Gan Bian Si Ji Dou (Sichuan Green Beans)

Retired professional chef. Trained French and cooked French. Also cooked Italian. Live on the Mexican border now, so cook some Northern Sonoran foods. Enjoy cooking Oriental foods. Now cook mostly for friends who never experienced high quality restaurant food. Raise Angus-cross beef commercially.

1½ pounds green beans, trimmed

2½ tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

½ teaspoon table salt

1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

1½ teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

2 to 4 dried arbol chiles, stemmed, halved lengthwise, and seeded

½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

3 ounces ground pork

2 tablespoons ya cai

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

If necessary, a 12-inch nonstick or carbon-steel skillet can be used instead of a wok. For a spicier dish, use the larger amount of chiles. Ya cai, Sichuan preserved mustard greens, can be purchased online or at a Chinese market; it lends deep, distinctive flavor here (though we still enjoy the dish without it). Look for “suimiyacai” as one word on the label, which means the vegetable has been precut into rice grain–size pieces. If necessary, a 12-inch nonstick or carbon-steel skillet can be used instead of a wok. For a spicier dish, use the larger amount of chiles. Ya cai, Sichuan preserved mustard greens, can be purchased online or at a Chinese market; it lends deep, distinctive flavor here (though we still enjoy the dish without it). Look for “suimiyacai” as one word on the label, which means the vegetable has been precut into rice grain-size pieces.

Directions at americastestkitchen.com

Never lose a recipe again, not even if the original website goes away! Use the Copy Me That button to create your own complete copy of any recipe that you find online. Learn more! It's free!

Page footer