Adam Liaw’s salt and pepper green beans

Name: Adam Liaw’s salt and pepper green beans
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Contemporary
Ingredients: 1 cup vegetable oil; 500g green beans, tails removed; 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped; 1cm ginger, finely chopped; 2 large red chillies, finely sliced; 3 spring onions, sliced salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season

Adam Liaw

September 14, 2023

Salt and pepper green beans.William Meppem

easyTime:< 30 minsServes:4

The “salt and pepper” style of stir-frying doesn’t just improve fried squid, prawns or tofu. It’s a simple combination that’s great with just about anything.

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable oil
500g green beans, tails removed
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1cm ginger, finely chopped
2 large red chillies, finely sliced
3 spring onions, sliced salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season

Method

Step 1
Heat a wok over medium heat and add the oil. Add the beans and fry for about 8 minutes, stirring regularly, until the beans are very well cooked and slightly shrivelled. Remove the beans from the wok to drain, then remove most of the oil, leaving about 1 tablespoon for frying.
Step 2
Return the wok to the heat and add the garlic, ginger, chilli and spring onions and fry in the oil for about a minute, until fragrant. Return the beans to the wok, season very well with salt and black pepper and toss to coat the beans in the fried aromatics. Remove to a plate to serve.

Adam’s tip: Before the advent of nouvelle cuisine, green beans were almost always cooked until soft and shrivelled. Modern cooking would tell us beans that aren’t crisp are overcooked, but I still think there’s a place for well-cooked beans.