The Stir Fried Green Beans My Dad's Made 100,000 Times
Why this recipe
Most stir fried green beans recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 239.6K views, 5K likes on YouTube.
This is an amazing dish that I grew up with (and my parents as well). We eat this 2-3 times a week!
It seems like my dad has dozens of recipes for tasty green bean dishes both at home, and restaurant-style.
This recipe is one of his more healthy varieties that packs just as much crunch and deliciousness as any other out there.
Fun facts about green beans
27M tons of green beans are consumed every year. Interestingly, while China produces around 75% of the world’s green beans today, they are said to have originated in Central and South America thousands of years ago.
- Only in the past several hundred years did green beans become a staple of the typical Chinese diet, following the explosion of international maritime trade in the 1500s.
- These are often called string beans, because long ago, they used to have a thick, fibrous string that ran along the seam of the pod. Nowadays, through plant-breeding, this thick string mostly no longer exists.
Pairs well with
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Ingredients
How to Pick Green Beans
My parents talk about their tips at length in our full recipe video, which you can check out here:
Not to be confused with long beans or asparagus beans, which are about 1.5 feet in length and also common in Chinese cuisine, my parents prefer the common green bean(or sei gwai dáu 四季豆 in Cantonese), which are about 4-6 inches in length.
When they're shopping, they don't always examine every individual green bean, but if they did, they'd select green beans that are younger. Some signs they look for:
- Beans that aren't bulging. Smaller beans are better.
- A fresh-looking green skin throughout the green bean.
- A green bean that's easy to snap.
On Ground Bean Sauce
For ground bean sauce, it might get confusing since there are a few different types of Asian bean sauces out there.
In Cantonese, we call it “mihn sih jeung 面豉酱” or "mòh yùhn sih 磨原豉", but most brands call it “Ground Bean Sauce” in English.
This sauce is made with ground up fermented yellow soybeans, and is packed with umami flavors.
Finding Asian Ingredients
Some of these ingredients are hard to find in a typical grocery store.
If you don't live near an Asian market, most or all of what my dad uses in this recipe can be found on Amazon:
I've also included some other Chinese kitchen essentials, used in many of my dad's other recipes.
- Kadoya Sesame Oil - https://amzn.to/3c7EOTu
- Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce
- Pearl River Bridge Superior Dark Soy Sauce
- Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce
- Shaoxing Cooking Wine
- Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (soak for 15-20 minutes in warm water before slicing)
- Michiu Rice Cooking Wine
- Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil
- Koon Chun Hoisin Sauce
- Bullhead Shacha (BBQ Sauce)
- Dried Orange Peels
- Dried Wood Ear Fungus (a few options, depending on what's in stock):
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!
Instructions
Prepare vegetables
As we start boiling water in a pot, we'll be preparing several vegetables:
- green beans (1 lb) - Cut off the ends, and cut in half (or into 1.5-2 inch pieces). Wash and drain.
- seafood mushrooms (2 oz) - Cut off the roots, and wash into 1.5-2 inch pieces. Wash and drain.
- red bell pepper - Wash, remove the seeds, and cut into thin strips.
- garlic (3 clove) - Cut into thin slices.
- dried red chili (2 piece) - Cut in half.
Apart from the main attraction, green beans, feel free to swap in whatever you'd like here (minced meats, other veggies, and etc.)
Blanch green beans
Add olive oil (1 tsp) (any type of oil works) and salt (1 tsp) to the boiling water.
Once the water is boiling, dump the green beans in, stir for a bit, and cover.
Once the pot is boiling again, we'll drain the green beans into a colander. You don't need to save the broth.
Heat wok, prepare slurry
We'll heat our wok on high heat for 2-3 minutes. Then, we'll add corn oil (2 tbsp) and let that heat until the oil starts shimmering, or forming ripples. If the oil starts smoking, the wok is too hot.
While we wait, we'll mix a small amount of cornstarch slurry with cornstarch (0.50 tsp) and water (0.50 tbsp).
Cook green beans
Once the oil is hot enough, we'll be cooking in several stages:
- Cook the garlic slices and chilies for 20-30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the blanched green beans and cook for about 1-2 minutes.
- Add ground bean sauce (1 tbsp), sugar (1 tsp), salt (0.50 tsp), chicken bouillon (0.50 tsp) (optional), stir for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chopped vegetables, and stir for about 1 minute.
- Re-stir and add the cornstarch slurry, and stir for about 1 additional minute.
Plate & enjoy!
Like a true chef, my dad always tastes the green beans to see if the dish needs any modifications.
If not, transfer the green beans to a plate and call your loved ones over! Time to eat :)
Made with love ❤️
We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.
Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.
