I saw green beans at my local farmstand the other day and got so excited, because I remembered about doing this with them. So quick and tasty.
This recipe is portioned for one, because I tend to make this meal just for myself on nights when I’m doing my own thing for dinner. You could certainly scale it up to feed more people.
I like to throw in tofu, if it’s around, but you could use any protein of choice. Tofu used to intimidate me until I discovered my favorite way of preparing it: I just take it right out of the package, dice it, and bake the cubes on parchment paper at 400 degrees for 15 minutes to remove some moisture and get a golden brown crust, and then I toss it in the pan with whatever I’m making. No need to press it!
Ingredients*
Veggies
- 6 oz green beans trimmed
Protein
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter 1 oz
- 4 oz raw tofu* unpressed and cubed reduces to about 2 oz after baking
Fat
- 1 Tbsp dark toasted sesame oil 0.5 oz
Condiments & Spices
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari for gf
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar 0.5 oz
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce or more to taste
- sesame seeds, to garnish optional
Instructions
- If using tofu, preheat the oven to 350 °F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Drain and cube the tofu (no need to press it) and spread it out on the parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
- Meanwhile, trim the ends off the green beans and chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Stir all of the sauce ingredients together with the peanut butter in a small cup or dish, using a fork.
- Place the green beans in a non-stick skillet with a tablespoon of water and cover with a lid. Steam, over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until they are darkened in color but still have little bit of crunch.
- Add the baked tofu or peanuts, sauce, and sesame oil to the pan and toss or stir to combine. Stir for a minute or two, until warmed and well coated. The goal is just to combine and warm everything, nothing really needs to cook.
- Transfer to a plate, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve immediately.
Notes
- My favorite brand of Chili Garlic Sauce
- My favorite brand of Rice Vinegar
*Affiliate Link Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning that I earn a small commission on sales made from my links at no extra cost to you. The products I recommend in my posts are only brands that I can personally recommend and use myself.
Thanks Katie-Sounds like a flavorful recipe I would have never thought of myself! Always love your research regarding weight changes in foods before and after cooking.👍🏻
Hi Katie, This sounds delicious! I do wonder though about only 6oz green beans. Would you serve this with an additional veggie? Or are you counting the garlic to make the 8oz veggie? Thank you.
I ate it for lunch, but if you ate it for dinner then you’d add another 8 oz veg to complete the meal.
Just made this for dinner. Fantastic! Also, what a great way to make tofu! Thanks Katie.
This is one of my favorite recipes. The sauce is great for a variety of Asian style dishes. That said tonight I tried it for the first time using just asparagus and it was even more amazing!
Fabulous. I used an entire block of tofu (14 oz before cooking) and increased everything by 3.5 fold. I had a mix of veggies so I used broccoli, cauliflower and carrots in addition to green beans. I weighed the entire contents of the pan and divided by 3.5, that calmed to 10.5 oz per serving. I ate one serving and am dividing the rest up.
Easy, flavorful, garlicky and delicious. I give it only 4 stars because it is very salty, even when made with low sodium soy sauce.
Hmm, maybe use unsalted peanut butter? I looove salty! 🙂
Making tonight. Can’t wait! I have a question – I just bought your 14-day ebook (Thank you!) and am wondering if I need to add 8oz of additional veg to each of the dinner recipes?
If you are eating 14 oz veggies at dinner, then yes. Some people do 10 oz at lunch and 10 oz at dinner.
Made this today and it was fantastic. My husband loved it too. I only used half the amount of sauce and it was plenty which worked great because then I could have a bit more tofu. Definitely a keeper
Glad you enjoyed it Marcy!
I’m new to using tofu but know there are several varieties. Which one is this? firm, extra firm etc
I recommend firm or extra firm for this context.
Hi Katie- do you find the chili sauce in the Asian section, and do you use a certain brand thanks!
I use lots of different brands, I’m not particularly loyal to any one brand. Yes, I find it in the Asian section. Sometimes it’s called chili garlic paste, chili paste, chili sauce, or chili garlic sauce. As long as the main ingredient is chili and it has big red pepper seeds in it, you’ll be good to go. 🙂