Taiwanese Black Seeded Long Bean Nests Stuffed with Pork & Mushrooms
Every season we make it a point to plant a few “wild card” seeds that we would not normally choose to otherwise plant. I mean how else are you suppose to expand your horizon in the gardening world if you don’t try new things? Doing this is always a huge gamble as we have limited space in our urban oasis and do not like to waste it! Let’s just say we have had our fair share of “flops”. However with these Taiwanese Black Seeded Long Beans from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, we SCORED!
Taiwanese Black Seeded Long Beans can reach up to 3 ft in length.
We planted 2 seeds directly into our raised beds under our trellis. They were very easy to grow and did not require much attention. Our watering system comes on every other day for 5 mins and they did just fine. Taiwanese black seeded long beans are pole beans and will climb whatever planted next too. They take longer to grow than your typical pole beans (refer to pic below) but that makes sense considering the beans can get up to 3 feet long!
Growing up the left side of the trellis is Taiwanese Long Beans and growing up the right side is Rattlesnake Pole Beans. Planted at the same time, the Taiwanese Long Beans take longer to produce.
These beans have a crisp texture making them excellent in a stir-fry! Joey decided to try something a little different and wanted to have fun with the crazy length of these long beans by making little nests. Inspired by asian flavors, he stuffed the long bean nests with ground pork, mushrooms, onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
This meal blew both of us away! Talk about flavorful! They were like little bites of heaven. My mouth waters just replaying my first bite in my head. All the wonderful flavors combined with the “just right crunch” from the long bean was an absolute delight! We will definitely be making this dish again before the end of the season.
Next, he pan fried each side before steaming the little bundles of joy. He topped them with a savory sauce made from sesame oil, ginger, oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, and sugar. We added a sprinkle of white and black sesame seeds along with some chili oil to the finished product.
Taiwanese Black Seeded Long Bean Nests with Pork & Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1lb Ground Pork
- 4oz Mushroom
- 1 Organic Egg
- 1/2 White Onion
- 10 Garlic Cloves
- 2Tbsp Ginger Paste
- 1Tbsp Organic Sugar
- 2oz Soy Sauce
- 1oz Sesame Oil
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
- 12 Chinese Long Beans
- Sesame Seeds for Garnish
- 1oz Sesame Oil
- 2Tbsp Ginger Paste
- 2oz Oyster Sauce
- 1Tbsp Organic Sugar
- 2oz Soy Sauce
- 1oz Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1Tbsp Cornstarch
- 6oz Water
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
Instructions
- Finely chop the garlic cloves and white onion., then rough chop the mushrooms. Heat up a sauté pan with 1oz of sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and onion, as well as 2Tbsp of ginger paste. Sauté about 4 minutes, until fragrant and translucent. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until soft.
- While the mushroom mix is cooking, in a mixing bowl, combine the ground pork, egg, 1oz of soy sauce, 1Tbsp of organic sugar. Add the mushroom mix once it is done cooking. Add salt and pepper, and adjust seasoning to taste. (Cook off a small spoon full in your pan to taste your mix, then adjust salt and pepper if necessary).
- Now to make the "nest" with the long beans. Grab one end of the bean, and make one loop (aprox. 2" diameter). Then take the long end and loop it over and under, and repeat till you reach the end of the bean. Tuck in the end of the bean so it does not come apart.
- Now evenly stuff each long bean nest with the pork & mushroom mix.
- Set up your steamer pot with water and bring to a boil.
- In the same sauté pan you used for the mushroom mix, turn the heat to medium/high, and add 1oz of sesame oil. Sear each stuffed long bean on each side. Transfer the stuffed nests to the steamer, and cook for 3 minutes with the lid on.
- In the same sauté pan, add 1oz of sesame oil. Add 2Tbsp of ginger paste once the oil is hot, and sauté. Add 1Tbsp of soy sauce, 2oz of oyster sauce, 1Tbsp of organic sugar, 1oz of rice wine vinegar, and 4oz of the water. In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and the remaining 2oz of cold water to create a slurry. Add this to the pan and whisk together till the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove the stuffed long beans from the steamer and add to the sauce.
- Garnish with sesame seeds.