Emma Alter
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I was very excited to find a huge number of green beans ready to harvest in my vegetable garden. Given the fact that the bean plants have pretty much taken over the garden, it's nice to see that they are actually producing a fair number of beans. I still have many tiny beans that will be big enough next week and many more flowers, so I think I'll be harvesting beans for a few weeks to come.
This begs the question, what am I going to do with all those beans? One of my husband's favourite recipes is for Szechuan green beans, so that was what I made with our first harvest. And of course, with the Olympics only 3 weeks away, I'm going to be gearing up to do a lot of Chinese food recipes. If you want to get in on the fun then make sure your pantry is stocked with the necessary ingredients. I've already got you started with a couple of recipes from the Hold the Phone! series, Chinese food being the takeout food of choice for many people. So get out your steamer and practice making those Steamed Pork Buns or your wok and make General Tso's Chicken or Tofu. I'll be looking at all kinds of different things, soups, street food and lots of vegetarian options.
I probably had a recipe for these green beans at some point, but I've been making them for so many years that I just throw it together. We like ours spicy, but you can add less chili sauce if you like a milder version. The really important part of this recipe is to have the oil really hot so that the beans cook instantly when they hit the wok. I add ground pork, but the beans are still delicious without it.
Szechuan Green Beans
1/2 lb ground pork
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 or so peanut oil
1 lb green beans
1 tbsp szechuan chili sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
- In a wok cook ground pork and minced garlic until pork is no longer pink. Drain any fat and place pork in a bowl. Set aside.
- Wipe out wok and add enough peanut oil to just coat the bottom of the wok. Make sure your beans are dry or the oil will spit a great deal. Heat the oil until almost smoking and add the green beans. Stir quickly, taking care not to get spattered with oil. When the beans have shriveled, lower the heat and add the cooked pork, chili sauce and soy sauce.
- Serve immediately over cooked rice or noodles.
Difficulty Level: Easy
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Stock your Kitchen: Chinese Food
Hold the Phone! Steamed Pork Buns
Hold the Phone! General Tso's Chicken or Tofu
Make Yourself a Chinese Dinner
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