Sesame Beans

I use Asian foods and seasonings so often that some of my friends call my cooking style "mindyonese cuisine."

Because I loved Japanese food, I made a point of learning early on to incorporate sesame oil, rice vinegar, tamari (soy sauce), sake (rice wine), mirin (sweet rice wine), sea vegetables, wasabi (incendiary horseradish), shiitake mushrooms, and ginger into my cooking. These are just a few of the ingredients that make Japanese cuisine so special, but they gave me a good foundation to build on.

To this day, one of my favorite ways to season vegetables is Japanese-inspired and extremely simple. Broccoli, asparagus, green beans, snow peas, and all kinds of leafy greens are wonderful prepared this way.
1) Place hot veggies in a bowl.
2) Add a little sesame oil, rice vinegar or lemon juice, soy sauce, and freshly ground black pepper (include some freshly grated ginger, if you like).
3) Toss and transfer to a serving dish.
4) Garnish in some pretty fashion, like with black sesame seeds as shown above. Do as the Japanese chefs do and put some thought into the presentation.

Blessings and bon appetit!
vegetarian food cooking beans sesame Japanese cuisine