Inspiring vegetarian recipes
Try our vibrant veggie dishes, from meat-free lasagne to vegetable curry and vegetarian chilli
Chinese dry-fried green beans and minced shiitake
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- + soaking
- Easy
- Serves 2-4
Ingredients
- ½ tsp sichuan peppercorns
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 2 hours or overnight
- 300g green beans, trimmed
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ½ a thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp sui mi ya cai or Tianjin preserved cabbage, soaked in hot water and finely chopped
- 3 large dried red chillies, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and roughly chopped
- 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for stir-frying
SAUCE
- ½ tbsp doubanjiang (chilli bean sauce)
- ½ tbsp light soy sauce
- ½ tsp caster sugar
- ½ tbsp shaoxing rice wine
Method
- STEP 1
Pound the peppercorns to a fine powder using a pestle and mortar. Finely dice the mushrooms and set aside. Mix together the sauce ingredients in a ramekin.
- STEP 2
Prepare a ‘wok clock’ of ingredients on a plate ready for stir-frying: put the green beans at 12 o’clock followed by the garlic, ginger, preserved vegetables, chillies, peppercorns, mushrooms and the bowl of sauce.
- STEP 3
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat and, once hot, stir-fry the green beans for 1-2 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of just-boiled water and cover with a lid. Steam vigorously for 30 seconds-1 minute, then lift the lid and repeat the process with another 1 tbsp of just-boiled water. This should cook the green beans quickly but also start to blister them. Lift the lid and continue to stir-fry the beans over a high heat for a further 4-5 minutes until the skins are blistered all the way around.
- STEP 4
At this point, remove the beans to a bowl and add another 1 tbsp of vegetable oil to the wok. Return to a high heat and, once hot, stir-fry around your wok clock, starting with the garlic and finishing with the mushrooms, stir-frying for 30 seconds between each addition. Once the mushrooms are in, continue to stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until they have started to crisp a little. Return the green beans to the wok, then pour in the sauce. Boil vigorously, folding the beans through the sauce a few times, until the sauce coats everything well. Serve.
