Chinese-style Green Beans and Pork

Have all the sauce ingredients prepped and in their bowls before starting to cook this recipe. You need to keep the pan very hot through the entire process for a great result. Serve over cooked vermicelli noodles, rice or egg noodles.

Sauce 2 teaspoons cornflour

½ cup Shaoxing cooking wine, chicken stock or water

2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon caster sugar

Vegetables rice bran and sesame oil, for cooking

300 grams round green beans, stalk end trimmed

1 red capsicum, thinly sliced

Pork 1 tablespoon each black bean and oyster sauce

2–3 teaspoons Korean gochujang sauce or other chilli sauce

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons finely shredded fresh ginger

3 spring onions, white part thinly sliced, green stems reserved

500 grams good pork mince

To serve chopped roasted peanuts or cashew nuts and chilli sauce

green spring onion tops, thinly sliced

Sauce: Stir the cornflour with 1 tablespoon of the cooking wine until smooth then combine with the remaining wine, soy and sugar. Set aside.

Vegetables: Heat 1 tablespoon each of the oils in a large sauté pan and when very hot, cook the green beans and capsicum in batches until blistered and crisp/tender – about 2 minutes. Take care as the beans will spit. Remove and drain on kitchen towels.

Pork: Combine the 3 sauces and set aside. Wipe out the vegetable pan with a kitchen towel. Add 2 teaspoons more of each oil to the hot pan. Add the garlic, ginger and spring onions and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the mince and using a wooden spoon, break up the meat so there are no big lumps or traces of pink meat, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes.

Add the sauces and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Give the cornflour sauce a stir then tip into the pan. Bring to the boil and cook vigorously until thick and glossy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beans and capsicum.

To serve: Spoon over noodles or rice and top with nuts, chilli sauce if desired, and the sliced spring onions tops. Serves 4