Here’s a quick and easy way to take them up a notch, tossing the cooked green beans with a no-cooking-required citrusy, spicy sauce made with sweet orange marmalade, soy sauce, and spicy Sriracha hot sauce. In fact, this three-ingredient spicy orange dipping sauce you could use for any number of recipes. I first encountered it while observing the Pillsbury Bake-Off challenge last year. Lauren Wyler from Austin, Texas served up the sauce with her entry for Cashew Chicken Twists. What I love about the sauce is that it is so easy to make! No cooking. Just stirring. Only 3 ingredients, though I’ve been known to add a little rice vinegar or dark sesame oil depending on the taste I’m after. It’s terrific with green beans and also great with brussels sprouts. If your green beans are fresh and young, they should cook quickly. If they are older tougher beans, they may take longer than 5 minutes to cook. When the are just cooked to the point of tenderness, remove the pot from heat and strain out the hot water. Place the beans into a bowl of icy water to quickly stop the cooking and then place them in a large bowl. If you are using a marmalade that isn’t particularly sweet, you may want to add a teaspoon or two of sugar. If you are using soy sauce that isn’t very salty, you may want to add a little more soy sauce. Add more Sriracha to taste if you would like the sauce spicier. Serve immediately.
