Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Steamed bean-leaf with sesame dressing

Bean Leaf

This is a very straight-forward dish, easy to make, and full of flavor. As I posted in my last post, steaming is ideal way to bring out earthy flavors from greens.
I got the snowpea leaf from Hong Kong Market in Houston. Ever since I tasted this two years ago, I'm hooked on it. Up until recently, I used to saute it with garlic and soy sauce. Once I started steaming, I liked it, and finally bought the steamer.

What you need to make this dish:
3-4 handfuls of snowpea leaves
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
soy sauce to taste
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 -2 teaspoons sesame oil

Method:
Wash the leaves and drain well in a drainer or on a kitchen towel.
Wash the steamer with water.
Arrange the leaves in both levels of steamer. Pour 1/2 cup water in a wok and place steamer in a wok. Heat on medium heat.
Let the water boil for 3-5 mins or until the greens are done. Keep adding water little by little, but never leave the wok dry.
Remove steamer from wok. Take the greens into a serving dish.
Heat oil in a small skillet, add garlic, sesame seeds, red chili flakes. Saute for 30 seconds. Add soy sauce. Saute for another 30 sec. Pour over greens. Mix gently. Serve with steamed white or brown or fried rice.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

simply luv it
vl try the same ;)
cool steamer isnt it
how much is it?

www.talimpu.com

Vani said...

anusharaji, its absolutely fun cooking with this steamer. I'm using it like crazy :-) This one I got is the small one. I paid $5.99 for this in Houston Hong Kong market. If you get snowpea leaf, definitely try it. Its delicious.

Anonymous said...

I have never tried this bean leaf. is there a telugu name to it ?

www.ammaluskitchen.info

Vani said...

Dee, don't know what it is called in Telugu. These are young leaves on snow-pea plant. This has the similar flavor as snow-pea. This supposed to be a delicacy in China.