Stir-Fry Broad Beans, Shanghainese-Style - 葱炒扁豆

Broad beans (fava beans) never appeared to me as a dish on a dining table till my friend S, cooked this Shanghainese Wok Fried Broad Beans (葱炒扁豆) for me. The only time I have had broad beans is in snack-form, either in a packet on its own, or mixed with other nuts in Kacang (meaning Bean or Nut in Indonesian) Puteh.


Not surprisingly, the secret ingredient to Shanghai-Style Wok Fried Broad Beans (葱炒扁豆) is SUGAR (not a lot, just pinch of it!), like most Shanghainese dishes. The sugar in Shanghainese cuisine lifts the flavor of other ingredients and tend to make it more savory than you would have imagined.



Stir-Fry Broad Beans, Shanghainese-Style
Ingredients: About 2-3 cups cooked(frozen) broad beans, thawed; 1 tablespoon chopped green onions, pinch of salt, 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar, 1-2 tablespoons water to simmer

Directions:
1. In a heated wok of cooking oil, add green onions and fry till fragrant, followed by broad beans and fry till broad beans turn slightly brown on the outside.
2. Add some water to simmer in covered wok for 2 to 3 minutes. When water dries off, add salt and sugar, mix well, dish up and serve immediately.



This is a super easy recipe using minimum ingredients yet with lots of flavor - a showcase of a different legume cuisine of broad beans in My Legume Love Affair 14. I have previously done many legume dishes, favoring Indian-style such as Spicy Pinto Beans, Spicy Chickpeas and Spicy Green Beans. At least, this is something different for the same event :)

Tag: vegetables, legume, Shanghai cuisine


Stir-Fry Broad (Fava) Beans