040 - Green Beans with Gochujang #EasyCooking

Okay people, this week, we’re cooking some vegetables! Now now, don’t run. This vegetarian-suitable dish is very tasty and fulfilling. And guess what? If you add the right ingredient, it can even taste like MEAT!

This time, I’ll be utilizing my favorite; Green Beans. Green Beans are rich in Fiber, Vitamin K, and very versatile in cooking. Green beans is also very crunchy and satisfying! All and all, this dish is very good and beneficial for your body!

To top it off, we’ll sauce the beans with Gochujang! This ingredient is quick on becoming my favorite in the kitchen. It is very versatile. You can eat it raw, you can cook it too. You can put it in Vegetables, Chicken, Beef, even Fish! How’s that for awesome? Gochujang is now widely available in large supermarket, retailing at about IDR 40.000 (USD 3.5) for a box.

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For 2 servings, you will need:

200 grams of Green Beans. Washed, keep it whole

3 Cloves of Garlic. You can either chop it very finely, or grate it. Both will do fine.

1/2 of Onion. Chopped finely

2 tbsp of Gochujang

1 tbsp of Vinegar. Rice Wine Vinegar would be best for this dish. But if you don’t have some, White Vinegar will work too.

1 tbsp of Sugar

50 ml of Water

Pinch of Salt

Pinch of Pepper

1 tbsp of Sesame Seed Oil

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Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – First off, the green beans. It’s best to steam it rather than boiling it for 2 reasons; (1) it’ll keep the crunchy texture better, and (2) it keeps all the nutrients inside. Come on, what’s the point of eating vegetables if all the goodies are gone already? The steaming should take around 1,5 – 2 minutes. Just adjust to your preferred crunchiness. I like mine halfway through. Once done, drop it in ice water to retain its color.

Step 2 – Get a non-stick pan, pour about 2 tbsp of cooking oil in, heat on medium high heat. First off, in goes the onion. Stir constantly to avoid burning for about 1 minute.

Olive oil

Onions!

Step 3 – Put the garlic in, and turn the heat down to medium. Give it constant stir. 30 seconds.

Garlic goes in

Step 4 – Put the Gochujang in, stir to combine with the onion and garlic mixture. After that, add the vinegar.

Gochujang. They're fragrant!

Mix

Vinegar!

Step 5 – Add salt and pepper, and the sugar. Give it a good mix.

Salt and Pepper

Sugar

Step 6 – Add the water, and let the sauce turn into a soup like mix. Don’t worry, the sauce will thicken up as it cooks. At this stage, you can add the sesame seed oil.

Water

Sesame Seed oil

Step 7 – Once the sauce has thicken up, you’re done!

Step 8 – Serve!

See? That wasn’t so hard right? This dish is best eaten with piping hot steamed rice!

Here’s for more creative idea;

• You can add more protein to this dish. Boil a tofu, and serve it alongside with the sauce on top!
• Feeling adventurous? Add some more heat by adding Dried Chili Flakes after you add the garlic, and also add some Ground Paprika Powder.
• Wanna make this a one dish meal? After the sauce is ready, add the beans in WITH an additional 200 Grams of Rice right before finish, while giving it a good stir. This way, you’ll end up with a nice, smooth and spicy rice and beans. Satisfying!

People, I know Vegetables is not something that I cook often, but I seriously recommend you to eat more vegetables daily. I too, will try to come up with more vegetable based recipe! Afterall, nature already serves us a loot goodies, so why not eat it? :)

Peace

xx