Dry-Fried Green Beans with Garlic and Chili (干煸四季豆)

Prep:15 min

Cook:15 min

Serves:2–4

Difficulty:Medium

Dry-fried green beans (干煸四季豆, gān biān sì jì dòu) are one of the most popular vegetable dishes in Chinese restaurants — and one of the easiest to make at home. The 'dry-frying' technique involves cooking the beans over very high heat with minimal oil until they blister, wrinkle, and develop charred spots. This concentrates their flavour dramatically and creates an addictive chewy-crispy texture that's nothing like steamed or boiled green beans.

Dry-frying (干煸, gān biān) is a signature Sichuan cooking technique where ingredients are cooked over high heat until their moisture evaporates, concentrating flavours intensely.

Ingredients

• 400g green beans, trimmed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp chili oil or chili flakes
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp ya cai or preserved vegetables (optional)
• 3 tbsp neutral oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1
Heat oil in a wok over high heat until smoking. Add green beans and stir-fry for 5-6 minutes without adding any liquid.
2
The beans should blister, wrinkle, and get charred spots. Don't stir too often — let them sit against the hot wok.
3
Push beans to the side. Add garlic and chili oil. Stir-fry for 30 seconds.
4
Add ya cai (if using), soy sauce, and sugar. Toss everything together.
5
Drizzle with sesame oil and serve immediately.

Pro Tips

💡High heat is critical — the beans must blister, not steam. Don't overcrowd the wok.
💡Don't add any water or liquid until the very end — the 'dry' in dry-frying means no moisture.
💡If you don't have ya cai, the dish is still excellent with just garlic and chili.