I made this string beans (french beans) recipe a few months ago but haven’t gotten to posting it. Called 干煸四季豆, this is a popular Chinese recipe that is mostly served in Chinese restaurants here in the US.
I love the texture of the deep-fried string beans; the great flavors came from stir-frying the string beans (french beans) with dried chilies, dried shrimp, and ground pork. This is another Chinese restaurant recipe that is worth trying out so please read on and get my string beans/french beans recipe below.
Ingredients:
8 oz. string beans (french beans)
2 oz. ground pork
1 tablespoon dried shrimp (rinsed in warm water and chopped)
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
3-5 dried red chilies
1/2 inch ginger (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon oil
Oil for deep frying
Method:
Trim the ends of the string beans (french beans), rinse with water, drain, pat dry, and set aside.
Heat up a wok with enough oil for deep frying. When the oil gets smoky hot, transfer the string beans into the oil and quickly fry them. As soon as the skin of the string beans (french beans) becomes wrinkly, transfer out and line with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Heat up 1 tablespoon oil in a wok. Add the chopped garlic and ginger and lightly stir-fry. Add in the chopped dried shrimp, ground pork, and dried chilies and stir-fry until aromatic, and then follow by the string beans (french beans). Add the rest of seasonings and continue stirring for a few times, dish out, and serve immediately.
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I first had this dish at a Malaysian friend’s house and since then I’ve fell in love with it! I’ve been thinking of making it for a while, tomorrow I’ll go and buy some beans, so I can check out your recipe!
bye
nico
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Nico – great, let me know how your string beans turn out.
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nico replied:
Hey, tried tonight and they were DELICIOUS!
Look for yourself!
http://www.nicolaromano.net/misc/beans.jpg (ok, not pretty as yours, I admit, but I was eager to eat them!)
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Ooooh, looks so good with so much ground pork. I love it. :)
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Ooh, this is seriously one of my favorite quick dishes! Especially good when the ground pork gets all crispy around the edges. Good stuff, in flavor and nutrition.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Manggy – yes, ground pork and dried shrimp, all stir-fried to be crispy and charred around the edges, yummy!
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Look delicious, and easy!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Yes, it’s quite easy. Only the deep-frying part is a little bit extra work. :)
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Thank you for this recipe. These green beans are a favorite of mine whenever I eat at a Chinese restaurant. Now, I can make them at home. They look terrific!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Hi Susan – yay, isn’t it great when you can create restaurant dishes at your own kitchen, at just a fraction of the price!!
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I always love this dish and always wanted to make it but can never find the recipe. Finally found it on your website, thanks so much !!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Candace – trust be told, I researched a lot of Chinese websites to come out with my own recipes. I wanted to make sure that I do it right. :)
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I miss this dish, we have some garden beans coming up. should try this myself at home.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Hi Janet – you have your own beans? That’s so awesome. Let me know how it goes. :)
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It is new to me. Is it a Sze Chuan style cooking? Sounds interesting and inviting looking at the wrinkled french beans! ;)
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Yes, this is Sichuan-style of cooking. I never know this dish until I came to the US. It’s a very popular dish in restaurants here. ;)
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I love long beans, but I have not seen freshly picked ones, taut outer skin like we used to get at the friday markets. That is why I use french beans and pretend they are long beans.Taste is rather different. So sad.
I should start growing them myself, if I can get seeds. Thank you for the recipe.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
I know what you mean. The long beans in my Asian mart looks sooooo sad, unlike the really fresh ones sold in Malaysian wet markets.
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Ooh, sounds so good. I love finding new ways of cooking beans, and I’m already thinking of how to make this work for me (vegetarian)! Gotta love simple stir-fries!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Miakoda – yes, it’s very easy, you don’t have to use pork for this dish to make it vegetarian. :)
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oh i like this recipe very much, I take note. Great photo, made me very hungry! :)
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Christelle – are you going to try this string beans recipe?
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I am so glad you posted this! There’s a place in a dodgy food court that makes this and it’s only decent, but I get cravings for it! I’d much rather make it at home! One question, do you have a preference for the brand of chicken bullion powder?
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Hey Ivy – Knorr is my favorite brand. :)
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Ohmygosh…i’m supposed to deep fry it??!! No wonder it never came out the same!!! DOH! thanks, B!!!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Jen – you are too funny, LOL. I think deep frying is definitely the “secret” and make sure your wok is very very very hot before the frying. :)
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I love these! We always called them “Dry Fried String Beans” in California. Can you give me a good substitute for the ground pork? I can’t eat pork products…. thanks!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Marion – how about ground chicken or ground shrimp?
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Marion replied:
mmmm……ground shrimp sounds wonderful! thanks…..
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Yep, a great substitute.
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String Beans/French Beans 四季豆 is my #1 green. I can have it any which way it is cooked but yours has got to be my best way to savor this healthy yet most time, overlooked beans.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Hehe, I agree that these string beans are often neglected, but they are so good.
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Mmmmm I love the color and texture of oil blanched beans. Made some with black garlic and black beans the other day that were pretty good.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Black bean sauce and black garlic sounds great. Yummy!
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I love string beans! I had them recently in a Szechuan restaurant and it was yummy! Will definitely try this out soon, thanks for the recipe!
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Is there a way to substitute for not having a wok?
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