Sweet & Spicy Asian Style Green Bean Salad

The little things in life just get me so excited. I just can’t help it. I am like a little kid in a candy store when I find new, fun food products to try. This time I found a new hot & spicy honey. I found this purely by accident when I stopped in the store to pick up some fried chicken. There was someone doing a tasting and demo and they were featuring this hot honey. Ironically, he said it also went very well with fried chicken, which I just happened to have in my hands at the time. It did go well with fried chicken too. Instantly, I started thinking of other great ways to use it as well.

When I made my sweet & spicy Asian green bean salad, I really wasn’t even thinking about this hot honey at the time. I was trying to come up with a cool way to beat the heat, that would use up some of green beans. The recipe I found actually called for honey and siracha sauce, but I used my new hot honey instead. Of course, I also recreated it in my own way as well. That’s just what I do. 🙂

I used my sweet & spicy Asian green bean salad as a side dish for some grilled kielbasa sausage and potato salad. It was a cool, easy-peasy way to dine without creating any more heat, since the day was already hot enough.

Sweet & Spicy Asian Green Bean Salad

I lb green beans, stems removed

1 cup corn

1/4 red onion sliced very thin

1 cup cheery or grape tomatoes, cut in half

1/4 cup chopped cilantro, chopped fine

1/4 cup olive oil

1 TBSP soy sauce

2 TBSP rice vinegar

1 TBSP hot honey, or to taste

1 TBSP regular honey

salt to taste

1/4 cup cashews, chopped

Cook the green beans in boiling water for about 6 minutes, then immediately place them in an ice bath. Once they are cooled, cut them into pieces about 1 inch in size. Combine the corn, onions, tomatoes and cilantro with the green beans and toss well.

Mix the olive oil, honey, vinegar, soy sauce and salt together and combine well.

Add as much of the oil and vinegar mixture to the vegetables as needed to coat them and flavor them without drowning them in the sauce. Toss the sauce in just before serving. Top with the chopped cashews and more cilantro. Because of the acidity from the rice vinegar , the green beans will turn brown if you add the sauce to the vegetable mixture to early. You want them to still be vibrant and green when serving. Serve the salad chilled.

The hot honey really packs a punch, so a little goes a long way. If you are not a big fan of the spicy heat, cut down on the amount of the spicy honey and use it to your taste. We love hot and spicy, so for us, we like to kick it up.

This salad is very tasty and colorful, not to mention very healthy too. It is nothing but vegetables and nuts. It will brighten up any dish you decide to serve it with. I just know you’re going to love it. It is a great easy-peasy summer salad. 🙂

Stay cool, stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.