We love this dish as a vegetarian weeknight dinner served with a fried egg in a bowl of rice! It’s very quick and easy to whip up after a long, busy day.

You can add minced meat too if you prefer. After you have fried the beans in a dry pan, fry some pork, chicken or turkey mince along with a splash of soy sauce. When the meat is cooked, push it to the side of the pan while you sizzle the Sichuan peppercorn and garlic mixture. Combine all together when you add the beans back in.

You can also experiment with a combination of peppercorns. Try adding pink or black peppercorns to the mixture and lightly grind them if you want a really pungent taste.

Ingredients:

  • 225g green beans (dark green snake beans are best, but French or runner beans also work well), sliced into 1½-inch pieces
  • 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp ginger, chopped finely
  • 2 fresh red chillies
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
  • 1 tbsp neutral-flavoured oil

Method:

  1. Prepare the chillies by splitting them in half while keeping the stems intact (you want the chilli flavour without making the dish too spicy, but of course, you can chop up the chillies if you prefer this dish to be very spicy).
  2. Mix together the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and rice wine before starting to cook. Add the sliced green beans to a very hot wok or heavy-based pan, without oil, on high heat. Keep the pan moving and the beans will begin to colour and develop a smoky flavour. When the beans begin to wilt or go crinkly with little charred bits (about 3–5 minutes), remove and put into a bowl.
  3. Turn the heat to low and drizzle in the oil. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and heat slowly until the peppercorns begin to crackle. After 2 minutes, add in the garlic, ginger and chillies and let them sizzle in the pan for about 1 minute on high heat.
  4. Add the green beans and then the sauce, cooking until all the sauce has evaporated and has been absorbed into the beans. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

 

For more awesome vegetarian recipes like this, like Foodie on Facebook

Foodie is here for all Hong Kong food related news and events.

Win tasty prizes in our Valentine’s Day giveaway!

Join our biggest giveaway yet and win prizes for you and your partner