STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE

Szechuan Dry-Fried Green Beans is a dish comprising green beans (or string beans / 四季豆 translated 4-season beans),  sweet preserved radish (chye poh / chai por), minced lean pork, dried chilli and szechuan peppercorns, giving this dish its delicious blend of sweet, savoury and spicy flavours!

TRICK OF THE TRADE

The fastest way to cook string beans is to deep fry them until they turn slightly blistered with some brown spots. It only takes a few minutes to soften the waxy skin so they can absorb the flavours from the sauces and the other ingredients. If done right, the string beans should be soft but still have a nice crunch when you bite into it.

Apart from the string beans, the most important ingredient is the Chai Por (or sweet preserved radish). Thailand has one of the best Chai Por that I have ever tried. It is super crunchy and has a very natural sweet flavour. You can find Thai Chai Por in the wet markets, but you have to specify what you want to the dry grocer, or you will likely end up with the local version.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DISH

• The umami flavour of this dish, which comes from the sweetness of the string beans and the saltiness of the chai por.
• It is a nice accompaniment to rice! In fact, it can be a complete meal as it contains both vegetables and meat.

HOW TO MAKE SICHUAN FRIED GREEN BEANS WITH CHAI POR?

Pluck both ends of the string bean and pull to remove the fibre from the sides. Wash and pat dry.

Wash the meat and pat dry, then mince finely.

Wash the dried shrimps and remove the remnants of the shell and legs if any. Soak in hot water until soft. Remove them from the water and drain dry. Keep the water for later use.

Rinse the sweet radish and cut into tiny cubes.

Remove the skin from the ginger, and mince it finely. Remove the skin of the garlic and chop finely.

Soak the dried chili in hot water until soft. Remove the seeds, rinse and pat dry. Then cut into small pieces with a pair of kitchen scissors.

Heat 50 ml of oil in a wok over high heat. Then add in the string beans in batches and deep fry till they start to shrivel up with brown spots on the skin.

Blanch the string beans in hot water to remove excess oil, then drain and pat dry.

Remove the oil from the wok leaving behind just 2 tsp of oil. Add in the small dried shrimp and fry until dried shrimps are aromatic.

Push the dried shrimps to the side, then add 1 tsp of oil. Add the garlic, ginger, dried chili and szechuan peppercorn and stir fry over medium heat until aromatic.

Add in the sweet radish (Chai Por) and stir mixing well until softened.

Next, add in the minced meat, light soya sauce, Chinese rice wine, sugar and dark soya sauce and mix well. Continue to fry till the meat is cooked.

Finally, pour back the precooked string beans and mix well with all the other ingredients.

Transfer to a plate and serve with a bowl of steaming hot rice.

MARKETING TIPS

1. Buy the young string beans as they are more tender and less fibrous.
2. Use Chai Por (Sweet Preserved Radish) from Thailand. This is available in some wet markets, but you need to specify that you want Thailand Chai Por. Alternative, if you travel to Thailand, get it from TOP supermarket.

COOKING TIPS

1. Cook string beans is to deep frying them. You can also pan fry them with a little bit of oil, but it will take longer (about 15 minutes)
2. The string beans need to be cooked until the outside turns slightly blistered and brown. This way, the flavour of the condiments and other ingredients will be able to penetrate the waxy outer skin of the string beans.

DIETARY MODIFICATIONS

• Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
• Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
• Gluten-Free: Use gluten free versions of the condiments listed in the recipe
• Nut-Free: No modifications needed.

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Szechuan Dry Fried String Beans With Chai Por (干煸四季豆)

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: gan bian si ji dou, sichuan dry fried green beans, stir fry vegetables

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 6

Sichuan dry-fried green beans fried until beautifully blistered on the outside with minced meat and crunchy sweet preserved radish is one of our favourite Chinese restaurant dishes. Learn how to cook this now!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 500 gm String Beans
• 100 gm Lean Meat
• 25 gm Dried Shrimp Hei Bee
• 15 gm Sweet Radish Chai Por
• 1 TBsp Oil
• 1/4 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 TBsp Light Soy Sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 3 cm Ginger
• 3-5 Dried Red Chillli
• 2 TBsp Chinese Rice Wine Shao Xing Jiu
• 1 1/2 tsp Szechuan Peppercorn
• 50 ml Oil To deep fry string beans
• Salt To taste

Instructions

PREPARATION METHOD

• Pluck both ends of the string bean and pull to remove the fibre from the sides. Wash and pat dry.
• Wash the meat and pat dry, then mince finely. 
• Wash the dried shrimps and remove the remnants of the shell and legs if any. Soak in hot water until soft. Remove them from the water and drain dry. Keep the water for later use.
• Rinse the sweet radish and cut into tiny cubes.
• Remove the skin from the ginger, and mince it finely. Remove the skin of the garlic and chop finely.
• Soak the dried chili in hot water until soft. Remove the seeds, rinse and pat dry. Then cut into small pieces with a pair of kitchen scissors.

COOKING METHOD

• Heat 50 ml of oil in a wok over high heat. Then add in the string beans in batches and deep fry till they start to shrivel up with brown spots on the skin. 
• Blanch the string beans in hot water to remove excess oil, then drain and pat dry.
• Remove the oil from the wok leaving behind just 2 tsp of oil. Add in the small dried shrimp and fry until dried shrimps are aromatic. 
• Push the dried shrimps to the side, then add 1 tsp of oil. Add the garlic, ginger, dried chili and szechuan peppercorn and stir fry over medium heat until aromatic.
• Add in the sweet radish (Chai Por) and stir mixing well until softened.
• Next, add in the minced meat, light soya sauce, Chinese rice wine, sugar and dark soya sauce and mix well. Continue to fry till the meat is cooked. 
• Finally, pour back the precooked string beans and mix well with all the other ingredients.
• Transfer to a plate and serve with a bowl of steaming hot rice.

Video

Notes

1. For this dish, it is better to buy the young string beans as they are more tender and less fibrous.
2. The fastest way to cook string beans is to deep fry them. You can also pan fry them with a little bit of oil, but it will take longer (about 15 minutes)
3. The string beans need to be cooked until the outside turns slightly blistered and brown. This way, the flavour of the condiments and other ingredients will be able to penetrate the waxy outer skin of the string beans.
4. I like to use Chai Por (Sweet Preserved Radish) from Thailand. This is available in some wet markets, but you need to specify that you want Thailand Chai Por. We usually stock up my supplies from TOP supermarket whenever my hubby visits Thailand on business trip.