Long beans with minced pork and preserved olive leaves on rice
In-season long beans diced and stir-fried dry with minced pork and Chiu Chow preserved olive leaves — savoury, punchy and perfect over rice, lunch in fifteen minutes.
- 20 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: A balanced constitution simply needs to eat in step with the season. As Chushu's heat eases, Hong Kong stays humid and appetites flag. Long beans are in season and strengthen the spleen and stomach, while salty preserved olive leaves wake up the palate; stir-fried dry with minced pork, the dish needs little oil and sits lightly after lunch.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 10 min- 1Wash the long beans, trim the ends and dice finely. Mix the pork with the soy sauce, cornflour and 1 tbsp water and leave for 10 minutes. Dice the chilli.
- 2Dry-fry the beans in a hot pan over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes until wrinkled and dry, then set aside.
- 3Heat the oil and fry the garlic and chilli until fragrant. Stir-fry the pork until it changes colour, then add the olive leaves for 1 minute.
- 4Return the beans to the pan with a pinch of sugar and stir-fry for 2 minutes until dry and well coated. Spoon over hot rice.
Cautions
- Cook long beans right through — undercooked beans contain saponins that can cause stomach pain and vomiting. Preserved olive leaves are very salty, so add no extra salt and use just 1 tbsp if you have high blood pressure.
Chef's tips
- Dry-frying the beans first drives off their moisture so they turn fragrant without deep-frying; choose glossy Chiu Chow-made preserved olive leaves.
The TCM view
Long beans are sweet and neutral, strengthening the spleen and stomach and supporting the kidneys — the Bencao Gangmu says they 'regulate the middle, boost qi, tonify the kidneys and strengthen the stomach'. Pork is sweet, salty and neutral, nourishing yin and moistening dryness; preserved olive leaves, made from Chinese olives and mustard greens, whet the appetite and generate fluids; garlic warms the stomach and moves qi.
