Chinese Stir Fry Green Beans (18 Minutes)
You’ll forget all about takeout with these vegetarian Chinese stir fry green beans! They make an easy, quick and wickedly good addition to any main course.
The aromatic coating on the stir-fried green beans is made of garlic, ginger, soy, rice wine and a little bit of sesame oil, heat and sugar.
I found a green beans recipe in a Food Network Magazine and made a couple of minor tweaks like adding heat with red pepper flakes.
The Chinese-style green beans aren’t quite authentic, but I think they would stand up to any green bean recipe in your favorite Chinese restaurant. We use simple ingredients that can be found in any mainstream or Asian grocery store.
As always, there are variations you can try to suit your tastes.
Dry-fry cooking method
The stir fry method used in the recipe is called dry frying as very little oil is used. In fact, I only used 2 teaspoons of oil for a pound of beans.
Apparently, in most Chinese restaurants, the green beans are deep-fried in oil in order to speed up the cooking process. The healthier dry-fry method uses much less oil and results in charring of the beans which creates tiny bubbles or puckering.
I found that a total of 10 minutes is perfect to maintain some bite on the beans, but if you want them more charred, just increase the time they cook on the medium-high heat setting instead of medium.
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
Green beans: I use regular green beans (also called string beans or snap beans) found in most grocery stores. You can also use the thinner French green beans (haricots verts) which will cook more quickly.
Sauce/coating: A mixture of garlic, fresh ginger, soy sauce, rice wine or Sherry, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and sugar give the beans a real punch of flavor.
Here are a few variations and substitutes for this simple dish.
- Spice level: Make the beans as hot or mild as you like with red pepper flakes, sriracha, chili paste, chili oil, chili crisps or chili garlic sauce.
- Substitute the rice wine with fortified wine or Sherry.
- Add-in options:
- Add chopped green onions/scallions toward the end of cooking.
- For a meat version, add some sautéed ground pork before you add the sauce/coating.
- Garnish: Sprinkle sesame seeds or chopped nuts on the beans for garnish.
How to make this green beans recipe
Shortcuts
- Buy green beans in a package that are pre-washed with ends trimmed. Or use the slim Costco french beans which don’t need trimming (cook time will be less).
- Use garlic and ginger frozen cubes (or from a jar) instead of fresh (but fresh is best for this recipe if you have the ingredients).
Make Ahead
- Slightly under-cook the beans and place the finished dish in the oven on a low heat to keep warm.
- Or make the sauce and dry fry the beans ahead of time. Just before serving, heat the pan to medium-high heat, add the sauce and sauté with beans for 2 minutes to finish the dish. I do this all the time.
What to serve with Asian green beans
I love to serve these delicious green beans as a flavorful side dish with one of the following main dishes: maple glazed salmon, lemon butter herb baked trout , juicy pork chops, roast chicken and potatoes, vegetarian stuffed portobello mushrooms or crispy baked fish.
For an Asian food theme, serve this simple side dish with rice paper rolls, kung pao chicken, vegetable fried rice and wonton soup.
More delicious green bean recipes
- best green beans with panko crumbs
- green beans, potatoes and bacon
- Flat green beans (charred)
- simple chicken and green bean stir fry
- microwave green beans (that everyone loves)
If you like this recipe, please leave a 5 star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟in the recipe card below. And if you REALLY like it, consider a review in the comments. Thanks very much!
Chinese Stir Fry Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 grams) fresh green beans, washed and tips removed, Note 1
- 2 teaspoon oil avocado oil, peanut oil or vegetable oil
- GARNISH: toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Coating/Sauce
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Rice wine, Sherry or Fortified wine
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic (or more to taste)
- 2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon white or brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, Note 2 or more to get the spice level you like
Instructions
- PREPARE COATING/SAUCE: Combine all ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
- DRY-FRY BEANS: Heat oil in a wok or skillet to medium heat. Add green beans to the hot wok and sauté for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high heat. Continue to sauté, stirring for 4 minutes until beans are tender crisp and charred a bit. If you like them more charred, reverse the times and cook 4 minutes on medium heat and 6 minutes on medium-high heat.
- FINISH BEANS: Pour sauce into skillet. Stir to coat beans evenly. Sauté 1 minute more. Transfer sautéed green beans to serving platter. Top with toasted sesame seeds if desired.
Recipe Notes
- Green bean options (shortcut): buy green beans in a package that are pre-washed with ends trimmed. Or use the slim Costco French beans which don’t need trimming (cook time will be less).
- Variations and substitutions
- Heat: Make the beans as hot or mild as you like with red pepper flakes, red chili pepper, sriracha, chili paste, chili oil or chili garlic sauce.
- Substitute rice wine fortified wine or Sherry.
- Add-ins:
- Add chopped green onions/scallions toward the end of cooking.
- For a meat version, add some sautéed ground pork before you add the sauce/coating.
- Garnish: Sprinkle sesame seeds or chopped nuts on the beans for garnish.
- Make Ahead
- Slightly under-cook the beans and place the finished dish in the oven on a low heat to keep warm.
- Or make the sauce and dry fry the beans ahead of time. Just before serving, heat the pan to medium high, add the sauce and sauté with beans for 2 minutes to finish the dish. I do this all the time.
Have made this many times and love it.
Tonight, one of my guests had a soy allergy. So I substituted Worcestershire sauce for the soy and it was delicious!!
Great to know! Thanks for sharing Fran 🙂
This recipe is perfect. Excellent flavor, better than the restaurant! I took advantage of the suggestions to use sherry and top with toasted sesame seeds. To finish the beans I extended the saute time to 3 minutes. I think this reduces the coating so it is stickier, and adheres well to the beans. Love this recipe!
Thanks Gary! Glad you liked them. Agree the sherry and sesame seeds add a bit of flare and flavor.
Felt like I was eating at an authentic Chinese restaurant!
Big compliment! Thanks Jordan! Glad you like them.
Just made this and sautéed some chopped chicken breast and added some Chinese Spicy Chilli Crisp sauce.
Easy and delicious!!! Another great recipe from TKK in the K
So you made it into a stir fried dinner. Great idea! Glad you liked it!
These beans are so fantastic that I make them 3 times a week. The only think I add is green onions. Amazing.
Wow – three times a week! Quite the hit. Thanks for the sharing the green onion tip.
What can I substitute for rice wine. Have rice vinegar
A dry white wine, dry sherry or fortified wine are the best substitutes. But you can also use lemon, white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you don’t have those. Hope that helps.
Easy and delicious recipe. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! And thanks for leaving a comment.
Can I use the green beans that are wound up with no ends?
If you mean long beans, I don’t see why not. They should work fine. Let me know how they turn out if you get a chance. ?
Best green bean recipe ever. I love this!
Great! Glad it worked for you. I serve to friends a lot and they love it.
Super easy, fast and delicious
Exactly what we love in recipes – super easy, fast and delicious! Thanks Joanne.
Just made the Chinese green beans and they we’re DELISH!!! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Glad you like them Gillian!