Long beans grow faster than St. Augustine grass; these beans love the heat and rain, and I seem to be picking them almost daily.  One vine is more than 6′ tall, and still it climbs skyward, throwing up big yellow flowers.  The long beans far exceeded my expectations, and I’ll definitely make room in next year’s garden for a repeat crop.  In my quest to use up  the long beans (called chopstick beans in Vietnamese) bursting forth from my garden, I found this garlicky bean and egg dish in Mai Pham’s excellent cookbook, Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table (p 202).

Chopstick beans in Garlic

• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 pound long beans, ends trimmed and cut into 3-4 inch lengths on the bias, then blanched in boiling water for 4 minutes & drained
• 1/4 cup water
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp roughly chopped cilantro

Heat oil in a wide skillet over medium heat; cook garlic until fragrant, then add egg, sugar, and fish sauce to the pan.  Stir several times.  Next, add the beans, water, and salt, stirring to combine.  Cover and cook until the egg is set, about 4 minutes.  Garnish with cilatro before serving.  Yield:  4 side-dish servings.