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    Home » Recipes » Side Dishes

    Published: Dec 12, 2021 · Modified: May 25, 2022 by Julia · This post may contain affiliate links · 19 Comments

    Sauteed Green Beans with Ground Beef

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Chinese sauteed green beans with ground beef is a fast weeknight meal, great when served with a large bowl of steaming rice. The green beans are cooked with onion, garlic, and ginger, and then stir-fried with an amazing spicy sauce and ground beef. This recipe is the quick and easy version of the aromatic stir-fry green bean dish you'll find in Sichuan restaurants.

    Jump to:
    • How to char green beans without oil?
    • Ingredients
    • Step-by-step instructions
    • Can I sub with other ground meats?
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Reviews
    sauteed green beans

    How to char green beans without oil?

    Chinese sauteed green beans is a dish you make when you simply don't have enough time on your hands. This is a much simplified version of the restaurant dish that you'll find at Sichuan eateries, but flavorful enough that it'll hit the spot. The key to the texture is to pat the green beans as dry as possible before throwing them onto a well-heated pan with only a dab of oil. We call this method "dry-frying" which is to fry with very little moisture or oil.

    After you have charred the green beans, you then cook the beef down and re-introduce the green beans with a flavorful sauce mixture.

    Ingredients

    • Green beans
    • Ground beef
    • Dark soy sauce
    • Chili garlic sauce: I always use Lee Kum Lee's brand of chili garlic sauce. This sauce adds a great spicy kick with hints of vinegar. Chili garlic sauce plays a prominent role in my Instant Pot eggplant with garlic sauce recipe!
    • Rice vinegar: To balance out the salty flavors in the dark soy sauce and chili garlic sauce.
    • Sugar
    • Garlic, ginger, onion: All my key fragrants for every Asian dish!

    A lot of the flavor comes from the chili garlic sauce! The dark soy sauce adds great color and with the sugar, the two add a hint of sweetness to help balance out the chili garlic sauce.

    charred chinese sauteed green beans with beef

    Step-by-step instructions

    1. Wash and trim green beans. Chop into 2-3 inch length. Pat dry with a paper towel, this step is important! If there's too much moisture left on the green beans, they won't char properly.
    2. Make the sauce by mixing dark soy sauce, chili garlic paste, and rice vinegar in a bowl. Set aside for later.
    3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a hot pan until smoking. Add beans and avoid overcrowding. Let sit for 1 minute. Stir beans around, and let sit for 30 seconds. Stir a 2nd time, and let sit for 30 seconds. This helps to ensure that the beans are evenly charred. Place beans in a separate bowl and set aside.
    4. In the same pan, turn the heat to medium, and cook down the garlic, ginger, and onion until the onions have started to brown. This can take 30 seconds to 1 minute.
    5. Add in the ground beef (or pork or turkey) and break down the meat until browned. If there's a lot of excess fat, drain the pan.
    6. Add in the sauce mixture and sugar, stir for 30 seconds. Finally, add in the green beans and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
    7. Serve over a bowl of rice!

    Can I sub with other ground meats?

    100%! This dish is typically made with ground pork, but you can sub with ground beef or if you'd like to use a leaner cut ground turkey. The most important thing is making the sauce to ensure any protein you choose soaks up all the flavors.

    Enjoy this dish? Try my other stir-fry recipes such as my Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce, beef and onion stir-fry, and even my Chinese stir-fry rice cakes for something heartier.

    📖 Recipe

    sauteed green beans
    Print Pin
    4.93 from 13 votes

    Chinese Sauteed Green Beans with Ground Beef

    Chinese sauteed green beans with ground beef is a fast weeknight meal to be served with a large bowl of steaming rice. The green beans are cooked with onion, garlic, and ginger, and then stir-fried with an amazing spicy sauce and ground beef. This recipe is the quick and easy version of the aromatic stir-fry green bean dish you'll find in Sichuan restaurants.
    Course Side Dish
    Cuisine Chinese
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 5 minutes
    Total Time 10 minutes
    Author Julia

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb green beans
    • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
    • 2 teaspoon chili garlic paste
    • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
    • 1 tablespoon neutral oil
    • ½ inch ginger chopped
    • 3 cloves garlic chopped
    • ½ small white onion diced
    • ½ lb ground beef sub ground pork or ground turkey

    Instructions

    • Wash and trim green beans. Chop into 2-3 inch length. Pat dry with a paper towel, this step is important! If there's too much moisture left on the green beans, they won't char properly.
    • Make the sauce by mixing dark soy sauce, chili garlic paste, and rice vinegar in a bowl. Set aside for later.
    • Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a hot pan until smoking. Add beans and avoid overcrowding. Let sit for 1 minute. Stir beans around, and let sit for 30 seconds. Stir a 2nd time, and let sit for 30 seconds. This helps to ensure that the beans are evenly charred. Place beans in a separate bowl and set aside.
    • In the same pan, turn the heat to medium, and cook down the garlic, ginger, and onion until the onions have started to brown. This can take 30 seconds to 1 minute.
    • Add in the ground beef (or pork or turkey) and break down the meat until browned. If there's a lot of excess fat, drain the pan.
    • Add in the sauce mixture and sugar, stir-fry for 30 seconds. Finally, add in the green beans and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
    • Serve over a bowl of rice!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tyanne says

      December 12, 2021 at 8:02 pm

      5 stars
      I love that it is a meat and vegetable recipe!

      Reply
    2. Freya says

      December 12, 2021 at 11:06 pm

      5 stars
      I changed out the meat for vegan meat and this was such a delicious, flavourful meal!

      Reply
      • Julia says

        December 14, 2021 at 11:17 pm

        What a great idea!

        Reply
    3. Linda says

      December 12, 2021 at 11:11 pm

      5 stars
      This sauteed green beans recipe is so delicious and a favorite at our home

      Reply
    4. Amy says

      December 13, 2021 at 1:00 am

      5 stars
      Perfect for a mid-week meal!

      Reply
    5. Megan Ellam says

      December 13, 2021 at 1:02 am

      5 stars
      Oh, now this sounds delicious!

      Reply
    6. Melinda says

      December 13, 2021 at 6:21 am

      5 stars
      A great new spin on green beans.

      Reply
    7. serena says

      December 13, 2021 at 11:09 am

      5 stars
      Super easy for a midweek meal

      Reply
    8. Andrea White says

      December 13, 2021 at 8:23 pm

      5 stars
      classic! so good and simple too!

      Reply
    9. Mama Maggie's Kitchen says

      December 13, 2021 at 10:41 pm

      5 stars
      This dish looks so deliciously good. I wish I could eat that right this minute!

      Reply
    10. Laura says

      December 15, 2021 at 2:00 am

      5 stars
      This is definitely making the list of regulars. It's easy to make for a weeknight.

      Reply
    11. Jerika says

      December 15, 2021 at 4:48 am

      I can eat this food everyday!:) It's one of my favorite foods paired with steamed rice. Thanks and happy holidays!

      Reply
    12. Andréa Janssen says

      December 15, 2021 at 5:16 am

      5 stars
      A perfect recipe for weekdays, we loved the combination of beans and beef. And everybody loved it. Surely we're going to eat this more often.

      Reply
    13. Kayla DiMaggio says

      December 15, 2021 at 8:08 am

      5 stars
      Loving these green beans! They were so savory and delicious!

      Reply
    14. Ave says

      May 05, 2022 at 12:16 pm

      Where do we add the sugar??

      Reply
      • Julia says

        May 25, 2022 at 9:31 am

        Thanks for calling this out! I've updated the recipe, you add the sugar at the end with the sauce mixture.

        Reply
      • Antonette says

        October 12, 2022 at 4:16 pm

        Can it be cooked in a wok instead?

        Reply
    15. Vickie says

      June 24, 2022 at 6:59 am

      4 stars
      Great idea for ground beef & veggie dish! I doubled the sauce, for best flavor (and added mushrooms).

      Reply
    16. Paige says

      August 04, 2022 at 1:28 pm

      Love this recipe! Tried making this two days ago and had to make it again today because I was craving it. Sauce is so simple yet packed with so much flavor!

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm J! I'm a marketer by day, food photographer and recipe-tester by any other time available. The Floured Camera was born from my need to make quick, delicious, and (sometimes) healthy dishes for when I'm craving my favorite Asian childhood dishes!

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