干煸四季豆
One of my favorite Chinese dishes of all time, and often my go-to vegetable dish to order at a restaurant. Green beans are my favorite vegetable; when prepared like this the result is incredibly savory and flavorful. But it can be surprisingly difficult to replicate at home. The secret? Be very generous with the oil, salt, and heat.
Active Time: 25 min
Total Time: 25 min
Ingredients
> green beans (1 lb)
> pork belly (1/4 lb)
> garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn
> dried chilis
> salt
> black vinegar
Instructions
Preparations:
1. Trim the ends of the green beans and remove as much of the fibrous membrane down the side as possible.
2. Roughly mince pork belly into small lardons.
3. Roughly mince garlic and ginger. Prepare a bowl with garlic, ginger, and peppercorns
4. Prepare another bowl with dried chilis, use to taste
Stir-frying:
1. Heat a wok with a large amount of oil over high heat. Add some salt to the oil. Once the oil has reached ~350F, add the green beans and stir-fry. Cook until the skin is nicely blistered and the green beans are fully cooked through. Drain oil and set aside.
2. Stir-fry the minced pork belly with a bit of oil for a couple of minutes.
3. Add in the garlic, ginger, and peppercorns. Stir fry for a minute or so.
4. Add the dried chilis. Stir fry for a minute or so.
5. Add back the green beans. Add copious amounts of salt, and a tiny splash of black vinegar.
6. Stir fry until combined. Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> All the classic formulas for good Chinese stir-fried dishes apply here: plenty of oil, plenty of salt, and very high heat. In the original dish, the green beans are essentially deep-fried, but I opt for the "shallow stir-fry". Still involves a LOT of oil. The only seasoning in the dish is salt, so be very generous.
> Adding salt to the oil helps permeate the green beans during the stir-fry process.
> Make sure your oil is sufficiently hot. Otherwise, it's difficult to get the blistered texture without overcooking the green beans (which was sort of the case for me).