Conference turris::cooks

Article        26883
From: [email protected] (Carol Miller-Tutzauer)
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Subject: Re: Kung-Pao Chicken recipe & hot bean sauce
Date: 13 Mar 91 13:48:13 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: University at Buffalo
 
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Carol's Dry-Fried String (i.e. Green) Beans
--------------------------------------------
 
WARNING:  THIS DISH IS ADDICTIVE!!!
 
approx. 1 lb. green beans, ends picked; leave beans whole
oil for frying
1 Tbl minced garlic
1 Tbl minced ginger root
Sauce mixture:  1 Tbl dry sherry
                1 Tbl soy sauce
                2 Tbl hot bean sauce
 
Optional additions (add with garlic & ginger):  
     1 Tbl minced Szechuan preserved vegetable
     1 Tbl minced dried shrimps OR 1/4 cup chopped pork
 
 
Heat oil in wok (enough to deep-fry green beans) until very
hot.  Have a plate ready lined with paper towels.  Fry the
green beans a handful at a time (careful, the oil will bubble
up somewhat) until the beans begin to "wrinkle."  Note:  The
oil must be VERY hot, near smoking.  Drain on paper toweling.
Pour off all but about 2 Tbl of the oil in the wok.  Saute
garlic & ginger until fragrant.  If adding any optional
additions, do so at this point and cook until heated through,
or in the case of the pork until cooked.  Return green beans
to wok, add sauce mixture, and toss until well mixed and any
liquid in the sauce has cooked away.  Serve hot or at room
temperature.
 
Extra hints:
 
1.  Ideally, the beans should still be somewhat crisp.  If
yours turn out kind of limp, they are still very tasty, but
try frying them for a shorter period of time.  Note that the
beans are fried whole and not cut up!
 
2.  If you don't like messing with deep frying, you can cut up
the green beans and stir-fry initially in about 4 Tbls of oil,
leave in wok, and continue with rest of recipe.  But the result
is not "dry-fried."  Still tasty though!
 
3.  I have played around with this recipe, using other veggies
instead of green beans.  Cauliflower works very well.  Those
tiny eggplants soak up too much oil, so just stir-fry slices.  
Broccoli was not very good, because the florets just drink up
all the oil and leave you with a mess, though you might get
better results if you just stir-fry with VERY LITTLE OIL.
 
4.  I strongly recommend adding the optional ingredients.  My
husband loves pork, and the dried shrimp is most authentic.
Szechuan preserved vegetable is something of an acquired taste,
so my advice is to mince it very fine if you have never eaten
it before.  (Kinda like salty pickled kohlrabi.)
 
5.  If you can get them, Chinese long beans are very good,
though they don't wrinkle as much as regular green beans.
Also, they are so long that you will have to cut them into
regular green-bean-size pieces.  Long beans will stay crispier
than regular green beans, by the way!
 
Enjoy......Carol ([email protected])

    For something different try my balsamic vinegar stir fry beans
    recipe iin 57.23. 
    
    --L

    ...always a sucker for anything hot n' spicy, I tried this last night.
    
    I suspect my oil wasn't quite hot enough, as by the time the beans
    wrinkled they were also a bit limp.
    
    I used Ka-me Szechaun bean sauce, readily available at Shaw's Markets
    here in central MA.
    
    Some chopped cilantro gave the dish a very fresh flavor. (I love
    cilantro, and add it to most everything!)
    
    Edd 

    	I made this again last night (have been getting shopping bags full
    of green beans from my garden). I got the oil very hot this time and
    removed the beans as soon as they started to wrinkle. I modified the
    sauce to use only 1/2 Tb of hot bean sauce with the 1 Tb each of soy
    sauce and dry sherry. It came out much better in my opinion. The beans
    stayed crisper and weren't overwhelmed by the sauce. Best batch yet I
    think. And they went extremely well with the batch of bbq ribs I had
    slow-cooking in the crock pot all day.

    
    Edd,
    
     Which Shaws did you find the spicy bean sauce at ?  I've been to the
    Shaw's in Hudson, Star Mkt, Idylwilde, and Victory with no luck.
    
    Regards, Larry
    

    Larry,
    
    Try Joyce Chen's on Rte 2A in Acton/Littleton.  I know they have
    chili bean sauce there (something like "sambal oelek").  They may have
    the hot bean sauce the original ecipe calls for or it might even be
    the chili bean sauce itself.
    
    Diane
    

    The one across from the Auburn Mall, although they didn't have any 
    the day after I posted that note.
    
    You might also try Super Big Y at Route 20 and Massasoit. They've got
    a pretty good selection of stuff in the "Mexican Food" (go figure)
    aisle. Sometimes they even have coconut milk...
    
    Edd

 >  Try Joyce Chen's on Rte 2A in Acton/Littleton.  I know they have

	Or Joyce Chen's on 101A in Amherst, NH.

	--Sharon

    	Sambal is a different beast. This recipe calls for hot bean sauce
    or hot bean paste. Joyce Chen has it. That's where I bought it anyway.

    Thanks for the recommendations folks.  I did stop at the Big Y on the
    way home yesterday, they didn't have anything called spicy bean sauce
    so I settled for a bottle of Szechuan Sauce by Kame. Don't know if it
    had the same flavor as the bean sauce, but the end result was very
    tasty imo.  Good recipe.
    
     Lv

    That's the stuff I used...
    
    Edd

    How about buying some bean sauce and adding chile paste or hot oil to
    taste?

re: .7, .11

I see you have a new answerback message, Edd!!!!   :^)

Sheridan
:^)

    I only steal the best....;^)
    
    Edd
    
    

    	Or you could try Edd's technique of adding 150 Thai peppers to the
    bean sauce...That is, if you want to become a human flame thrower the
    next morning after that first cup of coffee...

    Yeah, I "enjoyed" the vindaloo for quite some time...
    
    Edd

Toilet jokes again?!

Sheridan
:^)







(Actually - I'm one of the worst offenders ... Jokes, that is!)

    	I can't help myself. I created a fusion reaction in my septic
    system years before it became fashionable...and have been on a diet
    high in fiber and chile peppers for many years...

    This is quite easy if you don't have alot of Asian foods in your
    pantry.
    
    Green beans
    Vegetable oil
    Soy Sauce
    Garlic Powder
    Hot Sauce
    
    I picked over a bunch of green beans for two people.  It was enough to
    cover the bottom of large frying pan.  Wash and dry the beans.
    
    Put about 2T oil in the pan and get very hot.  Put dried beans in and
    toss a bit until lightly browned and wrinkled (3 minutes?)
    
    Take beans out and dry on paper towels.  Turn the heat down and add
    about 3T soy sauce 1t hot sauce and 2t garlic powder.  Stir until
    mixture starts to evaporate a bit, about 1 minute.  Add beans and stir
    again until mixed thoroughly.
    
    cj