Dish of Sitaw (Bean) Leaves Stir Fry
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Sitaw (Bean) Leaves Stir Fry


Philippines   -   Talbos ng Sitaw
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 5 side
**
45 min
Yes		 Filipino home cooking uses a lot of greens, mostly from the back yard garden. This recipe yields an excellent side dish of greens for either a Philippine or Western menu.

10
2
5
3
-----
2
1
1/3
-----
2
oz
cl
oz

---
T
T
c
---
T

Sitaw Leaves (1)  
Garlic
Onion
Red Chilis (2)
-- Sauce
Oyster Sauce (3)
Fish Sauce (4)
Water
-----------
Oil (5)
Prep   -   (20 min)
  1. Strip BEAN LEAVES from the stems, discarding both leaf stems and main stems (except tender tips). Tear to the size you prefer.
  2. Crush and chop GARLIC fine. Quarter ONION lengthwise and slice thin crosswise. Slice CHILIS very thin. Mix all.
  3. Mix all Sauce Items.
RUN   -   (25 min)
  1. Heat OIL in a wok and stir in Garlic Mix. Fry stirring just until garlic starts to color, then stir in Bean Leaves until coated with oil and starting to wilt.
  2. Stir in Sauce Mix and simmer for about 20 minutes - the greens will remain firm.
  3. serve hot with steamed Jasmine rice.
NOTES:

  1. Sitaw Leaves:

      [Long Bean Leaves]   Weight is for only leaves and tender shoots, because yield can be very different from bundle to bundle. At my local market, you need about 1-1/4 pounds to yield 10 ounces. My local Philippine market puts out bundles of greens on Friday or Saturday morning to sell through the weekend. For details see our Sitaw (Long Bean) Leaves page.

  2. Chilis:

      Control hotness to your taste. Three Fresno Chilis makes it very moderately spicy by Southern California standards. You could also use green chilis. One Chili Serrano will be moderately hot. For details see our Philippine Chilis page.

  3. Oyster Sauce:

      A standard Chinese sauce also used in Southeast Asia for dishes in the Chinese style. My current favorite is Megachef, but Lee Kum Kee Premium brand is also very good - the bottle looks very Chinese, but it's made in Los Angeles. Yes, these are more expensive than some, but there's reasons for that (much higher oyster content, unleaded and no melamine). For details see our Oyster Sauce page.

  4. Fish Sauce

      This clear liquid is as important to Southeast Asian cooking as it was to Imperial Rome. If you are unfamiliar with it, see our Fish Sauce - Introduction page.

  5. Oil:

      The main cooking oil of the Philippines is Coconut Oil. Yes, the AHA (American Heart Association) practically drove this oil out of the USA, urging you to use deadly trans fats instead. As we now know, they could not have been more wrong, and many nutritionists hold Coconut Oil to be the most healthy oil. For details see our Coconut Oil page.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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