts or sesame seeds for garnish

1. Add the coconut oil to a large skillet and warm over medium heat.
2. Add green beans, and toss to coat. Cook for about five minutes, until the beans just start to blister on the sides.
3. Add garlic and chili to the pan, and let cook for just 1-2 minutes, until garlic is fragrant and cooked through.
4. Reduce heat to low, and stir in sesame oil, honey, and tamari, tossing quickly to combine. The sugar will help the mixture caramelize, but be careful that it doesn’t burn.
5. Remove beans from pan, and top with chopped macadamia nuts or toasted sesame seeds, and serve!

I ate these green beans for a very simple dinner with coconut rice. To make the coconut rice, use 1 part coconut milk and 2 parts water while cooking jasmine or white rice, along with a pinch of salt. Cook as directed. This would also be great with my curry rice, both of which are weeknight staples in my house.