Thai Sweet Chili Green Beans

Thai Sweet Chili Green Beans are a delicious new way to enjoy green beans.  They will rock your vegetable world!

These gorgeous green beans were lovingly grown by my husband, David.  Before I became a personal chef and began adding other food-related jobs to my life such as writing the newspaper column and now food blogging, I used to be more involved in the hard work it takes to grow a garden.  However, now my involvement is pretty much limited to creating and cooking with the ultra-fresh produce he brings in the back door.  Rough….I know….but someone’s gotta do it.

It’s not easy growing a garden in the South without a massive amount of chemicals.  Ugh.  I like my food as clean as possible, thank you!  Green beans are one vegetable that grows well here and we always have a bumper crop.  Therefore, I’m always looking for a new way to prepare green beans.

As a kid, I was crazy about canned green beans.  Once when I was very sick as a kid with a high fever, I evidently told my mother in my delirious state that I wanted green beans.  I only recall her waking me up when it was dinner time telling me that she heated up green beans (canned, of course) for me.  Well, I had the flu and couldn’t eat anything so I didn’t.  I had no recollection of ever asking for the beans but I do recall my mother being very upset with me!

Thankfully I grew out of the mushy canned green beans and love them crisp and with some life left in them.  Here is one of my favorite ways to enjoy them now–Thai Sweet Chili Green Beans.  This recipe is quick and makes a nice accompaniment to Thai-inspired dishes when you want to do something different besides rice or noodles.

In my line of work, I’ve tried numerous ways to speed up the process of trimming the stem end from beans including lining several up on a cutting board and cutting the ends.  Well, it’s still time-consuming to line up those beans.  The method that works best for me is to just grab two or three at a time in my right hand and break the stem end off with my left.

If you like your beans a little softer, just cook them a little longer.

Thank you, hope you enjoy and please share this From A Chef’s Kitchen reader favorite!

Thai Sweet Chili Green Beans

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Prep Time 15 min

Cook Time 5 min

Total Time 20 min

Serves 4-6

Thai Sweet Chili Green Beans are a delicious new way to enjoy green beans.  They will rock your vegetable world!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 pounds green, ends trimmed
• 1/3 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• salt, to taste

Directions

In a large skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Cook garlic 30 seconds to 1 minute or until fragrant.  Add green beans and cook, stirring often or until beans are beginning to brown.

Add broth and soy sauce.  Cover and let cook 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Add sweet chili sauce, crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste.  Heat through.  Transfer to serving bowl and serve immediately.

by Carol | From A Chef's Kitchen

Recipe Notes

Prep time depends upon whether you need to trim the stem end from the beans.  It generally takes me about 10 minutes to do 2 pounds.

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