Crunchy, juicy Chinese Long Beans! Quickly stir-fried with minced garlic, soy and oyster sauce. Takes only 10 minutes to cook!
Why These Chinese Long Beans Are So Good
- Perfectly crisp long beans.
- A flavorful Chinese side dish, perfect for a wide variety of mains.
- Super simple, 10 mins to make.
- You can add some heat with chilies or keep it mild – both delicious.
Ingredients
- Chinese Long Beans
- Cooking oil
- Minced garlic
- Water
- Oyster sauce
- Soy sauce
How To Make These Chinese Long Beans – Step By Step
- Heat up your wok, add oil. When shimmering, add minced garlic. Fry just for a few seconds until fragrant. You want to make sure that you don’t wait too long before adding the garlic to the oil, otherwise the oil will be too hot and the garlic will burn.
- Add your long beans, fry in wok for 30 seconds, tossing the garlicky oil all over the beans.
- Add water, oyster sauce and soy sauce. Cover the wok. Let the beans steam for 5 minutes on medium heat.
- Check to see if beans are almost tender, but not too soft. If not, re-cover and steam an additional 1 minute. Uncover, let the rest of the liquid evaporate, about an additional minute.
What Are Chinese Long Beans?
The long bean is also known as the long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean. They have a very pronounced flavor and have a distinctly beany taste, and are not sweet like the green bean.
Choosing The Best Long Beans
The other day, I stopped by Sweetbay Supermarket by my home and found a bunch of Chinese Long Beans. They come in long bundles – typically they are 12″ – 30″ long, hence the nickname, “Yard Long Beans.” The best tasting Chinese Long Beans are young, 12″ – 16″ long. Purchase beans that have no black spots, flexible but not limp and do not look dry.
An Easy Stir Fry
Chinese Long Beans are chewy, very hearty and can withstand intense spices and chilies. However, I love the simplicity of this recipe – combining stir fry and steaming in just a couple of steps.It takes less than 10 mins. They are the perfect side for almost any weeknight meal and cuisine.
Top Tips For Chinese Long Beans
- If you don’t have a wok then you can use a wide bottomed pan.
- If you want a dish with more kick you can add chilies.
- Look for beans with no black spots.
- Have all your ingredients ready to go before you fire up the wok as things move fast!
Check Out These Other Delicious Side Dishes
- Roasted Tofu and Vegetables
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberry Pistachio Pesto
- Warm Bacon Potato Salad
- Roast Cauliflower Recipe with Bacon and Garlic
Have you tried this Chinese Long Bean recipe? Feel free to leave a star rating and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Stir-Fried Chinese Long Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chinese Long Beans washed and trimmed to 3" lengths
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Heat up your wok, add oil. When shimmering, add minced garlic. Fry just for a few seconds until fragrant. You want to make sure that you don't wait too long before adding the garlic to the oil, otherwise the oil will be too hot and the garlic will burn.
- Add your long beans, fry in wok for 30 seconds, tossing the garlicky oil all over the beans.
- Add water, oyster sauce and soy sauce. Cover the wok. Let the beans steam for 5 minutes on medium heat. Check to see if beans are almost tender, but not too soft. If not, re-cover and steam an additional 1 minute. Uncover, let the rest of the liquid evaporate, about an additional minute.
Nutrition
