Posted by Kalin Denny employment August 30, 2021
Garlicky Green Beans Stir Fry is a great way to cook fresh green beans and you’ll do it again and again once you try it! See tips for making this recipe a little lower in carbs if you prefer.
Try green beans Stir Fry later!
You may have eaten fried green beans at your favorite Chinese restaurant, but this Fried green beans with garlic It has to be one of the easiest recipes out there for this type of dish, only six ingredients, plus a little water! Beans were one of those vegetables I didn’t know what to do with, but all of my thoughts about green beans changed after I planted beans in my garden and made fresh green beans in this quick stir-fry. Seriously, I could eat beans every day if they were cooked this way.
Now I buy those lovely green beans from Costco regularly and have a whole section of them green bean recipes on the blog! But even with all those delicious options for cooking green beans, this recipe is one I come up with over and over again. And for this dish, I used the Five Principles I learned in my Chinese cooking class many years ago!
Chinese cooking principles:
- Heat a frying pan (before putting oil in it).
- Season with oil (with whole pieces of garlic and sometimes ginger root, which you often remove when adding the food to be cooked).
- Cut consistency (all pieces must be cut the same size and shape).
- Chop all ingredients and mix sauces before cooking.
- Use very high heat and cook quickly.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
How can you make this recipe lower in carbohydrates?
This recipe is very low in net carbs, but if you want a lower carb version, just substitute 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce for soy sauce.
How to make Garlicky Green Beans Stir Fry:
(Scroll down for a full, printable recipe with nutritional information.)
- I trimmed both ends of the beans and cut the beans into roughly 2 inch long pieces.
- Slice the onion and chop the garlic (or use minced garlic from the jar, no problem.)
- Start by heating a frying pan or skillet over very high heat for 1-2 minutes, then add the oil and heat about another 30 seconds. (The oil should look a little shimmering at this point but you can’t tell in the photo.)
- Then add the onion and garlic and stir for 30 seconds. (In this recipe the garlic is kept in the dish, which is a slight difference from the principles of Chinese cooking where garlic is seasoned with oil.)
- Then add the beans and a pinch of salt and cook for 2 minutes, stirring several times.
- Then add 1 tablespoon of water, cover and let the beans steam for 5 minutes. (I peeked once to see if she needed more water, and added about another tablespoon.)
- Stir in oyster sauce or gluten free oyster sauce (affiliate link) Fry for an additional 2 minutes, until all the beans are well coated with the sauce.
- The beans should still be slightly compressed when done. Serve hot and enjoy!
More fried vegetable dishes
Fried vegetables with garlic louvre
Green beans with lemon, parmesan cheese and pine nuts
hot Sichuan-style green beans
Fried bok choy
Spicy fried swiss chard
Ingredients
-
1 pound of fresh green beans
-
2 tons of peanut oil
-
2 tons minced garlic
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1/2 small yellow onion, halved from top to bottom and then into strips the same size as the beans
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1/4 tsp. salt
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2 Tbs of water (plus more if you check and pan looks dry)
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2 tons of oyster sauce or gluten-free oyster sauce (see notes)
directions
- Trim the ends of the green beans. (I do this by taking a handful of beans, placing them in my hand, loosely enough that they fall onto a cutting board and end up in a row, trim that end, turn and line up on the other side and trim.)
- Cut green beans into 2-inch lengths. If you are using gardening beans, wash and dry the beans rotary salad (Referral link) Or wash and dry them with paper towels. (Purchased cereals will probably not need washing.)
- Heat a wok or heavy skillet over high heat for 1-2 minutes, until it’s too hot to hold your hand.
- Add oil and heat for another 30 seconds, then add garlic and onion and cook for 30 seconds, stirring all the time.
- Add beans and salt and cook for 2 minutes, stirring several times.
- Then add water, cover the pan, and let the beans steam for 5 minutes. (I once checked to see if the pan looked dry and added about 1 tablespoon of water.)
- Remove the lid from the pot and add the oyster sauce, then cook for another 2 minutes, stirring, until all the grains are evenly coated with the sauce.
- The beans should still be slightly crunchy when ripe. Serve hot.
- They can be kept in the fridge for a day or two and reheated in the microwave, but you probably won’t have anything left.
Nutrition information:
fruit:
4
serving size:
1
Amount per service:
Calories: 109Total fat: 7.1 gSaturated fat: 1.2 gramsUnsaturated fats: 5.4 gramsCholesterol: 0 mgsodium: 399 mgCarbohydrates: 11 gramsthe basic: 3.3 gramssugar: 4.1 gramsprotein: 2.6 g
Nutrition information is calculated automatically by the Recipe Plug-In I’m using. I am not a dietitian and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, as many variables affect these calculations.
Low Carb Diet / Low Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If your store has several types of oyster sauce, choose the one with the least amount of sugar. The gluten-free oyster sauce seemed to have a bit more sugar and I didn’t find a low carb oyster sauce, but since everything else is relatively low in net carbs, this still works for most low carb diet plans and for phase two or three of the original South Beach Diet . For a strict low carb, keto, or South Beach Phase 1 getaway, I’ll replace 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce with soy sauce to cut down on carbs.
Find more recipes like these:
Uses French fries To find more recipes like these. use the Diet type indicator To find recipes suitable for a particular food plan. You may also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest To see all the good recipes I share there.
Historical notes for this recipe:
This recipe was first published in 2009, and I’ve made it a few times since then. Updated photos and updated recipe with more information in 2021.
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