Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans

Ingredients

• 300 g green beans (stem ends trimmed, chopped into 2-2.5cm (4/5-1 inch) pieces)
• 220 g pork mince (ground pork)
• 0.5 onion (small, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup))
• 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 2 tsp ginger (finely chopped)
• 2.5 tbsp peanut oil (divided; vegetable or canola oil can be substituted)
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine; see notes for substitutions)
• 1 tsp white sugar (sub any sugar or sugar substitute)
• 1.5 tsp Chilli Garlic Sauce (or more to taste; sriracha or other hot sauce can substitute)
• Rice of choice (for serving)
• red chilli (sliced, for garnish)

Steps

1. 1

   Prepare the sauce by mixing the dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sugar, and chilli garlic sauce in a small bowl.

2. 2

   Trim the stem ends of the green beans and chop them into 2-2.5cm (4/5-1 inch) pieces.

3. 3

   Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a heavy-based skillet (cast iron is recommended) over high heat until smoking.

4. 4

   Add the beans to the skillet and spread them out to cover the base. Leave them undisturbed for 1 minute.

5. 5

   Give the beans a quick stir, spread them out again, and cook for 30 seconds. Stir once more, leave for 30 seconds, and repeat until the beans are charred but still tender-crisp (about 2 1/2 minutes total). Remove the beans from the skillet and set aside in a bowl.

6. 6

   Turn the heat down to medium-high and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet.

7. 7

   Add the finely chopped onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for about 1 minute until the edges of the onion are golden.

8. 8

   Turn the heat back up to high. Add the pork mince and cook, breaking it up with a spatula as you go.

9. 9

   Cook the pork for about 2 minutes until it is cooked through (or longer if you prefer it browned and slightly crispy).

10. 10

    Pour in the prepared sauce and cook for 30 seconds.

11. 11

    Add the charred beans back into the skillet and stir for another 30 seconds to combine and heat through.

12. 12

    Serve the stir fry over your choice of rice. Garnish with optional sliced red chilli. To eat, mix the pork and beans thoroughly into the rice and eat with a spoon.

Notes

Ginger and Garlic Tip: Chop the ginger and garlic rather than grating or mincing them to prevent them from burning in the high-heat skillet. Substitutions: For the Chinese cooking wine, dry sherry or Mirin can be used (if using Mirin, reduce sugar slightly). For a low-carb option, serve over cauliflower rice or shirataki noodles. Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated; the pork flavor intensifies over time.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• pork
• stir-fry
• quick
• dinner
• Szechuan-style
• high-protein