Boiled Pkench Beans
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beans
Cut off the heads and tails of the beans.
Remove the strings by slicing a thin strip along each side of each bean.
Divide each bean into 4 or 6 pieces, cutting them lengthwise at a slant.
Place the pieces in cold water with a little salt dissolved in it.
Boil and serve
In a saucepan, bring the salted water with baking soda to a boil.
Add the beans to the boiling water.
Keep boiling quickly with the lid uncovered, so the beans do not get overcooked.
When the beans sink to the bottom, they are tender.
Remove the beans and drain them in a colander.
Serve the beans with plain melted butter.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Baking soda
- Raises the water's pH, helping the beans keep a bright green colour while boiling.
- Sea salt
- Seasons the beans and slightly firms their texture as they cook.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds richness and fat that carries flavour over the plain boiled beans.
The step that matters
Keep the water boiling quickly and check for doneness. Vigorous boiling keeps the water hot enough to cook the beans evenly and bright green, while overcooking turns them dull and soft. Testing by sinking helps stop them at tender.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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