Tumis Buncis Teri (Indonesian Green Beans with Ikan Bilis)

Tumis buncis teri is the sort of dish that appears on an Indonesian table almost every day. Green beans stir fried with garlic, shallots and chilli, then finished with crispy little dried anchovies that bring salt and crunch to every forkful.

It takes about twenty minutes and asks very little of you. The only rule is to keep the heat high so the beans stay bright green and snappy rather than going soft and dull.

Serve it as part of a spread with steamed rice and something grilled, or eat a whole bowl of it on its own with rice. Nobody will judge.

Servings
4
Prep Time
10
mins
Cook Time
10
mins
Ingredients
12
Total Time
20
mins

Ingredients

  • 400g green beans, trimmed and cut into 4cm lengths
  • 60g ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
  • 3 shallots (eschalots), thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 long red chillies, sliced on the diagonal
  • 1 tbsp sambal oelek
  • 1 tbsp kecap manis
  • 1 tsp palm sugar, grated
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 60ml water
  • Pinch of salt
  • Steamed rice, to serve

Instructions

  1. Pat the ikan bilis dry with paper towel. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and fry them for 2 minutes until golden and crisp, then lift out onto paper towel, leaving the oil behind.
  2. Turn the heat to high. Add the shallots, garlic and chilli and stir fry for 1 minute until fragrant and just starting to colour.
  3. Tip in the green beans and toss for 2 minutes so they pick up some of the heat of the wok.
  4. Add the water, sambal oelek, kecap manis, palm sugar and salt. Stir fry for a further 3 to 4 minutes until the water has cooked away and the beans are tender but still with plenty of snap.
  5. Return the crispy ikan bilis to the wok, toss through once and serve straight away with steamed rice.

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