Chinese Style Dry Fried Garlic Green Beans

Step 1

Optional: Blanch the green beans in boiling water for about 20 seconds until they turn bright green. Shock them in an ice water bath to cool them down and stop the cooking process. Remove from the ice water and then pat them dry. This gives you smaller, more uniform blisters on the green beans most similar to Din Tai Fung green beans, but otherwise this does not affect the taste. (See the comparison photos above in the blog post for more details.)

Step 2

Heat a deep pan or wok over high heat and add enough oil to deep fry the green beans. Test the temperature of the oil by dropping in a green bean. It should start to bubble and fry immediately otherwise the oil isn't hot enough. Fry your green beans just until you see blistering and wrinkling on the skin, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Lay them on a rack or plate lined with paper towels.

Step 3

Add the oil to a hot pan and saute the garlic until it becomes fragrant. Optional: add the chili oil at this time if you'd like to add spice. Next, add the fried green beans and saute together for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and serve immediately.