Szechuan Dry fried green beans (干煸豆角) is very popular in Chinese restaurants. However, many of my friends complains that it is difficult to make a successful one since they either over fried the green beans to burn or the green beans are not fried enough. Dry frying is a cooking method we commonly use in different Chinese cuisines. Comparing the sautéed recipes, more oil is needed in the pan but less oil is needed comparing with deep frying. They are still other famous dishes such as Szechuan Dry-fried beef shreds (干煸牛肉丝) etc.
Traditionally, green beans are deep fried to remove the water and then stir fry with dried peppers and Sichuan pepper. If you do not want to use that amount of oil, boil the green beans in hot water for several minutes firstly. I use pan-frying with a little bit more oil instead of deep-frying because the less oil version is healthier. But pan-frying need more time. The less oil you use, the longer the process will be.
Put the green beans in a pan to stir-fry for around 2~4 minutes to remove the water(No Oil in this process). And then add 4 tablespoons of cooking oil to fry for another 7~10 minutes(and during the process, the skin of the green beans will begin to be crinkly ).
Besides garlic cloves, dried peppers and Sichuan peppercorn, I also call for Sichuan pickled chili peppers. If you are interested in making some at home, check pickled vegetables-Sichuan style or just replace it with fresh Thai chili peppers or skip this ingredient. After stir fry the seasoning until aroma, return the pan-fried green beans. Add salt and mix thoroughly.
The fresh taste of green beans gives a comparison with the dried condiments and persevered vegetables. The savory hot is always one of my favorite tastes. I am serving this dish with a large bowl of watermelon salad.

- 1 pound green beans
- 6 ~10 dried red peppers
- 1 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorn
- 6 pickled red pepper , chopped
- 4 tablespoons of cooking oil
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 1 inch root ginger , shredded
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Cap the fresh green beans; Wash and drain.
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Heat up pan without oil and then put green beans into pan for frying the water out around 2 minutes to remove the water on the surface.
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Add around 4 tablespoons of cooking oil in the pan and continue to dry fry until the skin of the green beans become to wrinkle. This process may need 8~10 minutes. Move the green beans out of the wok and set aside.
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Transfer exceeded oil out and remain around 1 tablespoon in wok, add dried red pepper, Sichuan peppercorn, garlic, ginger and chopped pickled chili peppers to stir fry until aroma.
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Return dry fried green beans and add salt. Mix well.
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Serve hot!
If you want to add some protein, you can add minced pork or beef into this recipe. Stir fry minced meat before adding the fried green beans.
Hi,There! I will try the healthier version of preparing this dish,tonight. I deep fried string beans a couple of months ago and it was too oily.
I am so happy to find this recipe. I went to China and loved the green beans. Now I found the recipe. Yeah