Taiwanese Green Bean Stir-fry
Taiwanese Green Bean stirfry is inspired by one of my favourite dishes I ate during my visit to Taiwan. It was served as a cold side dish or a warm accompaniment. One especially memorable occasion was alongside soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung. These green bean dishes all had some rich savoury umami flavour and were either paired with chilli or garlic. My stir-fry version can be eaten as a complete meal and incorporates pork mince and five spice powder, excluding the shrimp paste of fish sauce that might be more traditional.
I like to serve this stir-fry warm and with rice as a main meal. The actual dish is very different from what I remember eating on my travels, so it’s best to say that it is inspired rather than being truly authentic. These green beans are still fried in the style of Taiwanese Green Beans, with the charred bean element adding complexity of flavour as well as varying textures.
The key to this recipe is to let the beans cook long enough that they develop a nice smokey char. Dry frying in oil is the secret as the beans will soften and absorb the flavours of the sauce without becoming mushy. I picked up this tip from Nagi over at Recipe Tin Eats
If you enjoy this recipe, please also check out my Meal Prep Beef & Broccoli or Other Main Dishes. There is also a whole category dedicated to Asian style recipes over on our main recipe page.
Taiwanese Style Green Bean Stirfry
Rinse and thoroughly dry the green beans. Then trim the top and tails, removing any tough strings.
Finely dice 1/4 to 1/2 of your Red Chili, depending on your heat preference.
Combine Rice Wine, Soy Sauce and 5 spice powder in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp Rice Bran Oil in a Wok over high heat. Add the dried beans (if they still have water on them it will spit oil everywhere, so be careful). Toss the beans well to coat with the oil and continue to fry until the beans are blistered and charred. Pick out the beans as they get blistery and reserve to the side in a clean bowl so that they don't completely blacken and burn. Some beans may take a bit longer than others - you want to try and get an even char across all the beans.
Once all the beans are cooked, add the garlic and ginger to the pan and stir-fry briefly until fragrant before adding in the pork mince to cook through. Once the pork is cooked, add the sauce ingredients and toss to coat.
Add the cooked beans and Chili into the wok with the pork mince and sauce, toss to combine.
Serve with Steamed White Rice as a main, or straight-up as a side dish.
Ingredients
Directions
Rinse and thoroughly dry the green beans. Then trim the top and tails, removing any tough strings.
Finely dice 1/4 to 1/2 of your Red Chili, depending on your heat preference.
Combine Rice Wine, Soy Sauce and 5 spice powder in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp Rice Bran Oil in a Wok over high heat. Add the dried beans (if they still have water on them it will spit oil everywhere, so be careful). Toss the beans well to coat with the oil and continue to fry until the beans are blistered and charred. Pick out the beans as they get blistery and reserve to the side in a clean bowl so that they don't completely blacken and burn. Some beans may take a bit longer than others - you want to try and get an even char across all the beans.
Once all the beans are cooked, add the garlic and ginger to the pan and stir-fry briefly until fragrant before adding in the pork mince to cook through. Once the pork is cooked, add the sauce ingredients and toss to coat.
Add the cooked beans and Chili into the wok with the pork mince and sauce, toss to combine.
Serve with Steamed White Rice as a main, or straight-up as a side dish.
Recipe Notes
Yes, you can used a heavy based stockpot or fry-pan. Just as long as it is a pan you can heat to high temperatures (some non-stick pans should only be used over medium heat.) If you are using a fry-pan be careful of increased risk of oil splatter, as the high sides of a wok and stockpot can help keep this contained.
Chicken or Turkey Mince would substitute well as they are light flavored meats and will soak up the strong flavour of the sauce. Beef or Lamb Mince will make a richer, stronger flavoured dish. If you would like to make this dish suitable for vegetarian or vegan diets, you can substitute the mince for tofu crumbles – or disregard the mince element entirely.
Key Ingredients
