Gān biǎn dòu jiǎo- Sichuanese Dry Fried Green Beans 干扁豆角

Gān biǎn dòu jiǎo  
Sichuanese Dry Fried Green Beans

干扁豆角

Gan bian means dry fry, where things are cooked over a high heat with spices and a little oil. Beans become sweeter and more concentrated in flavour when cooked in this way. The secret is to keep things constantly moving so they don’t burn and add the garlic in the very last minute of cooking as the heat is so intense it would otherwise burn and become bitter. There are a lot of chillies but the dish isn’t too hot as the chillies are whole.

Serves 2 as a side dish

2 tbsp oil

200g green beans, trimmed but whole

5 large dried chillies, whole

1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

1 clove garlic, sliced into thin pieces

Heat oil in wok/large skillet on high heat, add chillies, peppercorns and fry for 30 seconds. Add beans, keep them moving, flipping with a spatula or long handled spoon. After approx. 2 minutes add the salt and sugar and fry the beans until they start caramelising and becoming brown in places and the skin start to blister. Make sure to keep flipping the beans to let them cook evenly and prevent burning. After 3 – 5 minutes, when the beans are a deep green and have caramelised in several places, add the garlic and cook for a further minute, then serve.