This dry-fried green beans recipe is a classic Sichuan dish with green beans lightly fried until tender, tossed with pork, spicy chilies and Chinese seasonings.
We're cooking up Sichuan cuisine today, my friends! Sichuan cuisine is well known for it's spicy recipes, perfect for the spicy food lover in you.
There are so many Sichuan recipes that I love, and a new favorite is this Dry-Fried Green Beans recipe that pops with flavor. It's a perfect side dish or meal starter with fresh green beans dry fried in a bit of oil, then tossed with cooked pork and spicy chilies, seasoned with tongue tingling Sichuan peppercorns.
In China and Chinese restaurants, the dish is called "gan bian si ji dou", and I think you're going to love it.
Some cooks prefer to deep fry the green beans in a lot of oil for ease of cooking, but the act of cooking them in minimal oil, without any sort of coating or breading, is called dry frying.
It's a wonderful way to enjoy your garden fresh beans.
Let's talk about how we make dry-fried green beans, shall we?
Sichuan Dry-Fried Grean Beans Ingredients
- Green Beans. I used long beans from my neighbor's garden.
- Vegetable Oil. You can also use lard, or both oil and pork lard for fuller flavor.
- Ground Pork.
- Dried Chili Peppers. Optional, for extra spicy - use japones, chile de arbol, or Chinese peppers.
- Sichuan Peppercorns. Learn more about Sichuan peppercorns here.
- Shaoxing Wine.
- Fresh Garlic.
- Fresh Ginger.
- Chinese Preserved Vegetables. I used preserved mustard greens, or "sui mi ya cai".
- Light Soy Sauce.
- Sesame Oil.
How to Make Sichuan Dry-Fried Grean Beans - the Recipe Method
Dry Fry the Green Beans. Heat the vegetable oil to medium-high heat in a large pan or wok. Add the green beans and dry fry them for 4-5 minutes in the hot oil until they become tender and wrinkly. Remove and set aside for now.
Stir Fry the Pork and Chili Peppers. Heat the pan or wok back to medium-high heat. Add the ground pork, peppers and Shaoxing wine. Stir fry them for 3-4 minutes, or until the pork cooks through.
Cook the Garlic and Ginger. Add the garlic and ginger and reserved green beans. Stir fry for 1 minute, until the garlic becomes fragrant.
Liquids and Vegetables. Stir in the soy sauce and preserved vegetables. Warm through.
Sesame Oil and Serve. Remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil. Serve!
Boom! Done! Your Sichuan dry fried green beans are ready to serve! They look delicious, don't they? They're nice and spicy, the perfect side dish, though you can easily adjust this recipe to make a full meal.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- The Pork. Fatty pork is recommended for this recipe, though any ground pork will do. Consider a combination of ground pork and chopped bacon. The recipe calls for a small amount of pork compared to the green beans, but you can easily add in more pork to make it more of a meal.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy this Sichuan dry-fried green beans recipe. Let me know if you make it and how you changed it up. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you. Keep it spicy!
Cookbook Recommendation
If you love spicy and bold Chinese cuisine, I highly recommend this cookbook, which highlights Chinese food from the Sichuan province. I'm learning very much from this book.
- The Food of Sichuan, by Fuchsia Dunlop (affiliate link, my friends!)
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
- Szechuan Chicken
- Szechuan Salmon
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Mapo Tofu
- Dan Dan Noodles
- General Tso's Chicken
- Spicy Chicken Fried Rice
- Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)
- Cashew Chicken
- Dragon Chicken
- Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
- Hot and Sour Soup
- Asian Cucumber Salad
- Shuizhu Yu (Boiled Fish In A Seething Sea Of Chilies)
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Sichuan Dry-Fried Green Beans Recipe (Ganbian Sijidou)
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or use lard
- 6 ounces ground pork add more for a more complete meal - see recipe notes
- 7-8 dried peppers chopped - optional, for extra spicy - use japones, chile de arbol, or Chinese peppers
- 1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1/2 cup Chinese preserved vegetables I used preserved mustard greens
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil to medium-high heat in a large pan or wok.
- Add the green beans and dry fry them for 4-5 minutes until they become tender and wrinkly. Remove and set aside for now.
- Heat the pan or wok back to medium-high heat. Add the ground pork, peppers and Shaoxing wine. Stir fry them for 3-4 minutes, or until the pork cooks through.
- Add the garlic and ginger and reserved green beans. Stir fry for 1 minute, until the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Stir in the soy sauce and preserved vegetables. Warm through.
- Remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil. Serve!
Nutrition Information
Shout out to my neighbor, Yeay, for giving me some long beans from her garden! Thank you, Yeay!
Danilushka says
Made for dinner with some substitutions:
Had Sichuan Red Peppercorns luckily
Chile d'Arbol and a few Calabrian Chiles for peppers
Broccoli Rabe (blanched & sauteed) for Preserved Greens
Bacon and 2 Pork Chops sliced (so a bit of fat) for Ground Pork
Dry Sherry for Shaoxing Wine
Served over Soba Noodles.
The Wife loved it and wants it on our regular dinner list. Great dish. Spicy, rich depth and breadth of flavors, very rich and satisfying.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Wonderful updates, Danilushka! That's how you make a recipe your own! I love it.