Chinese Long Beans With Spicy Sambal

Chinese long beans, or also known as Yard long beans, are easily available at Vancouver’s Chinatown market. To my knowledge, the color of the long beans varies from dark green in the winter to pale green during the summer. I prefer the summer variety because they are plump and tastier. I bought some last weekend and cook them with spicy sambal. Anyway, I should stress that this dish is very spicy. So, if you plan to make it, do adjust the amount of the sambal paste according to the level of spiciness that you prefer.


Chinese Long Beans With Spicy Sambal
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

400g Long Beans, cut into 1 inch in length
120g Prawns, shelled
15 to 20 Dried Chilies, cut into smaller pieces
6 small Shallots, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp Shrimp Paste, toasted
2 Candlenuts
1 Tbsp Sugar
4 Tbsp Peanut Oil
3 cloves Garlic, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Water
Sea Salt to taste

Method

To make the sambal, soak the dried chili pieces with boiling water until they are soften. Drain the chilies and make sure to get rid of the seeds. Then combine it with shallots, candlenuts, shrimp paste and blend until they become a paste.

Heat 3 Tbsp of Peanut oil and cook the sambal paste in a low heat. Cook until the sambal is fragrant, add sugar and sea salt to taste. Dish out the sambal and set aside.

In a wok with high heat, add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil and garlic. Cook briefly and add in the prawns and cook until they are pinkish in color.

Toss in the long beans and give it a quick stir. Then mix in the sambal and continue to cook for about 1 minute and add in the water and lime juice. Give it a quick stir and serve immediately.

Note: Discard some of the oil from the cooked sambal or else, the dish may be a bit too oily.