Chinese Garlic Green Beans

Up close of a plate of garlic green beans surrounded by a table spread

Chinese Garlic Green Beans

These Chinese garlic green beans are the most perfect side dish for basically every meal. The green beans are flash fried and quickly sautéed with a ton of minced garlic. This mouth-watering side dish will keep you coming back for more.

Course Appetizer & Sides

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Servings servings

Calories 385kcal

Author Takes Two Eggs

Ingredients

1 pound green beans
½ cup vegetable oil
½ tsp sesame oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic about 10-13 large cloves
¼ teaspoon garlic salt or kosher salt
toasted sesame seeds (optional garnish)

Instructions

Prepare the green beans and garlic. Slice off the ends of the green beans and slice the green beans in half. Mince the garlic.
Heat the oil in the wok. Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. The oil should cover about 1/2 to 1 inch of the bottom of the wok. Test the temperature of the oil by dropping a single green bean into the oil. It should start to bubble and fry immediately otherwise the oil isn't hot enough.
Fry the green beans. Working in 3 or 4 batches, fry the green beans for about 1-2 minutes, until the green beans start to wrinkle on the
outside. Using a spider strainer, scoop out the green beans onto a plate lined with a paper towel and gently dab the green beans with the paper towel to remove excess grease. Repeat until all the beans are fried. Turn off the heat. Carefully pour the used frying oil into a bowl.
Saute the garlic with the green beans. Heat the wok over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and the minced garlic and saute it for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, until lightly browned and fragrant. Add the green beans back to the wok, along with the salt and sesame oil. Toss to combine for an additional 1 minute.
Serve. Turn off the heat and transfer the green beans to a serving plate. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Notes

Pat dry the green beans. When oil comes into contact with water it will splatter. To prevent this as much as possible, pat the green beans dry before frying.

Use freshly minced garlic not pre-minced garlic. For best results, freshly mince the garlic yourself so that you will have a rich pungent garlic flavor.

Use a Wok and a spider strainer! Trust me, these kitchen essentials will make your entire experience so much easier. Plus, I use both of these items in so many of my recipes.

Test the heat of the oil with a test green bean. When you toss the green bean in, you should see bubbles quickly surrounding the green bean. That is when the oil is hot enough to fry.

You want the oil hot enough to fry so that the green beans do not absorb too much oil and become overly greasy.

Storage Instructions: These Chinese garlic green beans are best served immediately. You can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Keep in mind as more time passes the green beans will wilt and become less crisp.

Nutrition