This stuffed long beans is fun to make and delicious to eat.
Do you like to stuff your vegetables with a scrumptious filling? I certainly do. It’s one of the easiest ways to add more greens to your diet. This recipe is inspired by the popular dish called Hakka Yong Taufu in Malaysia where vegetables are stuffed with a fish and meat paste.
The most common vegetables used for Yong Taufu include bitter gourd, eggplant, tofu, okra, tofu puffs, Yuba skin, and chiles. They are then pan-fried until fully cooked through and served with soup. Alternatively, you can turn it into a stew-like dish like this recipe.
Although stuffed vegetables in Malaysia are traditionally not vegan, this recipe IS – thanks to Tofu! You’ll see a special method that I learned from my venerable on how to create a pastey-like texture that works so well as a stuffing for any vegetables.
How to Make Stuffed Long Bean
Part 1: Prepare the long beans and tofu paste
Quick Tip: It’s best to find the longer beans so your knot will be bigger and prettier.
First, prepare a bowl of ice water and set it aside. To cook the long beans, bring a pot of water to boil. Then, season with salt. Blanch the long beans until they turn darker. Transfer to the ice water to stop cooking. Drain out the water and wipe them dry with a clean paper towel.
Blanch long beans in hot water
Second, sauté the finely chopped mushrooms and season them with salt and pepper. Now, place firm tofu in a food processor and season with salt and pepper. Grind the tofu into a paste. Then, mix it with finely chopped carrots, and sautéed mushrooms, cilantro, and season to preference.
Part 2: Prepare the long bean
This is the fun part – Knot the long bean. Please watch the video on how to turn the long beans into a knot that will hold the tofu paste together.
Dust the knotted long beans with cornstarch – this will help the tofu paste stick to the surface.
Once you added the tofu paste, gently press to adhere.
Part 3: Cook the stuffed long bean
Before cooking the knotted long bean, whisk together the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set it aside for later use.
Heat a skillet with a tablespoon of oil. Pan-fry the bottom until golden brown before flipping over. Depending on the size of your pan, you may be able to pan-fry all at once. If not, do it in batches.
Once both sides turn golden, push them to side of the pan.
Sauté garlic and chile until fragrant then pour in the sauce.
Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for two to three minutes. Flip the long beans in between if needed.
Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve warm.
Stuffed Long Bean Cooking Tips
1. The filling falls apart – this happens when the tofu does not bind completely, so please chop the carrot and mushrooms into tiny bits. Also, be sure to drain the tofu water before adding it to the food processor. Cornstarch can also be added to increase the binding.
2. The tofu paste doesn’t stick to the long beans – Dust the knotted long beans with cornstarch so the tofu paste will adhere.
3. Food processor is the best gadget to turn the tofu into a paste. I’ve tried the mashing and sautéing technique but none yields the pastey texture.
4. What do I do with the leftover tofu paste? While I don’t have much left, you can pan-fry them like a patty. To stuff more paste into the long bean, make a larger knot so it can hold more filling.
Why You Need this recipe
- It’s perfect for a family fun activity
- A delicious way to enjoy long beans
- Healthy and light
- Goes well as a side dish or pair with rice
- Vegan
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear your feedback and see your beautiful re-creation. Leave me a comment, rate it, and tag @woon.heng and #woonheng to your photos on Instagram or Facebook. Happy cooking, friends!
Stuffed Long Beans
Ingredients
- ½ lb long beans about 20 stalks
- 16 oz firm tofu* drained and pressed
- ¼ cup finely chopped carrots
- ¼ cup finely chopped King oyster mushrooms or any mushrooms
- a handful of chopped cilantro
- ½ teaspoon salt
- a few shakes of white pepper
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 Thai chilis chopped
- oil for cooking
- toasted sesame oil
- cornstarch
- toasted sesame seeds
Sauce
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons hot bean paste plus more to taste
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Prepare the sauce
- Whisk together all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set it aside.
Prepare the long beans
- Prepare a bowl of ice water and set it aside, then bring a pot of water to boil, add a pinch of salt.
- Blanch long beans in hot water for 2 minutes. Using a pair of tongs, transfer them to the ice water bath to cool down.
- Drain out the water and wipe them dry with paper towels. Trim off the top and end.
Prepare the tofu stuffing
- Sauté finely chopped mushrooms until fragrant and season with salt and pepper. If the mushrooms appear to be wet, drain the liquid.
- Next, place pressed tofu in a food processor, pulse a few times until it turns pasty.
- Transfer tofu into a bowl and mix it with finely chopped carrots, mushrooms, cilantro, ½ teaspoon of salt, a few shakes of white pepper, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil. Mix all ingredients until well combined.
How to stuff and cook the long bean
- To make the long beans knot, please check out the video.
- Place knotted long beans on a cleaned surface and generously dust both sides with cornstarch. Stuff the long beans knot with the tofu mixture.
- In a heated non-stick skillet, add about a tablespoon of oil.
- Pan-fry long beans over low heat until golden brown on both sides. Then, push the cooked long beans to the side of the pan.
- Using the same skillet, sauté garlic until fragrant, adding more oil if needed. Add in sauce and chile.
- Place a lid over & let simmer for 2-3 mins or until the stuffing is fully cooked through. (Thick stuffing takes longer time to cook).
- Meanwhile, prepare a thin slurry by mixing 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water.
- While the long beans are simmering, swirl in the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. You may not need to thicken it if you have enough cornstarch from dusting the long beans earlier.
- Turn off the heat and garnish with toasted sesame seeds before serving.
Notes
- *If you have leftover tofu paste, it’s great to pan-fry them to make into a patty.
Feel free to pin the below picture on your Pinterest Board for easy reference.
I have a bunch of long beans that I need to cook soon, so, while looking for recipes, I came across this one and decided to try it out (I’ve done other recipes of yours and they’re always a win!), even though I knew I’d have to change it up a bit.
I haven’t been very lucky when it comes to tofu (as it tends to make me sick), so I made the paste using cashews and some TVP for more bite— which held up much better then I thought it would (and didn’t have an overwhelming taste).
Everything else was the same; this was amazing. So tasty and fun to make. Thank you
Hi is there any substitute to tofu?
Hi Pepe, you can use vegan mince if you can find some.
Hello, I have been unable to find the video showing how to make a nest of long beans even though you reference it several times in the recipe. No link found. Am I just completely missing it somewhere?
Hello Jim, oh my, sorry I missed this message. Thanks for letting me know it’s gone. I just checked and it’s on mine. It’s under the picture of how to knot it.