STRING BEANS WITH SESAME SAUCE

SERVES 4

I DISCOVERED THIS WAY of cooking string beans in a friend’s home kitchen outside Tokyo. In Japan, nutty, sesame sauce is often served with beans and other fresh vegetables at room temperature, such as spinach, broccoli, and asparagus—a practice I continue. This simple preparation appears often in bento boxes as well as on the menus of small, casual neighborhood restaurants in Japan.

2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds

1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)

2 teaspoons white soy sauce or shiro dashi

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar

1 pound string beans, tips trimmed and blanched until crisp-tender

3 scallions (green parts), thinly sliced

Crush the sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle. Do not worry about grinding every last seed. Add the mirin, white soy sauce or shiro dashi, sesame oil, lemon juice, sugar, and a teaspoon of water and stir until combined. The sauce should be the consistency of loose peanut butter. Thin with a little water if needed. Put the string beans in a bowl, drizzle with the sauce, and top with the scallions.