Steamed Green Beans with Peanut-Miso Sauce

By now you all know how I like simple recipes. This little culinary notion is something that I learned about while I was living up at Dai Bosatsu Zendo in New York State. I really love this flavor, and I really love how complex the taste is from just two ingredients.

I think the peanut-miso sauce shines brightest on green beans, but you could also match this with broccoli or julienned carrots or steamed collards. Try it out!

P.S. If you happen to be curious about a good source for miso, I recommend South River Miso. They make small batches of miso in a highly traditional way here in the U.S. For this recipe, I used their “Sweet White Miso.”

Ingredients

  • Green Beans
  • equal parts Peanut Butter and Miso
  • a splash of sake or water

  • Preparation

    1) Wash your green beans and snap off the ends with the stems. Set up a steamer for your green beans. You want them to steam very briefly. Just a minute or two, until they’re bright green and crisp-tender.

    2) While that’s heating up, mix equal parts peanut butter and miso in a small bowl or jar with a wee splash of sake (or water). I would figure about one tablespoon of peanut butter and one tablespoon of miso per serving of sauce. The sake is included just as a lubricant to help the other two ingredients mix well. I mixed mine in a pint-sized Mason jar, using a fork.

    3) When the beans are steamed, serve it all up. You can toss the beans together with the sauce or simply plop a dollop of the sauce on top of each serving of beans. All ready!

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