DRY-FRIED GREEN BEANS (GAN BIAN SI JI DOU)

Ingredients

• 500 g green beans, yard-long beans, French green beans, or runner beans; completely dried of all surface moisture
• oil for deep-frying or 60 ml neutral cooking oil, for deep-frying at 180 °C, or shallow pan-frying
• For the aromatics
• 150 g ground pork, optional but traditional; omit for vegetarian
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 thumb fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 3–4 dried red chillies, whole or roughly broken
• 60 g Yibin yacai (Sichuan preserved vegetable), Tianjin preserved vegetable is an acceptable substitute; neither is truly optional
• For seasoning
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar, a small amount
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, a splash only; the dish must remain dry
• ½ tsp Sichuan pepper, ground fresh, added at the very end
• ¼ tsp white pepper, ground; not black pepper

Method

1. 1
   Dry the beans thoroughly with a clean cloth or paper. Any surface moisture causes violent spattering and prevents blistering. Heat the oil: for deep-frying, bring a sufficient volume to 180 °C; for the pan-fry method, heat 60 ml of oil in a wok over the highest available flame until shimmering and beginning to smoke. The oil is ready when a single bean dropped in produces a violent, crackling sizzle. If the response is a quiet hiss, remove the bean and wait. This is where the dish lives or dies: under-temperature oil produces greasy, unblistered beans with no recovery possible.
2. 2
   Add the beans to the hot oil. Deep-fry 3–5 minutes; pan-fry 6–10 minutes, tossing regularly for even exposure. Cook until the skins are thoroughly wrinkled and spotted with brown blisters and the beans are visibly reduced in girth — almost dehydrated in appearance. Do not rush: a slightly undercooked bean will be rubbery rather than tender through to the centre.
3. 3
   Remove the beans and drain on paper. Discard or reserve the frying oil (it is deeply flavoured with bean essence and suitable for stir-frying other greens). Wipe the wok clean and return it to maximum heat with a small measure of fresh oil.
4. 4
   Add the ground pork, if using, and stir-fry until it colours and its fat renders. Add the garlic, ginger, and dried chillies. Cook briefly until the aromatics are fragrant — the smell should be sharp and nutty. Add the Yibin yacai and stir-fry until it caramelises against the hot wok, giving off its dark, fermented, intensely savoury smell. The yacai should season the dish, not overwhelm it.
5. 5
   Return the blistered beans to the wok. Add the soy sauce, sugar, and Shaoxing wine. Toss on maximum heat for 60–90 seconds to combine. The finished dish should appear quite dry, with no sauce pooling at the base of the wok — gan bian means dry-frying. Pull from heat when the dish looks 90 per cent done; carryover will complete it.
6. 6
   Off the heat, add the freshly ground Sichuan pepper and white pepper. Toss once to distribute. Taste: the beans should carry concentrated sweetness with blistered, slightly smoky exterior notes, savoury depth from the preserved vegetable, and a building tingle of Sichuan pepper at the finish. Each bean should yield to the tooth with papery resistance at the skin and no raw crunch at the centre.