Long beans, or snake beans, as they are sometimes called, are one of my favorite vegetables to pick up when I make a trip to Hong Kong Supermarket, the mecca of Asian ingredients on the corner of Hester and Elizabeth on the northern border of Chinatown. I like these beans because they taste good, of course, but if I’m being honest my affection for them has a lot to do with how comical they look. They’re green beans, but like 50 times longer. So long that you can’t just stick a bunch in your shopping bag, you need to curl the tops downward back into the bag. I just think they’re…funny.

What do these hilariously long beans taste like, you may be asking, and are they different than your garden-variety string beans? Long beans, I would say, taste a little less sweet and a little more nutty than string beans, and have a slightly more chewy texture that makes it a good vegetable to cook in an extremely hot wok. Just like in this recipe!

It turns out that it had been awhile since I made Chinese food at home, because this recipe required me to season the round-bottomed carbon steel wok I had purchased over a year ago and then simply got too lazy to deal with. It turns out, seasoning the wok was a lot easier than I remembered (guess I just chose a particularly lengthy and over-achieving YouTube video the first time around!) and can be done in under an hour, and with only some peanut oil and a bunch of scallions. If you don’t have a wok, they are cheap and easy to use, and really do make cooking Chinese food a breeze.

But back to the beans. After cutting them into shorter lengths, they are stir-fried with minced shallot and ginger and garlic and seasoned with sesame seeds, which brings our their nutty flavor even more and adds an extra crunch. I’ve made this recipe a few times over the past couple of years and it’s definitely one of my favorite Chinese veggie dishes. Also, don’t be put off by having to make scallion oil. It will keep for a little while tightly sealed in your fridge, and something you can use to cook lots of other vegetables in, Chinese or not.

If you don’t live in a city or one with a Chinatown, you can always substitute regular string beans for this recipe, but if you do come across some long beans, pick up a weird bunch and give them a whirl!

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Long Beans with Roasted Sesame Seeds

Category: Side Dish

Servings: Serves 4-6

Ingredients

    For the Beans:
  • 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons scallion oil (store-bought or homemade with the below recipe)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons minced shallots
  • 12 oz. long beans, or string beans, ends trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
    For the Scallion Oil:
  • 1 cup peanut oil
  • 2 large bunches scallions (about 1/2 lb. total), cut into 2-inch lengths and white portions lightly smashed

Instructions

  1. If you are making the scallion oil from scratch, start there. Heat a wok over high heat for 30 seconds. Add the peanut oil, then the scallions. Bring the oil to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the oil turns golden brown.
  2. Turn off the heat. Strain the oil through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Set the fried scallions aside to cool. Pour the cooled oil into a sterilized glass jar and close tightly. The oil will keep at room temperature for 1 week, or refrigerated for up to 3 months.
  3. Next, dry-roast the sesame seeds. Heat a wok over high heat for 20 seconds. Add the sesame seeds and stir. Reduce the heat to low and stir the sesame seeds for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until their release their aroma and become light brown. Turn off the heat, transfer the seeds to a small dish, and reserve.
  4. Heat the wok over high heat for 30 seconds. Add the scallion oil and salt and, using a spatula, coat the wok with the oil. When a wisp of white smoke appears, add the shallots. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, or until the shallots release their aroma. Add the beans and stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes. If the wok begins to dry out, dip your hand in water and sprinkle it into the wok. This will create steam and help to cook the beans. The beans are done when they become bright green.
  5. Turn off the heat and transfer the beans to a heated dish. Sprinkle with the roasted sesame seeds and serve.

Notes

https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2019/05/15/long-beans-with-roasted-sesame-seeds/