ironsinthefirekitchen |

I can’t get enough of this sour and spicy dish

Serves 2 as a starter or 4 as a side | total time 20 minutes

Prep 10 minutes | cook time 10 minutes

Ingredients

300g french beans, top and tailed
1 heaped tbsp of Lao Gan Ma chilli oil with Black Bean (the brand is also known as The Godmother or Angry Lady)
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp rice vinger (although white whine vinegar or cider vinegar will work fine)
Two cloves of garlic or 1 large clove, roughly chopped
2 inch chunk of ginger, roughly chopped
1 lemongrass stick (optional) – if you dont have this lemon / lime zest or a teaspoon of tamarind will work
1 pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
pinch of sea salt
1 Spring onion, chopped for garnish

Use the recipe on the link, or if you are short of time just buy a jar.

Method

Part one

Put a pan of water on to boil and season with salt.
Grab a pestle and mortar and grind the garlic, ginger and salt (the salt gives it the necessary friction required for grinding).
Pop in your lemongrass and smash it up – try not to grind the lemongrass. You still want it to keep together so its easy to remove later.
Add the vinegar, fish sauce and soy sauce and mix.

Part two

Add your beans to the boiling pan and boil for 2 minutes – i like them with a bit of bite so I wouldn’t go over 2 minutes.
drain and refresh with cold water to stop the cooking process and to keep the colour.

Part three

Heat a wok or deep frying pan to a high heat and add the black bean paste for 20 seconds – you should have enough oil here to lubricate the whole dish without the need to add more.
Add the sauce from your pestle and mortar and mix, it should spit a bit so be careful of your clothes and limbs
Add in the beans and stir fry in the sauce for a minute or two – the sauce should slightly reduce and the beans should be hot all the way through.

Part four

Transfer to a bowl and place the kimchi on top, stir to heat the kimchi and serve immediately .