French Beans in Coconut Gravy (Boncis Masak Lemak)

A typical malay dish which is easy to prepare.  Since hubby loves french beans, I prepared this simple dish today.  It is not necessary to pound or blend the shallots, chilli or garlic.  Just finely sliced them before sautéing them.  To round up the dish, I added prawns, tang hoon and coconut milk.  The taste is up to my hubby's satisfaction (our younger son's too) and I served it with Crispy Squid Rings, Sambal Belacan and hot jasmine rice on a cold and wintry Sunday afternoon.

Ingredients (serves 4):
250 g french beans, to be washed, tails removed and cut into 5 cm lengths
250 g prawns
some tang hoon (vermicelli), to be soaked in water until soft
400 ml coconut milk
salt to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil

1 stalk lemon grass, to be bruised
1 stalk red chilli, to be finely sliced
1 stalk green chilli, to be finely sliced
2 shallots, to be peeled and finely sliced
2 pips garlic, to be peeled and finely sliced

Method:
Wash and drain french beans.  Remove both ends and cut into 5 cm lengths.

In a medium-size pot, heat cooking oil over medium heat.  Add sliced shallots, garlic, chillies and lemon grass and sauté until fragrant.

Add french beans and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes.

Then, add tang hoon, prawns and coconut milk.  Bring to a light simmer and add salt to taste.  If the gravy is too thick, just add water to your preferred consistency.  Let it simmer until the french beans are cooked.

Serve hot with rice!

Bon Appetit!