Sauteed Green Beans with Ground Beef

Updated on January 13, 2022 by Julia

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.

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.

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, 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.

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5 from 12 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, stir for 30 seconds. Finally, add in the green beans and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
• Serve over a bowl of rice!