Fried Chinese Green Beans (干煸四季豆)

Learn to make irresistibly crisp restaurant-style green beans like a professional Chinese chef.

flodesk gif
Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
20 min
Yields
4 servings
YouTube Tutorial

A Recipe by Daddy Lau

My dad's been cooking Chinese food for over 50 years - as a kid fending for himself in Guangzhou, as the head chef of his own restaurant, and as a loving father in our home.

Hopefully, by learning this recipe, you'll get to experience some of the delicious joy we felt growing up eating his food!

- Randy

If you've ever wondered why green beans are so delicious at restaurants, it's all in the technique. They're usually deep-fried first to give the beans the best crunchy texture, then stir fried for flavor and aroma. Here, my dad takes you through his Fried Chinese Green Bean recipe (干煸四季豆), a less spicy version of the classic Sichuanese dish, and shares the essential steps for recreating his restaurant-quality dish at home.

Don't want to deep fry? You can also try my dad's Stir-Fried Green Beans recipe!

An expert Chinese chef's tip for making the crunchiest green beans

Deep frying helps expel the moisture from inside the green beans, giving them the snappy texture that makes this dish so irresistible. Just make sure the temperature of the frying oil doesn't get too hot, which will end up burning the beans before the moisture is extracted.

What to serve with Chinese green beans

Since it contains both a meat and veggie, this dish is delicious all on its own with a bowl of white rice (For my dad's tips on how to make perfect, fluffy rice, check out all of his tips here!).

Fried green beans are also great as part of a larger spread of your favorite Chinese dishes. Serve it alongside lighter main entrees such as Steamed Salmon or White Cut Chicken With Ginger Scallion Sauce, or with noodles like Cantonese Chow Mein.

Check out a quick story summary of our recipe!

Ingredients

Weight: US
oz
g
Volume: US
cup
mL
Servings
4

Main ingredients

  • 1 lb green bean
  • 1 oz red onion
  • 1 oz white onion
  • 1 chili pepper (

    such as a fresno chili pepper

    )
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 4 oz pork butt (

    or ground pork

    )
  • 10 oz oil (

    for deep frying

    )
  • 1 tablespoon oil (

    for stir frying

    )
  • 1 tablespoon cooking wine

Stir Fry Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 2 teaspoons cooking wine
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoon sugar
  • 0.50 teaspoon salt

Cornstarch Slurry

  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 0.50 teaspoon cornstarch

On green beans

In Chinese, green beans are known as four-season beans (四季豆) since they're available all-year round.

The key to picking the best green beans is looking for ones that aren't too mature. You can spot these by looking at the size of the interior beans; if they're bulging out, then the beans are on the older side. Length doesn't matter, so both short and long ones will work for this recipe, but the beans should be smooth. Look out for vibrant green ones and beans that feel crisp enough to snap in half.

Green beans are different from long beans, which are are also common in Chinese cuisines.

Equipment note

When deep frying, my dad uses a spider to scoop out the food and strain it at the same time. It's a useful tool that helps him work quickly so nothing burns! We highly recommend getting one:

These links are affiliate links, which means that if you use our links to purchase these ingredients, Amazon pays my family a small amount for the sale - at no extra cost to you. If you use these links, we really appreciate the support!

Step 1: Prep vegetables

Cut the green beans (1 lb). Line up a handful of beans and trim off both ends, then slice the beans in half. Repeat until all the beans have been trimmed and cut. Pat dry with a paper towel.

Cut the red onion (1 oz) into thin slices. Repeat with the white onion (1 oz) and set both aside.

Trim the stem off the chili pepper (1 ). Chop it in half and scrape out the core with the seeds. Hold the pepper with the long side facing you and slice into thin strips. Set aside.

Smash and peel the garlic cloves (4 cloves). Trim off the ends and flatten with the flat side of your knife, then roughly mince the garlic.

Step 2: Prep pork

Cut the pork (4 oz) into thin slices. Chop across the sliced pork perpendicularly, then switch directions to chop parrallel to you. Fold the meat over itself and chop acorss it again. Repeat until the pork has been finely minced. Set aside.

(Chef's Tip: Chopping the meat in different directions helps create a finer mince. If you chop in one direction, you'll only get long pieces.)

Step 3: Make sauce

In a small bowl, combine the light soy sauce (1 tablespoon), oyster sauce (1 tablespoon), cooking wine (2 teaspoons), dark soy sauce (1 teaspoon), sugar (2 teaspoon) and salt (0.50 teaspoon) and stir until well mixed.

Stir together the water (1 teaspoon) and cornstarch (0.50 teaspoon) to make the slurry.

Step 4: Deep fry green beans

Heat a wok on high heat. Once the wok begins to smoke, add the oil (10 oz). Depending on the height of your cooking vessel, you may need more or less than our recommend amount. Heat the oil to 300°F and scoop up the sides of the wok to prevent any food from sticking.

Carefully set half the beans into the wok. Lower the heat to medium and fry while stirring them gently until the exterior wrinkles up, about 2.5 to 3 minutes.

Remove the cooked green beans and set aside in spider strainer or colander to let the excess oil drain off. Repeat with the second half of the beans. Make sure the oil is back up to 300°F before adding in subsequent batches.

Pour out the frying oil. You can save this to cook with later. Wipe off any oil on the edge or outside wok.

Step 5: Stir fry ingredients

Heat the cleaned wok on high and add the oil (1 tablespoon). You can use some of the reserved leftover oil from frying or a new batch.

Decrease the heat to medium and add minced pork. Let the bottom of the meat brown and stir fry to break up into small pieces, about 1 minute. Add garlic and stir fry for 1 minute. Next, add half the onions and chili peppers and stir fry until aromatic for 30 to 40 seconds.

Turn the heat to high and add the green beans. Stir fry for 1 minute, using your wok spatula to scoop all the way to the bottom to toss the ingredients.

Splash cooking wine (1 tablespoon) on edge of wok and stir fry for another 20 to 30 seconds.

Pour in the sauce. Start with a little bit and add if you feel the dish needs more flavor. Daddy Lau used about 2/3 of the sauce in this video. Stir fry 20 to 30 seconds.

Add the cornstarch slurry (give it a quick stir to recombine if needed) and stir fry for 15 to 20 seconds. My dad only adds a slurry if there's liquid in the wok after stir frying the ingredients. If it's fairly dry, then you can skip this step.

Add in rest of onions a nd chili peppers and stir and fry for final 20 to 30 seconds. Turn the heat off and plate.

FAQ

Can I make this vegetarian?

  • Yes! You can leave out the pork and just make the green beans or add additional vegetables such as mushrooms.

How do I prevent green beans from getting soggy?

  • ffBe sure to pat the beans dry with a paper towel before cooking. Deep frying the beans first also helps prevent them from getting soggy because it forces moisture out of the beans. Once you start stir frying, avoid adding any water or placing the lid on top of the wok, which would create steam.

Summary

Print Recipe
Made With Lau
madewithlau.com/recipes/chinese-green-beans
Fried Chinese Green Beans (干煸四季豆)
Learn to make irresistibly crisp restaurant-style green beans like a professional Chinese chef.
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Total Time: 20 min
  • Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

Main ingredients

  • 1 lb green bean
  • 1 oz red onion
  • 1 oz white onion
  • 1 chili pepper (

    such as a fresno chili pepper

    )
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 4 oz pork butt (

    or ground pork

    )
  • 10 oz oil (

    for deep frying

    )
  • 1 tablespoon oil (

    for stir frying

    )
  • 1 tablespoon cooking wine

Stir Fry Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 2 teaspoons cooking wine
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoon sugar
  • 0.50 teaspoon salt

Cornstarch Slurry

  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 0.50 teaspoon cornstarch

Step 1 - Prep vegetables

↑ Jump to details

Trim the green beans (1 lb) and cut in half. Pat dry with a paper towel.

Cut the red onion (1 oz) into thin slices. Repeat with the white onion (1 oz) and set both aside.

Trim the stem off the chili pepper (1 ), slice in half and scrape out the seeded core. Slice into thin strips and set aside

Smash, peel and roughly mince the garlic cloves (4 cloves).

Step 2 - Prep pork

↑ Jump to details

Cut the pork (4 oz) into thin slices and finely mince by chopping the meat in different directions. Set aside.

Step 3 - Make sauce

↑ Jump to details

In a small bowl, combine the light soy sauce (1 tablespoon), oyster sauce (1 tablespoon), cooking wine (2 teaspoons), dark soy sauce (1 teaspoon), sugar (2 teaspoon) and salt (0.50 teaspoon) and stir until well mixed.

Stir together the water (1 teaspoon) and cornstarch (0.50 teaspoon) to make the slurry.

Step 4 - Deep fry green beans

↑ Jump to details

Heat a wok on high heat. Once the wok begins to smoke, add the oil (10 oz) and heat to 300°F. Scoop the oil up the sides of the wok.

Carefully set half the beans into the wok. Lower the heat to medium and fry while stirring them gently until the exterior wrinkles up, about 2.5 to 3 minutes.

Remove the cooked green beans and set aside in spider strainer or colander to let the excess oil drain off. Repeat with the second half of the beans. Make sure the oil is back up to 300°F before adding in subsequent batches.

Pour out the frying oil. Wipe off any oil on the edge or outside wok.

Step 5 - Stir fry ingredients

↑ Jump to details

Heat the cleaned wok on high and add the oil (1 tablespoon).

Decrease the heat to medium and add minced pork. Let the bottom brown and stir fry to break up into small pieces, about 1 minute. Add garlic and stir fry for 1 minute. Add half the onions and chili peppers and stir fry for 30 to 40 seconds.

Turn the heat to high and add the green beans. Stir fry for 1 minute.

Splash cooking wine (1 tablespoon) on edge of wok and stir fry for another 20 to 30 seconds.

Pour in the sauce. Start with a little bit and add more if preferred.Stir fry 20 to 30 seconds.

Add the cornstarch slurry (give it a quick stir to recombine if needed) and stir fry for 15 to 20 seconds. Use only if there's liquid in the wok after stir frying the ingredients. If it's fairly dry, skip this step.

Add in rest of onions a nd chili peppers and stir and fry for final 20 to 30 seconds. Turn the heat off and plate.

Step 6 - Take pictures
Whip out your camera (1). Begin taking photos (1,000,000). Pick your favorites!
Step 7 - Share and tag us on Instagram @madewithlau #madewithlau!
Did you have fun making this recipe? We'd love to see & hear about it. (Especially my dad. He would be THRILLED!)

Enjoy!

We have many, many happy memories of enjoying this dish growing up.

Now, hopefully, you can create your own memories with this dish with your loved ones.

Also, I cordially invite you to eat with us and learn more about the dish, Chinese culture, and my family.

Cheers, and thanks for cooking with us!

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions about the recipe.