I love to recreate restaurant favorite dishes. These green beans are one of my favorite and has become a staple whenever I make a Chinese inspired meal.
Szechuan peppercorn that Ive used is not exactly a pepper. They are not like black peppers though they closely resemble, they are a kind of outer husk of a seed. These peppercorns are mouth numbing, not chili hot and are very aromatic. They complement hot red chillies and widely used in Szechuan cuisine. I pair this recipe with Chinese fried rice or plain rice or even Thai curries.
Here are a few notes before you start
- This recipe comes together very quickly so have your ingredients ready to go.
- Make sure your oil has a high smoking point. To achieve the crisp smoky texture, cooking the beans at high temperature is essential and you don’t want to burn the dish. I like avocado, grape seed, rice bran, sunflower all work well .
- Use the sesame oil towards the end of the cooking process to maximize the flavor and prevent oil getting burned.
- Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green beans trimmed
- 6 small to medium sized garlic cloves, chopped or sliced
- 1 tablespoon any neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil, roasted preferred
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- ½ teaspoon raw sugar
- ½ teaspoon szechuan pepper corns or chili flakes
- 5-6 whole dried chili pods, (just for color and contrast)
Instructions
- Wash dry and trim the tops and tails off of the beans.
- In a large skillet heat the neutral oil over high heat. Drop it to a medium heat and add the green beans to the oil.
- Stir fry them for 5-7 minutes stirring continuously until they are blistered, the beans start to soften yet remain crunchy.
- Now add sesame oil, chopped garlic, chili peppers, szechuan peppercorn, raw sugar and soy sauce or tamari to the pan and toss for 2 minutes till the garlic has a chance to warm through and cook a bit. Serve with rice!
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