Green Beans with Sesame Sauce (いんげんの胡麻和え) make a delightful side dish when you need a little something extra for a meal. It’s extremely quick and easy to make, yet bursting with the rich flavor of sesame seeds and packed with nutrition.

What’s Green Beans with Sesame Sauce?

Green Beans with Sesame Sauce is one of the most popular homemade side dishes in Japanese cuisine. Green beans are available year-round, and the savory and sweet sesame sauce is both flavorful and incredibly easy to make. The steps to prepare this dish are simple, using common ingredients that can be found at most local markets. It’s a versatile side dish that pairs well with any meal, and it’s perfect for filling empty spaces in a bento lunch box.

To make the sesame sauce, lightly roast sesame seeds in a frying pan before grinding them. In Japan, many households use a Suribachi (mortar) and Surikogi (pestle), but if you don’t have these, an electric spice grinder works just as well. For convenience, you can also buy pre-ground sesame seeds from stores. However, we recommend grinding the sesame seeds right before making this dish, as the aroma of freshly ground sesame seeds is unbeatable. While roasting the sesame seeds isn’t strictly necessary, small steps like this can significantly enhance the flavor.