Green Beans in Black Bean Sauce

This is a *fabulous* dish. It is a rich dish for special occasions
(fermented black soybeans are high-salt and high-fat). The recipe
here is adapted from one in _Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant_ (the
best of the Moosewood cookbooks, IMHO).

GREEN BEANS IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE

Ingredients
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos or other hot chiles
2 T fermented black soybeans
3 T rice vinegar
2 T tamari (or soy sauce)
1.5 t potato starch (or cornstarch)
1 T brown sugar
2 T sake or other rice wine

Cut the green beans into equal lengths of about 1.5 inches. Blanch the
green beans for 3 minutes. Set aside.

Mince the garlic. De-seed the jalapenos and finely dice. Mix together
the garlic, jalapeno, and black beans. Set aside.

Mix together the rice vinegar, tamari, starch, sugar, and sake. Set
aside.

Fill a glass with water and set handy next to the stove. Put a
skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot, dump the garlic mixture
into the pan. Stir fry for one minute, adding water as the mixture
begins to stick -- add just a little at time. Add the green beans and
stir fry for 5 minutes, again adding water just as needed. Add the
vinegar mixture, mixing until evenly coated and sauce thickens. Serve
immediately.

Serves 2

Comments:

Blanching: bring a *large* pot of water to a rolling boil. Dump in
the green beans, boil for 3 minutes, remove promptly and dump into ice
water or run under cold water to stop the cooking.

Fermented black soybeans are available in Asian markets. Usually
labled "salted black beans". I find them in the preserved food
section in plastic bags.