Picture the scene: it’s a weeknight, you’re not hungry, and you’re opening the fridge on autopilot when a long, forgotten tub of beans rolls out of the back. You’re not even sure what to do with them. I was in exactly that mood. What I came back with was the easiest little pot of long string beans in a Thai curry tomato sauce, and somehow everyone at the table asked for the recipe.
It started as an accident, honestly. I had a can of tomatoes and no plan, so I did the only thing I knew: a spoonful of Thai red curry paste straight into a pan of hot oil. That dollop is the whole trick. It turns a plain red tomato stew into something with lemony, gingery warmth from the lemongrass and galangal inside the paste — and it’s a pairing I now keep reaching for.
What are long string beans?
If you’ve only ever had short green beans, long string beans might look strange — they’re the very long, slender green beans you’ll find in Southeast Asian markets, also sold as yardlong beans or asparagus beans. You cut them into shorter pieces for this recipe. The good news: they hold their shape through a long simmer. Short beans turn to mush; these just soften, and that’s exactly what a slow tomato sauce needs.
Why this one-pot dinner works
Everything happens in one pot, which means one pot to wash and about 30 minutes of mostly unattended simmering. The beans keep a proper bite, the sauce reduces down thick and sweet, and a poached egg on top makes it feel like a real dinner instead of a leftover rescue. No diet rules, no shopping list — just whatever beans you had hiding in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs (680g) long string beans, cut into manageable lengths
- 28.2 oz (800g) can of whole peeled tomatoes
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
- 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce, plus a little more to taste
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- To serve: 4 poached eggs, crusty bread, extra olive oil to drizzle
5 simple steps
Prep takes 5 minutes, cooking about 25. Total: 30 minutes, one pot.
- Get things ready. Wash the beans, trim off the stem ends, and cut them into shorter pieces. Puree the canned tomatoes in a blender until smooth.
- Bloom the paste. In a large pot over medium-high heat, cook the olive oil and 3 tbsp curry paste for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the garlic and black pepper and cook 1 more minute, until the paste starts to brown a little at the edges.
- Mix the sauce. Pour in the pureed tomatoes, fish sauce and brown sugar, and stir until smooth and even.
- Simmer the beans. Curl the beans so they fit in the pot — they’ll feel stiff at first, don’t worry. Put the lid on with a one-inch gap so steam can escape, drop the heat to medium, and let it bubble away. After a few minutes the beans will relax and you can submerge them in the sauce. Keep cooking for about 25 minutes, until the beans are soft but still have a bite and the sauce has thickened a lot.
- Finish it. Crack the eggs into a separate pot and poach them with runny yolks — or, if you’re feeling lazy, crack them straight into the simmering sauce, cover, and cook until the whites are set. Serve hot, drizzled with extra olive oil, with crusty bread on the side for mopping.
Make it your own
Short green beans instead? They can’t take the long simmer. Reduce the tomato sauce by itself for 10 minutes first, then add the green beans for the final stretch.
Want it vegan? Swap the fish sauce for a splash of soy sauce, and skip the eggs — top with a handful of toasted sesame seeds instead.
Make it bigger. The sauce happily takes on other vegetables that stand up to stewing — eggplant, kale, even a little extra tomato. Cook more beans and the leftovers reheat well for the next night.
Go spicier. Add a little more curry paste in step 2, or a drizzle of chili oil when you plate up.
Start today
✓ Find a tub of beans — or any tired vegetable — hiding in your fridge this week.
✓ Pick up one can of whole tomatoes and a tube of Thai red curry paste on your next shop.
✓ Block 30 minutes for a one-pot dinner. That’s the whole plan.
It doesn’t need to be a special occasion. A simple pot of beans, a little heat, and a runny egg on top is a perfectly good Tuesday. You don’t need a plan for that — just a spoonful of curry paste and about half an hour of your evening.
Today’s tiny step: this week, open your fridge once a day and write down one vegetable that needs using. That’s it — no shopping, no cooking yet. When the week ends, you’ll already know what dinner is.
— E, your habit neighbor