Chinese Dry Fried Garlic Green Beans

These Chinese Dry Fried Garlic Garlic Green Beans aren’t your classic green beans.

When I think of classic green beans, I honestly think back to elementary school cafeteria green beans and those SUCK. Like green beans should never be as soft as they as are – literally so soft and mushy you can literally chew them without teeth. That’s gross.

Anyways, this is the method of cooking green beans I LOVE. This recipe has an asian flare, similar to what you would have at Din Tai Fung, but you could follow this same method and skip the soy sauce (and add other seasonings / aromatics) and it would be delicious. Once it’s in your repertoire, it’ll be a go-to!

The best parts about this recipe

• 4 ingredients is all you need
• Super versatile for weeknight dinners or even dinner parties.
• They’re addictively good (and the fiber here is so good for you!)

Table of Contents

• Ingredient Notes
• How to make these dry fried green beans Step by Step
• Recipe and Cooking Tips
• Storage and Reheating
• Additions and Substitutions
• FAQ
• Video Tutorial
• The Recipe
• Looking for more similar recipes?

Ingredient Notes: 

Green Beans – I use fresh green beans that I then wash and trim. Blue lake green beans are a great varietal that are more tender and less likely to have tough strings. Haricot verts are also great to use here, just watch the cooking time as these are thinner and cook quicker. I wouldn’t recommend using frozen green beans for this recipe.

Soy Sauce – what add an umami punch to this dish and make these so addicting. Feel free to swap in Tamari or coconut aminos if you’re gluten free.

Garlic – opt for fresh minced garlic for the best aromatic punch. Thinly sliced garlic also works if you don’t mind eating larger chunks.

Kosher Salt – even though we’re using soy sauce, I use kosher salt to seasoning the boiling water that then seasons the green beans. This step is important, or else you’ll need to use more salt or soy sauce at the end to season the green beans.

How to make the Chinese Dry Fried Garlic Green Beans – Step by Step:

Step 1: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt heavily, and add the green beans. Cook for 5 minutes (4 minutes for haricot verts), then drain and rinse in cold water. Pat the green beans dry with a paper towel.

Step 2: Heat up large pan or wok with on medium high heat.

Step 3: Add the oil and green beans and toss to coat.

Step 4: Add in the sliced garlic and soy sauce and stir to combine. Continue to cook on medium high heat until you begin to see the edges of the green beans begin to char, about 4 minutes.

Step 5: Taste a bean, add additional salt as desired, plate, and enjoy!

Recipe & Cooking tips:

Tip 1 – If you’re looking to prep this ahead of time (say for a dinner gathering or potluck), you can blanch the green beans up to 1 day before finishing them hot with the garlic and soy sauce. If you do this method, be sure to add the green beans to ice water to stop the cooking.

Tip 2 – Use a cast iron pan or wok (on high heat!) for the best finished flavor. The char and soy sauce will make for a really nice and delicious aroma.

Tip 3 – Pat the green beans dry with a paper towel before adding them to the wok or cast iron pan. There will be some residual water on the green beans, but try and pat as much residual water away. This will help char the green beans and get that beautiful wok hei flavor.

Storage and Reheating

Storage: Store the cooked green beans in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Reheating: Reheat the beans in a pot on medium high heat with a few tablespoons of water until warm, about 5 minutes. You can also microwave if you’re in a pinch.

Substitutions

Substitutions:

• Green beans – haricot verts are another beautiful option. They are a bit thinner than green beans and are more tender. They might take less time to cook, so just check a piece after 3 minutes.
• Garlic – you can skip the garlic and use red pepper flake instead, or even ginger, shallots, or bacon.

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