Whenever I eat at a Chinese buffet restaurant, I always make a beeline for the garlic green beans. Here’s how to make Chinese garlic green beans at home so you can enjoy them any time the craving hits!
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Chinese green beans
I absolutely love the garlic green beans that are served as a side dish at a Chinese buffet. The beans are tender with just the slightest ‘bite’, the sauce is garlicky and packed with flavour, and the toasted sesame seeds are the cherry on top. I always add an extra large helping to my plate!
But now I’ve discovered the secret to making them at home, and I have to tell you, it’s so easy to make these beans you’ll wonder why you’ve never made them before! They only take a few minutes to make.
The secret is to fry the beans quickly in a tiny amount of oil until they start to blister. Then drain the beans on kitchen paper while you make a one-minute sauce and toss the beans through and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Job done!
The beans should be crisp-tender
I like to serve these beans with any Asian meal, but especially with this oven-baked Thai coconut chicken casserole.
Here’s what to do.
What you will need
Equipment
To make these Chinese garlic beans at home you will need a sharp knife, a chopping board and a frying pan.
Ingredients
The recipe will provide 4 portions of Chinese green beans as a side dish.
**You can find the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making your own Chinesse garlic green beans on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Green beans – these must be fresh green beans. You won’t get the same texture if you use frozen or tinned beans. The beans should be washed and patted dry, and topped and tailed.
Garlic – there is quite a lot of garlic in this recipe, they are garlic green beans after all. If you want to add less garlic, that’s up to you.
Sunflower oil – you want a neutral flavoured oil for this dish. I wouldn’t recommend using olive oil as it would change the flavour. If you prefer to blister the beans in a dry pan without using any oil, that is completely up to you.
Oyster sauce – this is a thick sauce, readily available in the Asian section of most supermarkets. The main ingredients are oysters, water, salt, sugar and thickening agents. It is widely used in Asian cooking to provide a savoury or umami flavour, and it does not taste ‘fishy’ at all. Vegetarian versions are available, and they use soybeans and sometimes mushrooms instead of the oysters.
Dark soy sauce – this adds a salty element.
Rice vinegar – also known as rice wine vinegar. This is a light vinegar made from fermented rice. You can substitute this with mirin if you prefer, but don’t use white spirit vinegar or brown malt vinegar, they will be too strong.
Sesame oil – this oil is used for flavouring rather than frying. You will only need a few drops as it has a very powerful flavour.
Toasted sesame seeds – they are optional, and are used purely for garnishing the beans.
You may also like to add a small amount of sugar or honey if you prefer a sweeter dish. That up to your own taste.
You should find you don’t need to add any extra salt to the beans as the soy sauce will make they salty enough.
What to do
Wash the beans and pat them dry with paper towels, then remove the ends. Optionally cut the beans in half if they are very long.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then add the beans and stirfry them for 3 to 4 minutes until they start to char and wrinkle. Some beans will blister before others – you can remove the beans and continue to fry until all the beans are nicely charred. Thicker beans will take longer than thinner ones.
Set the beans aside while you prepare the sauce. Depending on how much oil you used, you may like to drain the beans on paper towel.
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small dish.
Tip the sauce into the frying pan that you used for the beans, and heat gently until it starts to bubble. Stir it over a low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to give the garlic chance to soften slightly.
Add the beans and stir them for 1 minute longer so they are all well-coated with the sauce.
Transfer the beans to a serving dish and optionally garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
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Chinese garlic green beans FAQ
No, I don’t find it necessary to blanch the beans. The beans I used were ultra fresh and tender, having been harvested the day I made them.
If your beans are older you may like to blanch them in boiling water for a maximum of one minute, then plunge them immediately into cold water to stop the cooking process.
If you do blanch them, ensure that you dry them completely with paper towel before frying them or they will splatter everywhere.
Technically you can freeze them, but I would recommend you make them fresh. The beans will lose their crispness once defrosted and reheated, and will not be as appetising as freshly made.
Once again, I would recommend you cook the beans when you need them. It only takes a few minutes to do.
To save time, you could clean and cut the ends off the beans and store them in a plastic bag. You could also mix up the sauce and store it in a small glass jar in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.
My benchmark for cooked beans is whether or not they ‘squeak’ against your teeth when you bite them. These beans should not squeak – they should be tender, but still have a slight ‘bite’.
Save for later
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Other recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, you may like to try some of my other vegetable recipies:
- Baked cauliflower and broccoli cheese – cauliflower and broccoli oven-baked in a tasty cheesy sauce with a crispy topping of cheese and breadcrumbs.
- Glazed carrots – sometimes referred to as vichy carrots, these carrots are sauteed in butter and sugar until they are sticky and tender.
- Spicy braised red cabbage with apple – red cabbage braised in vegetable stock, and flavoured with Chinese 5-spice powder (yes – it does work!)
- Creamy leek and brussels sprouts bake – a delicious side dish flavoured with cream and oven-baked with a cheese and breadcrumb topping.
- British mushy peas – and let’s not forget this traditional recipe which goes so well with pies and of course fish and chips!
The recipe
Chinese garlic green beans
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces / 225 grams green beans
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
Instructions
- Wash the beans and pat them dry with paper towels, then remove the ends. Optionally cut the beans in half if they are very long.8 ounces / 225 grams green beans
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then add the beans and stirfry them for 3 to 4 minutes until they start to char and wrinkle. Some beans will blister before others – you can remove the beans and continue to fry until all the beans are nicely charred. Thicker beans will take longer than thinner ones.1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- Set the beans aside while you prepare the sauce. Depending on how much oil you used, you may like to drain the beans on paper towel.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small dish.5 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar, ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Tip the sauce into the frying pan that you used for the beans, and heat gently until it starts to bubble. Stir it over a low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to give the garlic chance to soften slightly.
- Add the beans and stir them for 1 minute longer so they are all well-coated with the sauce.
- Transfer the beans to a serving dish and optionally garnish with toasted sesame seeds.1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Notes
If you do blanch them, ensure that you dry them completely with a paper towel before frying them or they will splatter everywhere.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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