This restaurant style Szechuan green beans is a perfect combination of protein and vegetables, with savory and slightly spicy taste.
There is really a long list of my favorite Szechuan dishes including Mapo tofu, Dan Dan Noodles, month watering chicken, Chongqing Chicken, Szechuan fish etc. Sichuan dry fried green beans (干煸豆角) is very popular in Chinese restaurants. However, many of my friends complains that it is difficult to make a successful one since they either over fried the green beans to burn or the green beans are not fried enough. Dry frying also known as “干煸” is a cooking method we commonly use in different Chinese cuisines. Comparing the sautéed recipes, more oil is needed in the pan but less oil is needed comparing with deep frying. They are still other famous dishes such as Szechuan Dry-fried beef shreds (干煸牛肉丝), dry fried cauliflower or dry fried cabbage. Dry frying usually takes longer time but the ingredient can absorb the flavors and aromas in the most degree because the water content is removed mostly.
Special Ingredients –Ya cai
Traditional dry fried green beans calls for a very small amount of Ya-Cai.
Ya-cai(芽菜) is one of the three most important and famous preserved vegetables in Sichuan cuisine. As a side ingredient, it can increase some long lasting aroma for dishes. One of the most popular Sichuan dish using Ya Cai is Dan Dan Noodles. If you don’t have it on hand, it is ok to skip this ingredient and simply fry green beans with pork.
Many restaurants refer to use deep-frying instead of dry frying slowly with a pan because deep-frying can save lots of time. I get some basic tips for pan frying methond.
- Add the green beans in without oil. Fry for a while until the water on surface is removed.
- Then add oil and continue drying until the green beans becomes wrinkled.
Instructions.
Cap the fresh green beans; Wash and drain. Then get a pan or wok. Place green beans in and fry for 2-3 minutes until the water on the surface is dried mostly. Then add around 2 tablespoons of oil in pan and continue cooking until the green beans becomes wrinkled. This process may take around 10 to 12 minutes. Be patience. Turn the beans from time to time to avoid partially overcooked. Then transfer the green beans out.
Keep the oil and fry minced pork until crispy and browned. Add a very small pinch of salt and drizzle around 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce along with the deges.
Place garlic, ginger and scallion white, Yacai, dried chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn. Fry until aromatic.
Return green beans, add salt, sugar and light soy sauce. Mix well and sever hot!
Other Chinese green bean recipes
Sichuan Dry fried green beans
Ingredients
- 400 g fresh green beans ends removed and cut into 10 cm sections
- 2 tbsp. cooking oil
- 1/2 cup minced pork
- 1/3 cup Szechuan Ya Cai ,skip it if this is unavailable
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tbsp. minced ginger
- 1 tbsp. scallion white
- 6 dried chili peppers , cut into halves
- 1/4 tsp. Sichuan peppercorn
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1.5 tbsp. light soy sauce
Instructions
- Cap the fresh green beans; Wash and drain.
- Then get a pan or wok. Place green beans in and fry for 2-3 minutes until the water on the surface is dried mostly. Then add around 2 tablespoons of oil in pan and continue cooking until the green beans becomes wrinkled. This process may take around 10 to 12 minutes. Be patience. Turn the beans avoid partially overcooked. Then transfer the green beans out.
- Keep the oil and fry minced pork until crispy and browned. Add a very small pinch of salt and drizzle around 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce along with the edges of the pan.
- Place garlic, ginger and scallion white, Ya Cai, dried chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn. Fry until aromatic.
- Return green beans, add salt, sugar and light soy sauce. Mix well and sever hot!
Nutrition
I LOVE szechuan green beans! It’s one of my favorites 🙂 Is it really this easy? I can’t believe it! I have to get on it!
Yes, Nagi. It is quite easy. Most Szechuan dishes are quite home cooking friendly.
This is one of my favorite dishes in any restaurant in China – I never knew it was szechuan! Do you have a recommendation for what brand of ya cai is good to buy and will be available in most places (in China)?
If you are not in Sichuan but Shangdong, you can search it in supermarkets like Walmart. But the easiest way is to buy it from Taobao. You can search 四川芽菜.
I found this once in a book and make it ever since. I just fry them for 5 minutes, dry them with kitchen paper and sprinkle soy sauce on them, and with only that it is already absolutely delicious. Will try yours next time. Love that it has sugar. Sugar, salt, fat – the mix nobody can resist. Getting hungry…
I love this dish! When I lived in Beijing I ate it almost every day 🙂
Sadly you cant find fresh sichuan peppercorn where I live and with dried one it doesnt get that tasty in my opinion. Now I happened to find some Sichuan Pepper Oil which is really fragrant. Can´t wait to try it with this for little extra prickly taste.
It is one of my favorite dish too.
You can buy Szechuan peppercorns here:
https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/szechuan-peppercorns/c-24/p-1415/pd-s
I can recommend these folks as well:
https://www.thespicehouse.com/sichuan-peppercorns
Very fresh, few seeds or stems.
Thanks for the recommendation. Hope this is useful for other readers who are searching for high quality Szechuan peppercorns.
Oo I never knew that’s how they got the green beans so crinkly!!! I’ll have to give this a try sometime!! Love your blog 🙂
Go ahead Amanda. This is the most popular method of cooking green beans in China.
Dear Elaine
Can you suggest an alteration to this recipe to make it Vegan? I would love to try it because I love green beans but I don’t eat meat :(…
Love your recipes :*
Hi Ana,
You can skip minced meat and use ya-cai or chopped olive vegetable. The two are great substitute for this dish.
Hi Elaine, I know that Dry Fried Green Beans is very popular in China. Every time I come to the Sichuan Food store, I always eat this kind of food. You are doing great with it. Thanks very much.
Thank you, Tiana!
Why is it called dry-fried if you are using oil to fry it
This dish can be dry-fried too, only require more time.
Hello Elain,
I really enjoy your website and recipe a lot. I would like to try this recipe too but I have one question.
How much minced pork meat should be used for this recipe?
Keep up your great work.
Sonja,
I usually use 1/2 cup minced pork. But you know this is not a baking recipe. You can adjust the amount of the minced pork.
The recipe is missing some steps. It’s a good one but if you’re not an experienced cook it won’t work. Good luck y’all
Marion,
Can you please give me more details about what’s the missing steps? I can correct the recipe and video.
Recipe mentions ginger two times and does not say exactly what the pork should marinate with. Also does not say when to use the corn starch.