Name: Long Beans with Fresh Coconut
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: Indonesia
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce or soy sauce; 2 tablespoons palm sugar or firmly packed light brown sugar; freshly ground black pepper; ¼ cup canned coconut milk; 1 tablespoon minced galangal or peeled fresh ginger; 1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and minced, or 1 strip lemon zest (2 by ½ inches) removed with a vegetable peeler); ¼ cup fresh lime juice; 1 to 4 jalapeños or other hot peppers, minced; ¼ to ½ cup grated fresh coconut (see box) or unsweetened dried coconut; Salt; 8 ounces long beans or thin green beans, ends trimmed off; 2 cups mung bean sprouts; 1 medium-size red (bell) pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch dice; 4 to 5 shallots (about 4 ounces), thinly sliced (about ⅔ Cup), plus 1 shallot, minced; 9 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 cloves minced; ½ cup vegetable oil, preferably canola

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Barbecue Bible

By Steven Raichlen

Published 1998

About

As complex and delightful as traditional Balinese music, this salad has an intricate interplay of flavors and textures—the crunch of long beans, the crispness of coconut, the succulent sweetness of bean sprouts and bell peppers. Long beans are Asian green beans that grow up to eighteen inches in length. Look for them at Asian markets or use regular green beans (the skinniest you can find) or haricots verts. Don’t be disconcerted by the seemingly large amount of oil. Most of it is discarded.