Doesn’t it sounds more familiar if I tell you this is called Gan Bian Si Ji Dou 乾煸四季豆 in Chinese? Which is one of the signature dishes of Sichuan.
Bian 煸, in Chinese, means to fry a raw food until it is just crisp (but partially cooked) before cooking it with other ingredients.
Like other ‘bian’ dishes, this is also characterized by the crisp texture of the main ingredient – fried beans, but is not overly oily.
Yes, you may want to do this with stir-frying than deep-frying, if you ask me. Just be patient as you cooks, constantly flipping and turning the beans over heat, ensuring each piece to coat with oil and cooking to the point when the skins are blistered. To be honest, I tend to believe that deep-frying is an adapted version of some restaurants for cooking fast.
Even this is not the speediest version, you need only a couple of minutes to fry up the beans and simmer them with a small amount of sauce until no excess liquid is there, that is, dry (gan 乾) fry (bian 煸).
Also a fairly simple stir-fry!
- Ingredients
- 200g french beans
- ~70g ground pork
- 2-3 cloves shallot, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 1 heaping tbsp finely chopped Sichuan mustard (julienned or whole)
- 1 red chilli, thinly sliced (may adjust amount according to taste and use some more for garnish)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped dried shrimps
- 1/2 tbsp yellow wine
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2-3 tbsp cooking oil
- Sauce
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- 1/8 tsp salt, or to taste
Method
Wash well beans, trim ends if desired. Drain very dry or pat dry.
Combine soy sauce, sugar and water in a small bowl.
Heat 2 to 3 table spoons of oil in a wok over medium heat. Add in beans, constantly stirring and frying for until their skins are blistered and lightly browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle in salt, stirring well. Transfer to a plate.
With the oil left in wok, about a spoon (if no, add some). Sauté shallot and ginger until fragrant.
Toss in meat, chili, dried shrimps and pickled mustard, breaking up any lumps with the back of your turner.
Return beans to wok, stirring well. Splash in wine .
Add in the combined sauce, again stirring well. Spread out all ingredients while the sauce simmers.
Reduce sauce completely but with the beans and meat look a bit moist. Remove from heat and drizzle in vinegar and sesame oil, giving all things in wok a last stir (check taste and add more salt if required).
Dish up, serve hot with rice or noodles.
Enjoy!
- Category: Pork . Vegetable .
- 8 comments
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Oh gosh – this looks so delicious! I am making green beans tonight but no where near as flavorful as this dish! When I hear “dry-fried”, I’m always thinking of dry-fried flat noodles (or “ho fun”) with beef. : ) I can imagine how great this tastes with the richness of the pork, saltiness of the dried shrimp, the spice, and the crunch from those French green beans. I want some!
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I tried deep-frying them once before stir-frying to get the blistered, wrinkly look but I didn’t dry them thoroughly so the oil was splattering like crazy. Looking at your lovely version, I really have to try again.
@Monica,
Agree, that noodle dish is flavorful too, though the way it is cooked is somewhat different.
@noobcook,
Have fun and enjoy!
I usually 乾煸 Haricot Verts this way too, since I don’t deep-fry at home. However, it did not make it to the famous 乾煸四季豆 because I only added garlic to the French beans. :p I absolutely love 乾煸四季豆 with steamed rice – just too good to resist.
This dish is so homy…I have not cooked with Sichuan mustard for a while…and the combination of French beans, pork just sound so good…perfect with a bowl of rice.
Thanks for the recipe…hope you are enjoying your week 😀
I love learning about this cooking technique. Thank you! We come across green beans often, but they aren’t our favorite vegetable so I have a difficult time trying to figure out what to make. I can’t wait to try this. It looks so good.
What a wonderful dish for french beans. The frying makes them extra delicous! We would love them for lunch right now.