Thai Sweet Chili Green Beans will rock your vegetable world! You'll love this quick and easy way to enjoy green beans that's a little spicy and a whole lot delicious!
The inspiration behind this recipe:
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 a newspaper column and now food blogging, I used to be more involved in the hard work it takes to grow a garden.
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 because of all the insects. I like my food as clean as possible, thank you!
However, green beans are one vegetable that grows well here and we always have a bumper crop. Therefore, I'm always looking for new ways to prepare green beans.
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. This preparation will keep them nice and crisp but if you like your green beans a little softer, just cook them a little longer.
Tips for trimming green beans:
I've tried numerous ways to speed up the process of trimming the stem ends from beans. Honestly, there is no quick and easy way. It's really only the stem end that needs to be trimmed off. The tip end is tender and perfectly fine to eat.
You can:
- Do them one by one and just enjoy the zen of it.
- Line several of them up on a cutting board and cut the ends. I find it time-consuming to line up those beans, then grab the knife and cut but it works.
- Grab two or three at a time and break the stem end off with your other hand.
- Grab two or three from your pile where you see stems together and snip them with kitchen shears.
Thank you, hope you enjoy and please share this From A Chef's Kitchen reader favorite!
More recipes with green beans:
- Mediterranean Braised Green Beans with Tomatoes
- Potato Green Bean Salad with Olives and Feta Cheese
- Skillet Charred Green Beans with Goat Cheese Chipotle Butter
- Lasagna with Pesto, Green Beans and Potatoes
- Roasted Green Beans with Tomato Caper Relish
- Sheet Pan Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Green Beans, Olives and Lemon
- French Lentil Salad
- Green Bean and Radish Salad with Mustard - Caper Vinaigrette
Thai Sweet Chili Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil - or vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic - thinly sliced
- 2 pounds green beans - ends trimmed
- ⅓ cup vegetable broth - or chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ cup sweet chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes - optional
- Salt - to taste
Instructions
- 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 a serving bowl and serve immediately.
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Notes
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Bridget says
Any thoughts on making this with frozen broccoli florets instead? Home with four kids tonight, and don’t have any green beans on hand… ugh!
Carol says
Hi, Bridget, Thanks so much for getting in touch with me for some help! I think you could work this recipe pretty much the same way but I would rinse the broccoli florets under cold running tap water just to get the frost off (which could add extra water) before adding them to the wok/skillet. After 4-5 minutes, check the florets to see how they're doing. You might not even need to cook the broccoli florets that long. Thanks again and hope that helps!