This quick Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans packs a big flavour punch! It’s a fast take on the classic Szechuan dish, Stir Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork. Made with ground pork, this recipe comes together in just over 10 minutes. Don’t skip charring the beans, it’s the defining feature of this stir fry!
Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans
If you’ve ever been to a Chinese Szechuan restaurant, you might be familiar with a green bean and pork stir fry which is a firm favourite among spicy Asian food lovers. Chopped green beans cooked over high heat until blistered, then stir fried with a spicy intense flavoured sauce and pork.
If the full blown Szechuan version is what you’re after, you’ll need a couple of speciality ingredients requiring a trip to the Asian grocery store – Szechuanpicked mustard greens (Sui Mi Ya Cai), Szechuan peppercorns, dried chillies. And here are a couple of recipes from my most trusted Chinese cooking blogs – Woks of Life and Omnivore’s Cookbook.
This Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans recipe is a slightly simplified version of the authentic Szechuan version. It packs a similar flavour punch, and it still has the signature charred green beans, but I pick up everything from the supermarket. In fact, if you have pork mince (that’s ground pork to those of you in Canada and the States!) and beans, there’s every possibility you have everything you need to make this right now.
This pork stir fry is a quick and easy pork mince recipe with big flavours!
Magic 4 ingredient stir fry sauce
The sauce for this Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans only has 4 ingredients in it:
Chinese cooking wine (see recipe notes for subs)
dark soy sauce (for colour)
Chilli Garlic Sauce (for spice / vinegar / general Asian tasty flavour – see notes for subs)
sugar.
The reason this recipe gets away with such a simple sauce is because of this – the charred green beans. Char any vegetable, and you take it from bland to amazing. Steamed beans vs charred green beans is simply no contest!
Best charred in a hot skillet
Unlike most of my stir fries, I like to cook this in a cast iron skillet so you can spread the beans out to char them. It takes a mere 2 ½ – 3 minutes, faster than using a wok.
Because of this extreme high heat cooking – that skillet gets stinking hot – the one tip I have for this stir fry is to chop rather than grate / mince the ginger and garlic. It will stop it from sticking to the skillet and burning in 2 seconds.
Actually, that’s a general stir frying tip. 🙂 Chop instead of grate the ginger and garlic. Never again suffer burnt garlic in your stir fry!
Oh PS That’s the Chilli Garlic Sauce I use. ↑↑↑ Available at supermarket – Woolies, Coles etc. BUT if you can’t find that exact brand or similar, sriracha or even non Asian hot sauces will make a terrific sub. Anything that is spicy but also a bit vinegary – which most hot sauces are. Even Franks Hot Sauce!
You won’t miss sauciness
When it comes to stir fries, I’m usually all about the sauce, the sauce, the sauce. And if you’re in the sauce camp with me, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how you don’t miss sauce with this Pork Stir Fry.
The pork mince sucks up all that sauce and is actually quite intense flavoured – you’d find it rather salty without rice.
So mix it up with the rice, then enjoy the leisure of a stir fry you can eat with a spoon. It’s perfect Couch Food – which I define as food you can eat with a spoon without taking your eyes off the TV. 😂 – Nagi x
PS And because my mother will never forgive me if I don’t mention this – this Beans and Pork Mince Stir Fry is the Japanese version of this stir fry on her website, RecipeTin Japan. Similar flavour, but made using Japanese sauces.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans
Ingredients
- 300g / 10oz green beans (Note 1)
- 220g / 7 oz pork mince (Note 2)
- 1/2 small onion , finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped (Note 3)
- 2 tsp ginger , finely chopped (Note 3)
- 2 1/2 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable or canola)
Sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing wine) (Note 5 for subs)
- 1 tsp white sugar (sub any sugar or faux sugar)
- 1 1/2 tsp + Chilli Garlic Sauce (Note 6)
For serving
- Rice of choice
- Sliced red chilli
Instructions
- Sauce – Mix Sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Trim the stem end of the beans, then chop into 2 – 2.5cm / 4/5 – 1" pieces.
- Char Beans: Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a heavy based skillet over high heat (I use cast iron) until smoking. Add beans, spread out to cover base. Leave for 1 minute. Quick stir, spread out, cook for 30 seconds. Stir, then leave for 30 seconds, then repeat once more (so 2 1/2 minutes in total cook time) until beans are charred but tender crisp (not withered and floppy). Remove into bowl.
- Sauté aromatics – Turn heat down to medium high, add 1 tbsp oil. Add onion, then garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute until edges of onion are golden.
- Cook pork – Turn heat back up to high. Add pork and cook, breaking it up as you go. Cook for 2 minutes until the pork is cooked through, then add Sauce. Cook for 30 seconds, then add beans and stir for another 30 seconds.
- Serve over rice. Garnish with slices of large red chilli (it's mild), entirely optional. To eat, mix the pork into the rice then eat it with a spoon – forget chopsticks for this one! (For a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published June 2014, long overdue for an update with fresh new photos and a recipe video!
More quick pork mince recipes (ground pork)
Also, try the popular Quick Asian Beef Ramen Noodles or Asian Beef Bowls using ground pork / mince instead of beef!
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Made this before but forgot how delicious & simple this recipe is!
Always a pleasure to cook your recipes. Tried at least 20 recipes already and never disappointed. Did a vegan version with garden gourmet vegan minced ‚beef‘. Perfect! Looking forward buying ur cookbook in Europe.
Delicious! Husband told me to save this one! We have a surplus of snow peas at the moment so subbed them for the beans. Didn’t have the garlic chilli sauce but have crispy chilli oil from the same brand, used that & was great! Next time I will reduce the oil used in other steps of the recipe
OMG So good! Everyone in my household loved it! Fast and super delicious! Defs on my weekly rotation! I didn’t have the chilli-garlic oil, so added sweet-chilli oil and lots more fresh garlic! Soooo good! Thank you Nagi and team x
Made this tonight it’s yummy
Delicious! Very easy and fast. I substituted the fresh ginger for a big dollop of jarred minced ginger, and still got good flavour. I also charred broccoli separately and mixed in because I like more greens.
Your recipes are always delicious and fool-proof, Nagi. This is no exception! 🙂
Now, in my rotation and one of our very favorite dishes. It’s only us two; easily two meals. Yummy!
I used to dislike both pork and green beans until I made this once for my housemate. He made me try it because it was just ‘soo food’s. He was right. I love this dish.
Hello Nagi! Will this still be delicious if I don’t have a cast iron skillet? I currently only have stainless steel or non-stick. Thanks!
I’ve made this twice in the last two weeks and it’s become a family favorite. So simple and tasty! Thanks for another great recipe Nagi!
Quick and simple. For how easy it is, it’s super tasty. The fresh chilli garnish goes great with it. Really impressed at how yummy this was. Thanks again Nagi
I make your recipe a lot in this house. I really don’t like green beans but everyone else loves them here. I’ve tried so many recipes but this one makes it okay (ish) to eat them. love the flavours but as I just read the recipe again…. It’s 2 ts of the garlic chili sauce and not 2 tablespoons 😂 anyhow, we stick to 2 tablespoons because it muffles the taste of the greenbeans 😅
Bwah ha ha!! Oh well – at least that’s better for you!!! 🌶🌶🌶!!! N x
This was delicious! I doubled the onion and garlic and replaced the chili sauce with a pinch of black pepper.
I’m so glad you liked it!! N x
I just made it.. yummy! So, yes, it works with pork tenderloin, sliced thin!
Thanks for letting me know Katherine!! N x
Hi, Nagi! Would using finely sliced pork tenderloin work with this recipe? I have a bunch in the freezer..
Yes Katherine that would be great! N x
This is recipe is so good and in weekly rotation in our house. Thanks Nagi!
I am so happy that you enjoyed it Luana! N x
I forgot to rate the recipe!
Finally got around to making this tonight. Yum! I bought green beans, with the specific intent of trying this recipe, but I waited too long, and when I pulled out the beans this morning, they had already gone bad, boo. I used bok choy instead and followed the recipe exactly. It’s hard to believe an easy recipe with so few ingredients could pack so much flavor. I’m going to use this recipe and try out all my favorite greens. Chinese broccoli is next! Thank you! This is going into my regular rotation.
It’s so yummy and so healthy too!! N x