Connie’s notes
Essentially, there are only four ingredients: oil, shiitake, green beans and teriyaki sauce. But because we want the best results, let me amplify the ingredients list a bit.
Oil is a combination of plain cooking oil (palm oil is our default) and sesame seed oil. Most cooks consider sesame seed oil a “finishing oil” but I have long ago discovered that cooking with it gives a stir fry better flavor and aroma.
The teriyaki sauce is not store bought. We make it by mixing together equal amounts of Japanese soy sauce (salty), mirin (sweet and adds gloss) and sake (sweet). Those are the only ingredients of teriyaki sauce. There is no sugar, there is no honey and definitely no maple syrup.
Fresh shiitake is chosen over dried for this recipe. More tender (less chewiness after cooking) and fresh mushrooms have a better capacity for soaking up liquid. That means the shiitake absorbs some of the teriyaki sauce during the short cooking time which makes them tastier on your plate.
The beans can be regular green beans, haricot vert or even yard-long beans. In fact, you may even substitute asparagus. Haricot vert was used here, and I rarely have string and and snip the ends of haricot vert, but these were on the mature side so I trimmed them anyway.
The beans can be regular green beans, haricot vert or even yard-long beans. In fact, you may even substitute asparagus. Haricot vert was used here, and I rarely have string and and snip the ends of haricot vert, but these were on the mature side so I trimmed them anyway.Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 6 to 8 fresh shiitake (caps only) sliced, diced or quartered
- 300 grams green beans (10.5 oz) stringed and cut into two-inch lengths
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce I used Kikkoman
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the sesame seed oil and cooking oil in a pan.
- Spread the mushrooms and cook, tossing, for half a minute.
- Add the green beans, and stir fry for half a minute.
- Stir together the soy sauce, sake and mirin, and pour over the green beans and shiitake in the pan.
- Toss the shiitake and green beans in the sauce and cook for two to four minutes or until the green beans and mushrooms are done.
- Taste, add more soy sauce, if needed, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.
Linguine with anchovies and caramelized lemon
