So, two Chinese recipes in a row, and your going to get a lot more because I’m going to be hanging out at my mom’s house to cook. Why? Because she has a kitchen and I am going nuts! You know my kitchen renovation? We haven’t started yet! AHHHH!

So we had a general contractor, the same guy that did my mom’s kitchen. He did a beautiful job. He went to Taiwan and promised to be back by May 1st to start our kitchen. Guess what? He’s not coming back, at least for a while. For the past month, we’ve been looking for a new general contractor and man, it’s hard. What a weird bunch. Why do they waste the time to come see a potential job when they don’t plan on giving an estimate. Forget following up. Even if I ask again and again, they just keep saying, yea…I’ll get you an estimate tomorrow, or next week, but then nothing ever happens.

What the heck?

String Beans with Minced Pork 7

So, for now, mom’s house it is, and while I’m there, I might as well be writing down all of her recipes. She is such an amazing cook! String Beans with Minced Pork is a classic and you may be thinking, yea I know how to make that. But, do you know the version made with a little preserved vegetable? That’s the secret. The little bits of salty and crunchy vegetable add so much more tang and excitement to this dish. You can buy this preserved vegetable, called Dza Tsai, in cans or packets. Sometimes Asian supermarket will make their own as well.

preserved vegetables
canned preserved vegetables preserved vegetables packet

At home, my mom doesn’t like using quite as much oil as they do in restaurants, so this recipes calls for 3 tablespoons. The part where you stir-fry the green beans uses 2 tablespoons. If you want the restaurant-style fried green beans, use 1 cup of oil to fry the green beans in step 4. Fry until the green beans shrivel and blister, then you’ll need to drain the excess oil before adding the meat/preserved veggie mix back in.

String Beans with Minced Pork 10

String Beans with Minced Pork
~10 side servings

  • 1/2 cup packed ground pork
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/3 cup preserved vegetables, chopped
  • 10 cups trimmed string beans
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • kosher salt or sea salt to taste

Instructions –

1. Mix pork and soy sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok on medium heat. Add pork/soy sauce mixture and stir, breaking up any lumps, until it is cooked through and brown.

3. Stir in garlic. Give a few tosses and stir in preserved vegetables. Stir and toss for 1 minute. Remove to a small bowl and set aside.

minced pork and preserved vegetables

4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the same wok on medium heat. Add the string beans and toss to coat with oil. Sprinkle some salt and continue to toss until the string beans starts to soften and turn bright green. Sprinkle sugar over the string beans, and toss for another minute.

stir-frying string beans 2

5. Turn the heat down low and cover for 2 minutes, or until string beans are tender but al dente. Check seasoning. Toss meat mixture back in and stir several times so that the bits are well distributed.

String Beans with Minced Pork 2

posted by jessica at 05:25 PM Filed under Chinese, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.