Garlic Sesame Green Beans

East Asian · 15 min · Easy · 4 servings

Garlic Sesame Green Beans

Fire Rating: 5.0 out of 5 from 1 rating.

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Green beans blistered in a hot pan until they wrinkle and char in places, then tossed with garlic, soy and sesame. Ten minutes, one pan, and they disappear.

~110 cal per serving. Calories are approximate, per serving — a guide only.

Plan it:

Method

  1. 1

    Blister the beans

    ⏱ 7 min

    Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan or wok over high heat until it shimmers. Add the beans in a single layer and leave them without stirring until they blister and char in patches, then toss and repeat.

  2. 2

    Steam briefly

    ⏱ 3 min

    Add a splash of water and cover immediately. It will steam furiously. Cook until the beans are just tender with a squeak left in them, then uncover and let any remaining water boil away.

  3. 3

    Add the garlic

    ⏱ 45 sec

    Turn the heat to medium, push the beans aside and add the sesame oil and sliced garlic. Stir for under a minute: garlic burns fast at this heat and turns bitter.

  4. 4

    Finish

    Pour in the soy sauce, toss everything together, then take off the heat and scatter with the sesame seeds and chili flakes. Taste before adding salt; the soy may be enough.

Notes

A properly hot pan and a single layer are the whole technique: crowd the beans and they steam gray instead of blistering. Cook in two batches if your pan is small.

From readers’ kitchens

Real photographs, taken by people who cooked this and chose to show them here.

  • Garlic Sesame Green Beans, cooked by Tiffany
    Tiffany · October 20, 2026
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