Black Sesame and Garlic Green Beans

Green is a color that makes me happy. It’s my favorite color to look at and I definitely have enjoyed eating green foods even as a little kid. Things like green olives, brocolli, dandelion greens, mustard greens and green apples. As an adult I’ve discovered even more green things that I love to eat (and drink): green tea, green tea ice cream,  avocado, wasabi, and capers (are capers considered a vegetable?). Needless to say I find myself preparing a lot of green veggies these days. If it’s not a salad, it’s usually a stirfry like the green beans in this post. Vegetable stir frys are great because if you do them right, you can still maintain the crunchiness of the vegetable, and because they’re quick, and because you can be really creative with flavors and what you put in them. Of course garlic makes it’s way into most of my stir frys. Here’s a simple one that I like a lot. I wish you lots of good green eating!

Ingredients

– About a pound of green beans, rinsed and trimmed
– 2 tbls (or less) freshly minced garlic
– 2 tsp black sesame seeds
– kosher salt to taste

– tsp sesame oil

– 1 tbls canola oil

Preparation

– Heat medium pan and add a little oil to cover the bottom.

– When it’s HOT (but not smoking) add the green beans. There will be a really nice sizzle.

– Toss for a minute and add 1/2 the garlic and the salt. I throw in about a tsp on kosher salt. Alternatively, you can use tamari or soy sauce.

– Stir fry for another couple minutes. When you see that the bottom is starting to carmelize, add a few splashes of water and continue to toss.

– After a few more minutes, add the remaining garlic and continue to stir fry. When you need to, add a little more water.

– About two minutes before they are done, add the sesame oil and the sesame seeds.

– It takes about 8 minutes total before it’s done. You don’t need to cover.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve as a side with almost any type of meal, or serve with steamed rice.

Enjoy!