You can use fresh French beans. Wash the green beans. If they are stringy, break the top branch stem part of the bean and unzip the side string. I remove both ends of the beans, but you can leave the tip if it does not look stringy. Gather a few beans together and do long cuts, diagonal cuts (about 1½-2 inches in length. Add a quarter cup of water before you cover to cook the beans, then follow the recipe.