Monday, January 21, 2013

Double-Cooked Yard Long Beans

This dish may look very simple, but this is a very tasty and delicious dish. A dish of the Sichuanese people in China, and it is named Double-Cooked because the beans are first fried until tender and then cooked again with the seasoning and sauce.


This is quite "addictive"! Everyone keeps on spooning the beans off the plate and very soon the plate is empty!



The recipe uses preserved mustard cabbage, but since I have this packet of preserved szechuan mustard, I used that instead. There are various brands in the market, but I like this the most. They are not too salty, and can be eaten straight right from the packet. I would usually have this with white porridge. I like it when it is cooked with some minced meat and served over steamed white tofu, here, delicious with rice. There are many ways of using this veggie for various cooking, will share them in the future.


Just chopped them up coarsely for this dish. 


Long beans or french beans can be used for this dish. Here I have used long beans. The recipes calls for the beans to be deep-fried in quite a lot of oil. To avoid using lots of oil, I just heat up about 2-3 tablespoons of oil and stir-fry the beans over high heat for about 4-5 minutes, in two batches, until cooked but still crunchy. The beans are then put aside. The minced meat are then stir-fried in a little oil until cooked, then the szechuan mustard and chopped spring onion are added in, stir-fried over high heat until fragrant. The beans are then added in together with the seasonings to taste. Stir everything to combine and serve immediately.



Very easy, quick and delicious! Love the crunchy bite of the long beans and the szechuan mustard. This is one dish that will be repeated in my kitchen!


I'm sharing this with :
See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace
Recipe Box hosted by Bizzy Bakes
Food on Friday : Mustard hosted by Carole's Chatter


Double-Cooked Yard-Long Beans
(adapted from "The Food of China")
1 kg yard-long beans or French beans, trimmed (I used about 500-600gm long beans)
150gm minced ground pork or beef
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1-1/2 tablespoons Shao Xing rice wine
1/2 teaspoon roasted sesame oil
oil for deep-frying
5 tablespoons finely chopped preserved mustard cabbage (I use one packet ready-to-eat preserved Szechuan mustard, 70gm)
3 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar (I use just a pinch of sugar)

  1. Diagonally cut the beans into 5cm (2inch) pieces.
  2. Lightly chop the meat with a cleaver until it goes slightly fluffy. Put the meat in a bowl, add 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the rice wine and the sesame oil and stir vigorously to combine.
  3. Fill the wok one quarter full of oil. Heat the oil to 180C (350F), or until a piece of bread fries golden brown in 15 seconds when dropped in the oil. Add a third of the beans, covering the wok with the lid as they are placed in the oil to prevent the oil from splashing. Cook for 3-1/2 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until they are tender and golden brown at the edges. Remove with a wire sieve or slotted spoon and drain. Reheat the oil and repeat with the remaining beans. Pour the oil from the wok, leaving 1 tablespoon. (my method : heat up 2 tablespoons oil until very hot, add in half of the beans and stir-fry over high heat for 5 minutes, remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining beans)
  4. Reheat the reserved oil over high heat until very hot, add the meat and stir-fry until the colour changes, mashing and chopping to separate the pieces of meat. Push the meat to the side and add the preserved mustard cabbage and spring onion. Stir-fry over high heat for 15 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the beans with the remaining soy sauce and rice wine, sugar and 1 tablespoon of water, and return the meat to the centre of the wok. Toss lightly to coat the beans with the sauce.
#9/100

19 comments:

  1. I make something similar for my family all the time. This is such a hearty and yummy dish. :) And those preserve cabbage is one of my family's favorite. They add so much flavors to any recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. you finally got this book, huh? i didnt know that our chinese long beans are also known as yardlong beans..maybe the ones from china really grow up to a yard long :) i like this kind of homely dish and i know i will enjoy eating this a lot!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, got this book! It was on offer, from RM113.80 to RM22.90!!!! So what am I waiting for! hehehe!
      I have grown long beans in my garden before, the beans grew as long as 18" in length! Yes, I measured! haha! Have not seen one with a yard long before!

      Delete
  3. I love this. Tasted once in a KL restaurant. Tried to replicate but failed. So now I know where to go to when I have this craving.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks yummy ....Love the colour of the recipe :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Joyce, sometimes it is simple dishes like this that wow everyone. I love long beans and I know I will enjoy it cooked this way.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can visualize how tasty looking this dish is and how yummy it would be in my mouth.

    Double-cooked, how interesting :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh so that's how the dish is supposed to be cooked. I have only just stir fry the long beans, no wonder it isn't as nice. I like the fact you used a reduced amount of oil, much healthier.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good idea to add in my routine of cooking! I usually just chop the bean, stir fry then add in the beaten egg to make the bean omelette.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Eileen, Hundrec Eighty DegreesMonday, January 21, 2013

    Looks good and delicious. Chinese cooking is always seen as difficult to me: )

    ReplyDelete
  10. Such an interesting dish,wish i get some rite now..Drooling here.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like to cook this dish too, it is easy to make. It is quite popular in one of the restaurant here..

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love green beans. This looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yum! I love to eat szechuan mustard too, if I am not mistaken, I still have one in my fridge:D This is one of my favourite way to eat beans! Oh, I cooked your red pork curry last night for dinner and I must say, it was delicious! My son love it too and agreed to have the leftover for breakfast today!:D

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love this dish...and haven't had it for a while...I sure can have a couple of bowl of rice with this...thanks for the recipe Joyce and have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I like this double cooking method. Looks good, Joyce--I think I could make a meal just out of this dish. My dad grows yard long beans in the summer. Maybe he'll give some to me?
    Thank you for sharing with See Ya in the Gumbo.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love this dish , Joyce ! The last time I made this , I used haricot verts . Will try your recipe sometime :D

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love beans. Long beans, french beans, baked beans and cranberry beans are all my favourite.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The bean dish looks very fresh and tempting...

    ReplyDelete