Spicy Szechuan-Style Green Beans
Published Aug 13, 2021•Updated Mar 12, 2022
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Spicy and crunchy, when it comes to green beans, it’s hard to beat serving them Szechuan-Style. These dry fried green beans will quickly become your favorite way to use this green veg. Serve it with rice and your favorite Asian-inspired main dish and dinner is served!
This is an update of a recipe that I first shared in 2013 and has long been one of my favorite ways to serve green beans. I’m updating it today with new photos and a few tips and tricks.
What’s So Special About Szechuan-Style Green Beans
Szechuan-Style Green Beans are spicy green beans that are made by dry-frying. This method of cooking fries them in a skillet or wok over high heat in a small amount of oil. The moisture evaporates from the beans, resulting in super crisp green beans that are tender and deeply browned in spots.
Traditionally this style of green beans are made using the uniquely spicy Szechuan peppercorns (“Sichuan peppercorns”) that cause a numbing sensation in your mouth, but this recipe uses easy-to-find red pepper flakes for spice. This recipe also strays from the traditional by using Hoisin sauce for added flavor.
These green beans are:
- Fresh
- Spicy
- Flavorful
- Crisp
- Gluten-Free
Simple Summer Sides
All this week we’re celebrating simple summer sides! It’s hot outside and beautiful produce is in-season, so I know we’re all looking for more ways to prepare those vegetables.
Follow along as I share my five current favorite summer sides that use one vegetable, pantry staples, and maybe a few herbs or aromatics to round things out. It will include:
- Sweet And Tangy Marinated Cucumbers
- Crisp Corn Fritters
- Pan-Seared Zucchini with Garlic and Basil
- Balsamic Marinated Tomatoes
- Spicy Szechuan-Style Green Beans (featured here)
Ingredients
- Green Beans – You can leave the green beans whole, but I love to chop these into small bite-sized pieces which gives them maximum surface area to turn golden brown and soak up flavor.
- Garlic and Ginger – Even though it takes a little time to prep these, don’t skip them – they add so much flavor.
- Hoisin Sauce – Hoisin sauce is sweet and savory. It’s a sauce that is common in Chinese cooking, and can be found in the international aisle of most grocery stores. (Kikkoman makes a great gluten-free version.)
- Rice Vinegar and Soy Sauce – These pantry staples are great for a variety of Asian and Asian-inspired recipes. Use Tamari if you need a gluten-free option.
- Toasted Sesame Oil – A little goes a long way to add savory flavor to the dish.
- Red Pepper Flakes – Use more or less for the amount of spice you prefer.
Recipes to Serve with Szechuan-Style Green Beans
- Red Curry Salmon with Coconut Brown Rice
- Honey Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry
- Thai-Style Salmon Satay with Peanut Sauce
- Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken
- 20 Minute Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles
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Spicy Szechuan-Style Green Beans
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Skillet or Wok
Ingredients
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 2 tsp minced Fresh Ginger
- 2 tsp Hoisin sauce (be sure to use gluten-free if needed)
- 2 tsp Rice Vinegar
- 2 tsp Soy Sauce (use Tamari for gluten-free)
- 1/2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (more or less depending on your spice preference)
- 1 lb Green Beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 Tbsp Water
- 1 Tbsp Cooking Oil (use any high-heat neutral cooking oil like grapeseed, vegetable, or avocado)
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt (see note)
Instructions
- Whisk together garlic, ginger, Hoisin Sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add green beans and water beans, stirring frequently, until the water cooks off and the beans are bright green.
- Add cooking oil and salt and continue cooking until beans are starting to brown in spots, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Pour sauce over green beans and continue cooking until sauce reduces slightly and green beans are coated and tender, about 2 minutes more.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi Jess, my son and I had a lovely outdoor lunch at a Chinese place and I had the beans. I was sure I could make something similar, and perhaps less oily. Thanks for the recipe. I will give it a try! I enjoyed reading your blog. My best from Shirlington VA!
Lelee – when I’ve had this dish out it does always seem to have a lot of oil, but it’s so unnecessary – there’s so much flavor in this recipe! I hope this is close to the one you tried. We love this dish. And I am so happy to get your note from Shirlington – I absolutely love Shirlington. My husband and I just discovered the Signature theater right before we moved away from DC and I miss all the unique shows they did there! Thanks so much for reading.
Wow! Just finished these a few minutes ago.. delicious! I was a little hesitant to have a dinner of green beans but it was amazing. Yum yum yum. This will definitely be a staple for me in the future.
So glad to hear you liked them, Patrick!!! Over rice they certainly strike me as a great meal – vegetarian and pretty healthy, to boot.
I made these last week and you were NOT kidding. They’re awesome!!
So glad you liked them, Heather! Frank was out of town when I tested the recipe, so he’s been asking for them – I think we’ll be having them again this weekend!
I just made these for dinner. Absolutely delicious! I wanted to lick the pan. 🙂
Cynthia – I’m so glad to hear it! Thanks so much for taking a minute to check back in and let me know what you thought!
I am 100% making these over the weekend, 1) to celebrate the Chinese New Year and 2) because holy yum. Can’t wait!
Enjoy, Claire! They’re one of my absolute favorites!
I love szechuan anything. This looks like a great recipe and I love your site!
I eat similarly when alone. Often just focusing in on one ingredient that I was craving. This was my dinner the other week…just a bowl of super healthy spinach dip along with some not so healthy (but could’ve been worse) pretzel crisps. https://foodrefuge.blogspot.com/2013/01/this-dip-is-light-fresh-healthy-and.html
Mmmm, spinach dip would be something I would crave too. I am so happy I found your site and that Broccoli with Sumac Marinade – I just got my hands on some sumac and have been looking for ways to use it!
1. These look awesome and are SO going on my menu for next week.
2. I definitely don’t cook when I’m alone. the closest I get is heating up some tomato soup (Hubster’s not a fan) and grilling a cheese quesadilla. I usually throw in a salad too.
Yum, these sound incredible!
And Jess, I’m so glad you commented on my blog and I discovered yours — both my parents grew up in Thailand (my mom as an ex-pat, daughter of missionaries), so it’s fascinating to see your life in Bangkok.
Anjali – that’s amazing! I have friends whose parents grew up here and they have amazing stories about what it was like. Bangkok is so modern now, but it has changed so much. I love your blog!
Oh gosh, I am so with you. I often eat popcorn for a meal by myself, or buttered noodles or a bag of Brussels sprouts. I will totally eat a whole dish of these!
I made these with sweet and sour meatballs for dinner and they are amazing!! Thanks for posting!
Lindsay – so glad you liked them. Sweet and sour meatballs?! Yum!