Dry-Fried Green Beans with Ground Pork and Preserved Vegetable

Dry-Fried Green Beans with Ground Pork and Preserved Vegetable

This is the project dish: beans blistered and wrinkled in hot oil until they turn sweet and almost smoky, then tossed with salty-savory ground pork and a few pungent things from the pantry. It takes more attention than most weeknight cooking — you're frying in batches and watching for color — but the payoff is a dish with real depth, the kind you'd order at a good Sichuan restaurant.

You need

• 1 lb (450g) green beans, ends trimmed, left whole or cut into 3-inch (7.5cm) lengths
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil (peanut or vegetable), plus more if needed for frying
• 4 oz (115g) ground pork
• 2 tablespoons preserved mustard greens (ya cai) or Tianjin preserved vegetable, rinsed and chopped, or substitute finely chopped Napa cabbage kimchi in a pinch
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch (2.5cm) piece ginger, minced
• 2 scallions, white and green parts separated, both finely sliced
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper (optional but wonderful)
• Pinch of salt, to taste

Method

1. Pat the green beans completely dry with a kitchen towel — any surface water will make the oil spit and stop the beans from blistering properly.
2. Set a wok or heavy skillet over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the oil. When it's shimmering and just starting to send up a thin wisp of smoke, add a third of the beans in a single layer. Let them sit for 30-45 seconds before stirring, then fry for 4-5 minutes total, turning occasionally, until the skins are blistered, wrinkled, and browned in spots. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat in two more batches, adding a splash more oil if the pan looks dry; don't crowd the pan or the beans will steam instead of blister.
3. Wipe out the wok if there's a lot of burnt residue, then return it to medium-high heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the ground pork and break it up with your spatula, frying for 3-4 minutes until it's browned and the fat has rendered out, with some crisp little bits forming.
4. Add the preserved vegetable, garlic, ginger, and scallion whites. Stir-fry for 1 minute, until fragrant — your kitchen should smell distinctly savory and a little funky in a good way.
5. Pour in the Shaoxing wine and let it bubble off for a few seconds, then add the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar, stirring to coat the pork.
6. Return the blistered beans to the wok and toss everything together over high heat for 1-2 minutes, until the beans are evenly coated and heated through. Sprinkle in the ground Sichuan pepper and toss once more.
7. Taste and add a small pinch of salt if needed — the preserved vegetable and soy sauce are both salty, so go gently. Scatter the scallion greens on top and serve immediately with plain rice.