Sichuan dry fried green beans, or Gan Bian Si Ji Dou (干煸四季豆), is a famous traditional Sichuan dish. The fresh green beans are roasted in a pan until blistered and beautifully charred, then tossed with ground pork, pickled mustard greens, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, soy sauce, and wine for a rich and fragrant taste. It is one of my favorite ways to cook green beans because it gives them a heavenly texture and a rich taste that goes so well with rice. When I would host foreign colleagues and friends back in China, I took countless people to experience real Sichuan food. The Mala Chicken and Dan Dan Noodles might be the most famous ones. But at the end of the day, vegetable dishes like these dry fried green beans and Sichuan Eggplant always won everybody over and became their new favorite dishes.
Dry fried green beans ingredients
Sui Mi Ya Cai
Sui Mi Ya Cai (碎米芽菜), or Sichuan Sichuan fermented pickled mustard greens, is the secret ingredient that makes this dish very authentic. The mustard greens are hand pickled, sliced, and dried. Then they are seasoned with salt and packed into ceramic pots to ferment for three to six months. After the first fermentation, they are boiled with brown sugar for eight to nine hours and then hung out to dry once more. In the final stage, these greens are sealed again with star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, and other spices, for another three to six months. The ingredient adds sweetness and a super umami to a dish to make it irresistible. You can find Sui Mi Ya Cai at most Chinese markets and online. If you have Sui Mi Ya Cai, it’s very easy to turn dry fried green beans into a vegan / vegetarian dish without compromising on flavor. However, if you do not have this ingredient, I highly recommend adding ground meat to the dish to boost the flavor.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
Prepped green beans Ground meat Aromatics (ginger, garlic, dried chili pepper) Ground Sichuan peppercorns Sui Mi Ya Cai Seasonings (Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and sugar)
Ground pork is often used in this dish, but I’ve tried it with ground chicken, turkey and beef. They all work really well.
How to cook dry fried green beans
What is dry frying?
Dry frying, or Gan Bian (干煸), is a Chinese cooking technique. It is somewhere between pan searing and deep frying. But it uses less oil, with a longer cooking time, to cook vegetables or meat to slightly dehydrate them, thus creating a crispy and charred surface. The texture of dry-fried vegetables is similar to that of grilled ones, with a hint of smoky flavor. Seasonings are added after dry-frying; in this recipe, soy sauce, dried chili peppers, and Szechuan peppercorns are used. The withered surface of the green beans holds the spices well, making for an appetizing, intense, and pungent flavor without using a ton of sauce.
How do I make this dish vegetarian / vegan?
The authentic version always uses ground pork as a way to enhance the flavor of the veggies. For a vegetarian alternative, you can choose from minced rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms, a bit more Sichuan pickled mustard greens, a spoonful of fermented black beans, or some fermented spicy bean paste (the dish will be slightly spicy).
Do I need to use a wok?
Yes and no. In fact, the first part of the cooking, pan roasting the green beans, works better in a skillet than a wok. It provides a larger contact surface and the beans will be cooked more evenly. Normally, the second part of the cooking is done in a wok, where you toss the green beans with pork and the rest of the spices. However, I’ve done various experiments and discovered that you can create great results using a skillet, as well. I highly recommend you stay with the skillet, especially if you have an electric stove. For more information, check out why you should stir fry with a frying pan instead of a wok.
Other delicious Sichuan recipes
Sichuan Eggplant Stir Fry (鱼香茄子) Authentic Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐) Kung Pao Shrimp (宫爆虾球) Chinese Potato Stir Fry (炝炒土豆丝) Sichuan Spicy Wonton in Chili Oil (红油抄手) Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce (鱼香肉丝, Yu Xiang Rou Si)
