A stir-fry that brings out the best in green beans
Green bean season is shorter than my list of ways to prepare them. Before I can cycle through the dozen or so dishes, it’s time to move on to wintry Brussels sprouts and cabbage.
This green bean dish, however, is good enough to squeeze into the lineup.
It’s loosely inspired by Sichuan dryfried long beans, with the emphasis on “loosely.” In the authentic dish, long beans or green beans are shallow fried in hot oil until they blister and singe, then stir-fried with mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns and preserved Chinese mustard greens (ya cai), which gives them an umami funk. Sometimes minced pork is added, sometimes it’s not.
My dish zeros in on the green beans and pork. It’s a particularly harmonious pair, with the rich, brawny meat adding succulence and flavour to the lean, grassy beans.
To maintain some of the freshness and colour of the green beans, I nixed the shallow frying. Instead, I cut the beans into pieces and stir-fry them quickly, along with ginger, garlic and chilies. I also skip the Sichuan peppercorns and preserved mustard greens, adding coriander seeds and fresh cilantro for complexity, and a big splash of rice wine vinegar for vibrancy.
The whole thing comes together quickly, in under 20 minutes, making it particularly weeknight friendly. The most timeconsuming part comes from browning the pork. But don’t stint on this. The crisp nuggets are my favourite part — crunchy and salty, almost like meaty popcorn. Also, all that brown matter stuck to the bottom of your pan is caramelized goodness, imbuing the sauce with layers of flavour.
Ground turkey can stand in for the pork, or make this dish without meat, substituting in finely chopped shiitake mushrooms for a similar depth. Just make sure to stirfry them, until they’re good and brown and crisp, adding a little extra oil if needed.
When I last made this dish, I served it with sliced fresh tomatoes, which has
nothing to do with Sichuan cuisine and everything to do with seasonality. Along with the green beans, I had picked up one of the last good tomatoes at the farmers’ market, and liked the way the flavours mingled on the plate. But if you don’t have a ripe tomato, the green beans are just as good by themselves. Gingery, garlicky and porky, they easily hold their own.
Stir-Fried Green Beans with Pork and Chilies
Makes 4 servings
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as peanut, sunflower or grapeseed, plus more if needed
1 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces green beans, cut into 1⁄2-inch lengths
2 red chilies, seeded or not, thinly sliced 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp coriander seeds, lightly cracked with a mortar and pestle or with the side of a knife
cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped, plus more for serving
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar, plus more for serving
4 tsp soy sauce, plus more to taste
tsp sugar
Cooked white rice or rice noodles, for serving
Sliced tomato, for serving (optional)
Total time: 20 minutes
1. Heat a 12-inch skillet or wok over medium-high heat for one minute, then add the oil and let heat for another 30 seconds
— it should be hot but not smoking. Stir in pork and 3/4 teaspoon salt, and cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until browned and crisp, six to nine minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. Return pan to heat and add more oil if it looks dry. Stir in green beans, cook until they are crisp, tender and bright green, one to three minutes. Stir in chilies, ginger, garlic, coriander seeds and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about one minute longer.
3. Return pork to skillet, along with chopped cilantro, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Stir briefly to combine, then scrape into a serving platter.
4. Sprinkle more vinegar and soy sauce on top to taste, then top with more chopped cilantro. Serve with rice, and sliced tomato, if you like.