Gluten Free Asian Style Green Beans

Gluten Free Asian Style Green Beans

Gluten Free Asian Style Green Beans

This is a fan favorite in our house.  The trouble was, it was made using soy sauce.  Soy sauce has gluten.  With a simple switch to Tamari and a few jazzy ingredients added to really amp up the flavor, my husband now says he'd like to eat these twice a week.  Best part is, I bought this bag of fresh green beans at the farmer's market for a dollar.  Yes, we finished the bowl and wished we had more.  Hope you feel the same way when you give these a go.  Heads up, the last few steps (starting with adding oil to the pan,) move quickly.  You don't want anything to burn or dry out before you can get it in the bowl.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs of fresh green beans, ends trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 inch peeled ginger, minced
1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp Tamari
1 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
black pepper
1/4 cornstarch mixed with a tbsp of water
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Directions

First, get your steamer basket up and running.
Also prepare a bowl of ice water.


I know this step is a pain but it's an important one.  Those little stems on the end are almost as annoying as shrimp tails.  Take the extra minute and give both ends a quick trim.  Your diners will thank you for it.

 Next you'll want to finely mince both your garlic and your ginger.  Since this will be a part of the final dish, it's better not to surprise someone with a huge chunk of either of these.








Here's a quick tip for peeling your ginger.  Use a spoon and gently scrape away at the peel.  It's the easiest way I've found to expose the meat of the ginger.

Steam the green beans for 4-5 minutes.  You want them almost all the way cooked but not quite.

Immediately put the beans in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.

Mix together the tamari, vinegar, brown sugar and red pepper flakes in one bowl.  Prepare your corn starch mixture in another and set aside.

Heat your sesame oil and then add the garlic and ginger.  Saute for a minute or until the garlic is cooked.

Add in the green beans and toss to coat with the oil, ginger and garlic.

Next, add the sauce and toss to coat.  Then add the cornstarch mixture and remove the pan from the heat.  Make sure all the green beans are thoroughly coated then transfer to a serving bowl and pour the remaining sauce over the beans.  Serve while hot.





These make a great appetizer or side dish.  I never have leftovers no matter how much I make.