OK, long-ish story:
I used to go to this Chinese restaurant just the other side of Watertown Square – Hunan Palace – that had THE. BEST. HOT AND SPICY EGGPLANT. EVER! A little bit of heat, a little bit of sweet. Tasty, tasty vegetables. I’ve looked and looked; but never found another Chinese restaurant that made eggplant the same way *sigh*. My search DID lead me to try the spicy garlic green beans at Mars – a now closed restaurant in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. YUM. Of course, even if Mars were still open, I now live some 40 miles North – and they were never that keen on delivery anyway. It was with all of this in the back of my mind that I fired up da Google and went in search of a garlic green bean stir fry.
BINGO!
Sweet, spicy (just a little – but mostly because I used sweet Thai Chili Sauce – next 
time I’ll try the regular), and made with stuff you have around the kitchen anyway: green beans (I used frozen), garlic, soy sauce, honey, and garlic chili sauce (if you don’t keep this on hand, you really should). I will also say that it went really well with my three continent four cuisine* pepper menu last night:
Grilled chile and lime marinated pork chops, Spanish rice with sautéed onion, red, green and yellow peppers, and sweet and spicy green beans. What’s not to love?
Thanks, by the way, to COOKOFTHEHOUSE at Allrecipes.com.
INGREDIENTS
•3/4 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
– I used frozen, thawed
•2 tablespoons soy sauce
•1 clove garlic, minced
•1 tsp garlic chili sauce (Sriracha)
•1 tsp honey
•2 tsp veggie oil
Arrange a steamer basket in a pot over boiling water, and steam the green beans three to four minutes – I blanched the beans in boiling water for two to three minutes, then plunged them into a bowl of ice water to stop them cooking. Drain and cool. NOTE: do this in the morning or even the night before – it really simplifies getting everything together for dinner.
In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, garlic, garlic chili sauce, and honey. As I said, I had sweet Thai Chilli Sauce in the fridge – available at most markets (or, you could probably ask for an extra take away packet or two from your local Thai restaurant), but will probably try the regular next time I make these.
Heat the canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the green beans, and fry for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour in the soy sauce mixture. Continue cooking and stirring 2 minutes, or until the liquid is nearly evaporated. Serve immediately. Swoon. Yes, they are THAT good.
*NOTE: of course, the fourth cuisine was represented by the Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Sauce I added to the Spanish rice…