These dry-fried Sichuan beans are intensely flavorful.
"What is dry stir-frying?" you ask. It's a technique (gon chau) that intensifies flavors by slightly charring ingredients over lower heat over a longer period of time.
The method omits stock or sauce, with the exception of a small amount of soy sauce or oyster sauce.
To Make These Dry-Fried Sichuan Beans:
In the case of this stir-fry, you cook lightly salted green beans undisturbed on medium low heat in a small amount of oil and then briefly stir them at one minute intervals for a total of five to six minutes until the beans are slightly browned. This technique intensifies the flavor of the beans.
Then, you remove the beans from your wok, add the ginger and some ground pork and stir fry for about a minute. Then, add the beans, some preserved vegetable, soy sauce, and a tiny bit of sugar to the wok and stir fry briefly before serving. Deliciousness.
After prepping the ingredients, making these beans took about eight minutes, just a couple of minutes longer than your average stir fry.
Ingredients:
This recipe is pretty uncomplicated, and doesn't require a huge amount of work in advance. It calls for 12 ounces of thoroughly dried green beans. To save time, I bought a 12 ounce bag of pre-washed and pre-trimmed beans that are meant to be steamed in the microwave. It may be "cheating," but I didn't have to worry about making sure that the beans are thoroughly dried before frying, which is one of the requirements of the technique.
The recipe doesn't call for a lot of ingredients (ginger, soy sauce, salt, sugar, ground pork). For the ground pork, I ground some pork shoulder that I had in the freezer.
The most difficult to find ingredient is Sichuan preserved vegetable. There are many variations, the most common being preserved mustard stems. I was able to find preserved turnips at 99 Ranch, but you can find either online. They come in a sealed plastic bag, and last forever. Just use what you need and pack up the rest in the fridge.
Note: Be sure to rinse the preserved vegetables before chopping because they are very salty.
Compared to most stir-fries, making this dish is a rather leisurely affair. The heat is less intense and the timing and ingredient list is less complicated. You will need to briefly toss the beans while they are cooking once per minute for the first five or six minutes. To keep track of the number of times you toss the beans, set a digital timer to six minutes and toss the beans briefly everytime the timer hit a new minute.
These beans were amazing and so intensely flavorful. How often do you hear that about green beans?
Equipment You May Need:
A well-seasoned 14-inch carbon steel wok. A well-seasoned wok acts like a nonstick pan, yet does a much better job of searing your ingredients due to its ability to be heated over a high flame.
To toss these ingredients, I like using a metal fish spatula. It's lightweight, flexible, with a short handle and easy to maneuver.
I had some pork butt in the freezer so I ground my own pork using my mini food processor. Just chop the pork into smallish pieces and freeze them for about 20 minutes before processing.
If you have leftovers, you can reheat these beans briefly in the microwave.
Serving Suggestions:
These beans would be great as part of a multi-course Chinese-style meal (check out my recipe index for tons of stir-fries) or as a side dish to a traditional main dish (such as a steak), potato or rice side, and a salad. I think they'd be great with your Thanksgiving turkey instead of the green bean casserole!
More Vegetable Stir-Fries You May Also Enjoy:
Romaine with Garlic and Chiles
Asparagus, Pea, and Leek Stir-Fry
Baby Bok Choy with Lobster Sauce
Recipes Featuring Beans from the Sunday Funday Group:
- Super Easy Baked Beans from Amy's Cooking Adventures
- Aquafaba from Dried Chickpeas from Cook with Renu
- Rajma Rasmisa from Sneha’s Recipe
- Southwest Chicken Foil Packs from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Sausage, Green Beans and Potatoes from Palatable Pastime
- Dry-Fried Sichuan Beans from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Dry-Fried Sichuan Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon peanut or vegetable oil
- 12 ounces green beans, cut into 2 inch lengths
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 ounces ground pork
- 1 tablespoon rinsed and finely chopped Sichuan preserved vegetable
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Heat a 14-inch carbon steel wok over medium high heat until a beat of water evaporates immediately if added to the wok. Swirl in one tablespoon of the oil.
- Add the beans, sprinkle them with the salt, and let them sear, undisturbed, for one minute over medium low heat.
- Stir fry the beans for a few seconds and then let them sear for another minute. Repeat 5 more times, for a total of five to six minutes. Remove the beans to a plate.
- Add another teaspoon of oil to the wok and then add the ginger. Stir fry for a few seconds and then add the pork. Stir-fry for one minute.
- Add the beans back to the wok, add the fermented vegetable, and sprinkle the sugar over the mixture. Add the soy sauce and stir fry everything for about a minute.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
68Fat (grams)
4 gSat. Fat (grams)
1 gCarbs (grams)
5 gFiber (grams)
2 gNet carbs
3 gSugar (grams)
2 gProtein (grams)
3 gCholesterol (grams)
7 mgRecipe adapted from Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Master, with Authentic Recipes and Stories (2010) by Grace Young.
If you can only get one book on wok cooking, this is the one to buy.
Updated post, first published October, 2013, updated June, 2024.
That good huh? I was going to pass on this recipe. They look delicious - I guess I'll be late on this one. :)
ReplyDeleteThey are really good, surprisingly so, and the leftovers are good too. I was going to skip it but then it seemed so easy. This is a pretty loose group so late works!!
DeleteI have some fresh green beans in my crisper drawer that need to be used. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis looks quite good Karen. I would like to try this recipe and I think I can replace the pork here with tofu or paneer and it will work.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds easy and delicious.
ReplyDeleteYum! These look fantastic!
ReplyDelete