Sichuan Green Beans

Inspiration:
This recipe on Bridget's blog which was originally published by Cooks Illustrated magazine.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin or dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or use 1/4 teaspoon if you don't like spicy food)
  
• ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
• ¼ pound ground pork
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 3 scallions, white and light green parts sliced thin
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Instructions:

1. In small bowl, stir together soy sauce, mirin or sherry, sugar, cornstarch, white pepper, pepper flakes, mustard, and water until sugar dissolves; set aside.
2. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add beans and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender and skins are shriveled and blackened in spots, 5 to 8 minutes (reduce heat to medium-high if beans darken too quickly). Transfer beans to large plate.
3. Reduce heat to medium-high and add pork to now-empty skillet. Cook, breaking pork into small pieces, until no pink remains, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Stir sauce to recombine and return beans to pan with sauce. Toss and cook until sauce is thickened, 5 to 10 seconds. Remove pan from heat and stir in scallions and sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Notes: Next time I will cut the ginger and garlic to 2 teaspoons each. I will also increase the "sauce" amount by 1/2.

Tim's Rating: 9.5/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10