Travel Blogs

Regional Recipe - Garlic Green Beans

In 2010, the Din Tai Fung’s Hong Kong restaurant won a Michelin Star. Yes, it’s that good. One of their signature dishes is Garlic Green Beans, and this is a close approximation:

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 lb green beans, washed and trimmed
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp- 1 tsp salt
• vegetable oil for frying
• ice for water bath

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut green beans to half their length, making them easier to cook and eat.
2. First, blanch the beans. In a large bowl, fill with ice and add water to the ice. Add water to your wok, enough to cover all the beans. Bring water in wok to a boil and add green beans. Cook for 30 seconds and immediately remove and put into the ice bath to stop the cooking process. This quick blanch helps preserve the color of the beans. If you aren’t worried about color, you can always skip this step.
3. Remove water from wok. Add a shallow amount of oil to the wok, about 1/4 inch deep. Once oil is hot, add green beans and fry for about 1 minute, or until the skin just starts to wrinkle. Careful to not overfry or else the beans will lose their crispness. Remove green beans and put on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up some of the oil. Drain all but 1 tbsp of the oil out of wok and place wok back on the stove.
4. When wok is hot, add in garlic and cook on high heat until aroma of garlic comes out and it begins to brown. Add green beans back in and stir fry with garlic. Season with salt. Cook until beans are cooked to desired doneness and have incorporated the garlic flavor (about 1-2 minutes). Eat while hot.