Sichuan dry-fried snake beans recipe (gan bian si ji dou)

Created by Caroline Baum

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Cuisine: Chinese
Serves 4 as part of a banquet

Ingredients

100g minced pork
60ml (¼ cup) soy sauce
1½ tbsp Chinese rice wine (shaoxing)*
½ tsp cornflour
600g (about 3 bunches) snake beans
Vegetable oil, to shallow-fry
3 dried red chillies*
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Chinese leek*, finely chopped
2 tbsp dried shrimp*, roughly chopped
30g pickled mustard greens (ya cai)*, finely chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
Steamed rice, to serve

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Preparation

Place pork, 1 tbsp soy sauce, ½ tbsp rice wine and cornflour in a bowl and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Trim beans and cut into 5cm lengths. If damp, dry well with paper towel. Fill a large wok with 3cm vegetable oil and place over high heat. To check whether oil is hot enough, insert a wooden chopstick into oil; small bubbles should form on the chopstick. Working in three batches, carefully add the beans and cook for 2 minutes or until skins wrinkle and whiten. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.

Drain all oil except for ½ tbsp. Return wok to high heat and add pork mixture. Cook, breaking up mince, for 2 minutes or until browned. Add chillies, garlic, leek and shrimp, and stir-fry for 1 minute or until fragrant. Return beans to wok with remaining 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp rice wine, and mustard greens. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add sesame oil. Stir to combine and remove from heat.

Serve immediately with rice.

* Chinese rice wine, dried red chillies and dried shrimp are available from Asian food shops.

* Chinese leeks, available from selected greengrocers and Asian food shops, are more slender than regular leeks and resemble bulb spring onions. Substitute 1 large spring onion.

* Ya cai is a Sichuanese pickle made from the stems of a variety of mustard green. It is sun-dried, rubbed in salt and mixed with spices and sometimes sugar. It is dark brown and sold in packets or jars at selected Asian food shops. If unavailable, substitute with other pickled mustard greens or pickled radish.

Photography by Paul Barbera.

If you enjoyed this Sichuan dry-fried snake beans recipe (gan bian si ji dou) then browse more Chinese recipes, stir-fry recipes, meat recipes, easy recipes, quick recipes and our most popular hainanese chicken rice recipe.

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