Chinese Sesame Limas

BarbryT's Note:

Good hot, cold, room temperature. These do not taste like lima beans. They are from my favorite Chinese cookbook, The Key To Chinese Cooking, by Irene Kuo, copyright 1977. I have made nothing from the cookbook that isn't entirely wonderful.

• Total Time: 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen large lima beans (Fordhook)
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ cup chicken broth (recommended) or ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. Remove limas from package and let defrost a little and separate them with your fingers.
2. Heat a skillet over high heat until hot; add the peanut oil, swirl, heat for 30 seconds.
3. Scatter in the beans; stir-fry briskly for 30 seconds until the color turns icy green.
4. Sprinkle in the salt and sugar and stir rapidly for another 30 seconds to season them evenly.
5. Add the stock or water, even out the beans, turn heat to medium-low to maintain a strong simmer.
6. Cover (but leave the cover ajar so the liquid will concentrate) and simmer for about 5 minutes.
7. Uncover, turn heat high and stir rapidly until the remaining liquid has evaporated.
8. Add the sesame oil, stir to distribute evenly and pour into serving dish.

Reviews

[Annette NC]

YUM!! My husband hates lima beans. And, he went back for seconds. I did not see a 10 oz bag of frozen lima beans at my store, so I used 14 oz. I kept all of the other measurements the same, though. These were easy and so very yummy! (And, on the Weight Watchers Points Plus program, the whole recipe was only 8 points.)

[JanuaryBride]

Different, but they grow on you. If I were to make these again, I would decrease the amount of salt and sugar. I liked the sesame oil! I used baby lima beans by mistake (I have nevery heard of them) so they didn't have that creamy texture but tasted a lot like edamame and would be good on a salad.

[Sue Lau]

I am sorry to give such a low review, but no one here really enjoyed these. To me, the flavor of the sesame was the only flavor that stood out, and I could not finish, despite the fact that other reviewers rated this highly, and I even like lima beans a lot. ~Sue