Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Spicy Green Beans with Homemade Soy-Free Teriyaki Sauce

My dear friend Moe loves spicy green beans.  She orders them every time we go to P.F. Chang's.  So I made this recipe with my sweet friend in mind.  One thing I wanted to do, however, was make a soy free and low(er) sodium version.  This calls for coconut aminos, one of my favorite ingredients.  Unfortunately, coconut aminos isn't SCD legal, but it's still a great sub for soy-free folks.  This is a super fun side dish too for your Asian cuisine or otherwise.  Teriyaki sauce is also super yummy with eggplant, another dish Moe loves!   
I've been excited to share this dish with you.  
Enjoy.   

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans (preferably organic if you can find them)
-1/3 cup coconut aminos
-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
-1 1/4 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
-1/4 teaspoon garlic granules (or 1/2 garlic clove, minced, watch for spice factor if making for kids) 
-2 tablespoons honey
-1 teaspoon sesame seeds
-Thickener of choice (I use Kuzu to thicken, which I find at my local Coop). 

How To:
Preheat Oven to 375 degrees
1.  Wash and trim green beans and steam for a few minutes.  This takes some of the toughness out of the green bean.  Don't over steam, you still want a crunchy bean.  No need to soak these in cold water after steaming, simply remove steamer basket from pot and rest on the counter. 
2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the above sauce ingredients until incorporated.
3.  Remove 2-3 tablespoons of the liquid and reserve for later. 
4.  Transfer steamed beans to glass baking dish and toss with mixture.
5.  Transfer to oven and roast for 12-15 minutes.
6.  Thicken sauce* (optional) 
7.  To make the green beans spicy, add freshly grated ginger and garlic to the top of the green beans (for adults only).  As is, the sauce is just slightly spicy.  My 6 year old doesn't detect it, but my 3 year old says it's spicy.  So, if you're serving this to young children, add less garlic and ginger to the original mixture and obviously don't garnish with fresh garlic and ginger.  
Serves 4 -5  

Notes
*To thicken add 1 1/2 tablespoons thickener of choice to the cool reserved liquid and dissolve.  Remove green beans from baking dish.  Add the thickened cool liquid to the warm sauce and whisk.  As mentioned above, I use Kuzu.  Top green beans with thickened sauce.  If the sauce isn't thickening up, simply add more thickener to a little water (or more coconut aminos) and continue to add into the warm sauce.  Thickening is optional, but yields a nice presentation. 
*For more about how to thicken sauces see here.  
*Vegans use agave, coconut sugar, stevia or other sweetener of choice in place of honey. 

Shared on: Just Another Meatless Monday, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Monday Mania, My Meatless Mondays, Mealtime Monday,Made From Scratch Monday, Fat Tuesday,Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Traditional Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesday Whole Food Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Tastetastic Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Frugal Food ThursdayWellness Weekend, Fresh Bites Friday, Friday Food, Foodie Friday, Potluck Party Friday, Allergy-Friendly Fridays, Sweet Saturday, 

17 comments:

  1. Amber Shea @Almost VeganJune 7, 2012 at 9:18 AM

    This looks SO very good right now. I never thought about it that way, but coconut aminos do have that kind of sweet, teriyaki-esque flavor. Excellent choice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Amber,

      I have switched to coconut aminos as my soy sauce substitute. More nutrition, lower in sodium, and of course, soy free. And I have to say, it does make a very nice teriyaki sauce! :-)

      Delete
  • Tessa Domestic DivaJune 7, 2012 at 12:33 PM

    I love aminos!! My favorite soy-free wheat free soy sauce replacement! I make a similar dish to this on the stove top, finishing in the oven is a nice touch!! I could probably handle a whole batch of these to myself! Can;t wait for my green beans to come on.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tessa! I agree...I can destroy a huge bowl of these green beans in nothing flat! :-)

      Delete
  • glutenfreehappytummy.comJune 7, 2012 at 12:59 PM

    oh my gosh this looks so delicious! and i am so grateful for this post! i have been looking for a teriyaki sauce that's GF and delicious! thank you thank you thank you!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks you lovely. That warms my heart! I hope you enjoy it. I'm sure you'll put your own little spin on it though, you're such a talented cook. :-)

      Delete
  • This look great! I've been looking for a good green bean recipe. I usually use liquid aminos in place of soy sauce but I'll have to try the coconut aminos because we try to stay away from soy.

    Thanks,
    Cassidy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cassidy,

      I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. I agree about the soy. No good. Coconut aminos is so great. Love, love.

      Delete
  • My son will only eat green beans and Asian food and I never thought of Teriyaki sauce on them... thank you. I would love if you would share this on my foodie friday party today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How funny! Well, I am a huge lover of Asian cuisine, and I have to say, this is a really great alternative. Let me know how it turns out for you and if your son likes it.

      Delete
  • Sarah CarlettiJune 11, 2012 at 8:44 AM

    I am sugar free and so glad that I found your site. I also have a garden so now I know what to do with my green beans! Http://www.theeaseoffreeze.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yeah...hi Sarah! I love finding other sugar-free blogs. Keep up the great work.

      Hugs,
      --Amber

      Delete
  • This looks delicious! I've also always been a szechuan string beans fan but haven't had them since learning of my nursing daughter's multiple food allergies. I'm so excited to have come across your recipe and another allergy-friendly blog!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello and so nice to meet you! I hope you find some recipes here that fit your needs and diet!!

      Thanks for stopping by!! :-)

      Delete
  • Mary Hudak-CollinsJune 13, 2012 at 7:52 AM

    Oh Yummy! I have been using Coconut Aminos to replace Soy sauce for a little over a year now. We love it! This is a definite must try recipe. Thanks for sharing. I would like to invite you to link up in our recipe hop this week. It will be open until midnight tonight ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Mary,

      Thank you for the inviting me to your link party!

      Delete

LinkWithin

Total Pageviews