Dry-fried sichuan long beans

Ever had the wrinkly, dry-cooked green beans from a Chinese restaurant and wondered how it's done? Here's how. This dish is readily available on the internet, but I'm reposting a version I like. It tastes nothing like what I've had at Americanized Chinese restaurants, but that's not a bad thing.

The trick to this dish is the dry-frying method, which isn't exactly "dry". It's frying for a very long time until dry, in a bit of oil. It requires very good temperature control, so hopefully you know your cooktop, whatever heat source it is. There are a number of workaround methods - Kenji Lopez recommends broiling instead of dry-frying, Woks of Life has one version talking about shallow-frying in 1/4 cup of oil, restaurants tend to just deep fry the things - but the traditional method is to fry with a minimal amount of oil and a healthy amount of patience, and I think the reward in consistency and flavor is worth the attention.

It took me many trips to different grocery stores to find the right preserved vegetable, so have a look at the picture and look for "ya cai" when you think you've found it. Otherwise you might end up with something too sweet. This has almost a peppery, pungent flavor unlike most other Chinese condiments I've cooked with. I'm not convinced that this $1.00 bag of product is the best version of itself, and may investigate either sourcing or making a fresher, less commercial version of this to see how it improves the dish.

This version uses purple Thai long beans from the garden, but you could use any string bean you have available, as long as it's fresh and not frozen.

All of the ingredients, including the ya cai. Look for this darker-hued product, not the brightly colored preserved stems. Both are in the refrigerated section

Sichuan Dry Fried Green (or Long) Beans

Lifted from https://redhousespice.com/dry-fried-green-beans/

• 12 oz long beans or green beans, trimmed to 2" lengths
• 2 tbsp neutral oil, divided in half
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 Chinese dried chiles
• 1 tsp sichuan peppercorns (but recommend far fewer if they're freshly picked, me)
• 1/4 lb ground pork
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1.5 tbsp ya cai preserved mustard greens
• 1 tsp regular soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

Rinse the ya cai and squeeze out the moisture until the water runs clear - this has an overly pungent flavor to the preserving liquid that overpowers everything. Set aside.

Trim beans and massage with 1 tbsp oil and salt to evenly coat (this trick works great for fried rice as well!). In a large wok, cook beans over medium heat, tossing regularly, for 10-15 minutes, until wrinkled and thoroughly cooked. Remove to a plate.

Still on medium heat, add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and toss in the sichuan peppercorns and chile peppers to lightly toast them. Before these burn, which is nearly instantly, add the pork and stir-fry quickly. As this finishes, add the Shaoxing wine to rehydrate, and allow it to cook off slightly. Then add the garlic, ginger, ya cai greens, and the soy sauces, and toss to combine.

Add the beans back in, quickly toss to combine, and plate!

Dry frying on an induction wok, a new toy I bought after one too many failed stir-fries on the stove. I eventually reduced the temp to 375 and had no regrets.

Here's what the prep area looks like after cooking the beans

The seasoning mix, which really just elevates the beans with a complex flavor. Probably a bit too much meat here, and the peppers got a little too charred in just a matter of seconds. Be careful with your temperatures