Dry-fried green beans with minced pork on rice
Green beans slowly blistered in a little oil, then tossed with minced pork and dried chillies — fragrant, punchy and brilliant with brown rice.
- 25 min
- Serves 2
- Dry-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: Phlegm-damp types feel heavy and sluggish, with a sticky mouth and bloating, and Minor Heat's hot, humid air weighs on the spleen even more. Green beans strengthen the spleen and resolve damp, and a little dried chilli and Sichuan pepper add warmth and aroma to rouse a sluggish digestion. Slowly blistered in little oil and served with brown rice, it's filling without heaviness.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 15 min- 1Wash the beans, pull off any strings, cut into 5 cm lengths and dry them thoroughly.
- 2Heat the oil in a wok and fry the beans over a medium heat for 8–10 minutes, turning often, until wrinkled and lightly charred. Remove.
- 3In the same wok, gently fry the Sichuan peppercorns and chillies until fragrant, add the garlic, ginger and pork and stir-fry over a high heat until the pork is dry and crumbly.
- 4Splash in the Shaoxing wine, add the soy sauce and sugar, return the beans and toss for 1 minute. Serve with brown rice.
Cautions
- Always cook green beans through — undercooked beans are toxic and cause stomach pain and vomiting. Leave out the chillies if you dislike heat or have a sore throat.
Chef's tips
- Dry the beans well before frying so they blister; for less oil, air-fry them at 180°C for 8 minutes instead.
The TCM view
Green beans are sweet, bland and neutral, strengthening the spleen, resolving damp and reducing swelling. Pork is sweet, salty and neutral, used sparingly for flavour. Dried chilli is pungent and hot, warming the middle and whetting the appetite; Sichuan pepper is pungent and warm, drying damp and moving qi; ginger and garlic warm the middle. Aromatic warmth dispels damp in the middle burner, and brown rice supports the spleen.
