This quick Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans packs a big flavour punch! It’s a fast take on the classic Szechuan dish, Stir Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork. Made with ground pork, this recipe comes together in just over 10 minutes. Don’t skip charring the beans, it’s the defining feature of this stir fry!
Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans
If you’ve ever been to a Chinese Szechuan restaurant, you might be familiar with a green bean and pork stir fry which is a firm favourite among spicy Asian food lovers. Chopped green beans cooked over high heat until blistered, then stir fried with a spicy intense flavoured sauce and pork.
If the full blown Szechuan version is what you’re after, you’ll need a couple of speciality ingredients requiring a trip to the Asian grocery store – Szechuanpicked mustard greens (Sui Mi Ya Cai), Szechuan peppercorns, dried chillies. And here are a couple of recipes from my most trusted Chinese cooking blogs – Woks of Life and Omnivore’s Cookbook.
This Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans recipe is a slightly simplified version of the authentic Szechuan version. It packs a similar flavour punch, and it still has the signature charred green beans, but I pick up everything from the supermarket. In fact, if you have pork mince (that’s ground pork to those of you in Canada and the States!) and beans, there’s every possibility you have everything you need to make this right now.
This pork stir fry is a quick and easy pork mince recipe with big flavours!
Magic 4 ingredient stir fry sauce
The sauce for this Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans only has 4 ingredients in it:
Chinese cooking wine (see recipe notes for subs)
dark soy sauce (for colour)
Chilli Garlic Sauce (for spice / vinegar / general Asian tasty flavour – see notes for subs)
sugar.
The reason this recipe gets away with such a simple sauce is because of this – the charred green beans. Char any vegetable, and you take it from bland to amazing. Steamed beans vs charred green beans is simply no contest!
Best charred in a hot skillet
Unlike most of my stir fries, I like to cook this in a cast iron skillet so you can spread the beans out to char them. It takes a mere 2 ½ – 3 minutes, faster than using a wok.
Because of this extreme high heat cooking – that skillet gets stinking hot – the one tip I have for this stir fry is to chop rather than grate / mince the ginger and garlic. It will stop it from sticking to the skillet and burning in 2 seconds.
Actually, that’s a general stir frying tip. 🙂 Chop instead of grate the ginger and garlic. Never again suffer burnt garlic in your stir fry!
Oh PS That’s the Chilli Garlic Sauce I use. ↑↑↑ Available at supermarket – Woolies, Coles etc. BUT if you can’t find that exact brand or similar, sriracha or even non Asian hot sauces will make a terrific sub. Anything that is spicy but also a bit vinegary – which most hot sauces are. Even Franks Hot Sauce!
You won’t miss sauciness
When it comes to stir fries, I’m usually all about the sauce, the sauce, the sauce. And if you’re in the sauce camp with me, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how you don’t miss sauce with this Pork Stir Fry.
The pork mince sucks up all that sauce and is actually quite intense flavoured – you’d find it rather salty without rice.
So mix it up with the rice, then enjoy the leisure of a stir fry you can eat with a spoon. It’s perfect Couch Food – which I define as food you can eat with a spoon without taking your eyes off the TV. 😂 – Nagi x
PS And because my mother will never forgive me if I don’t mention this – this Beans and Pork Mince Stir Fry is the Japanese version of this stir fry on her website, RecipeTin Japan. Similar flavour, but made using Japanese sauces.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans
Ingredients
- 300g / 10oz green beans (Note 1)
- 220g / 7 oz pork mince (Note 2)
- 1/2 small onion , finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped (Note 3)
- 2 tsp ginger , finely chopped (Note 3)
- 2 1/2 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable or canola)
Sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing wine) (Note 5 for subs)
- 1 tsp white sugar (sub any sugar or faux sugar)
- 1 1/2 tsp + Chilli Garlic Sauce (Note 6)
For serving
- Rice of choice
- Sliced red chilli
Instructions
- Sauce – Mix Sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Trim the stem end of the beans, then chop into 2 – 2.5cm / 4/5 – 1" pieces.
- Char Beans: Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a heavy based skillet over high heat (I use cast iron) until smoking. Add beans, spread out to cover base. Leave for 1 minute. Quick stir, spread out, cook for 30 seconds. Stir, then leave for 30 seconds, then repeat once more (so 2 1/2 minutes in total cook time) until beans are charred but tender crisp (not withered and floppy). Remove into bowl.
- Sauté aromatics – Turn heat down to medium high, add 1 tbsp oil. Add onion, then garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute until edges of onion are golden.
- Cook pork – Turn heat back up to high. Add pork and cook, breaking it up as you go. Cook for 2 minutes until the pork is cooked through, then add Sauce. Cook for 30 seconds, then add beans and stir for another 30 seconds.
- Serve over rice. Garnish with slices of large red chilli (it's mild), entirely optional. To eat, mix the pork into the rice then eat it with a spoon – forget chopsticks for this one! (For a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published June 2014, long overdue for an update with fresh new photos and a recipe video!
More quick pork mince recipes (ground pork)
Also, try the popular Quick Asian Beef Ramen Noodles or Asian Beef Bowls using ground pork / mince instead of beef!
Life of Dozer
At the coffee shop, when he spies food on neighbouring tables. He’s been known to make grown men give up huge chunks of their breakfast with just a glance…
This was delicious! I made it exactly as written and we devoured it!
That’s awesome Caitlin!! N x
Hi Nagi. I cooked your recipe today with a lot of substitutions because those were the ingredients I had on hand – thanks to your notes! It turned out pretty good! Thank you for a wonderful recipe and the great tips!
Hi Nagi, Tried this tonight for the first time as it looked great and so easy. Fantastic. I added a piece of lup cheong (chinese sausage) and aced it!
YUM! Sounds like you nailed it! N x
I doubled the sauce and it was SO delicious eating it over rice! Another great quick dinner recipe! Thanks so much Nagi, we love your website and it’s all we refer to now when cooking in!
YES!!! I’m so happy you loved it Sharleen! N x
Love, love, love this recipe! Big hit with my kids too (reduced amount of chilli for them).
That’s awesome TW! N x
Made this today, delicious! I didn’t have minced pork, so I used button mushrooms, worked pretty well surprisingly.
Will make again soon!
A great vegetarian meal Steph! N x
I made this last night; easy and delicious. Another keeper, thanks, Nagi! Saving to Favourites.
Wahoo! That’s great Donna! N x
Have made this a few times now. I now double the recipe because it’s so good, I like to have the leftovers for lunch. Sooo deelicious!!
Just made this subbing in chicken stock and sambal. So quick, easy and tasty! :yum:
Love your recipes! Can you leave the chill sauce out? Or substitute it for something not spicy – kids don’t eat chilli.
Hi Kimmie – just leave it out in this one – N x
I made this for dinner last night and it was absolutely delicious. My daughter loved it so much she wanted some for her lunch today! It was so quick and easy to make with relatively few ingredients. I am so glad I found your website! I’ve already printed out some other recipes to make. I really like how you can change the portion numbers in each recipe!
Thanks so much Sofia – N x
Made this tonight and loved it. Thank your or the great recipe!
I’m so happy you loved it Joanne!!
We totally enjoyed even if I may have skimped on the ginger. I don’t really measure oops!! It’s a keeper 😝
I’m so glad you loved it Vivian!!
Made exactly as described. Fantastic.
Thanks so much Mick!
Another winner. I charred sweet red pepper strips and subbed tiny chicken thigh pieces. Cook time a tad longer but it was amazing. Hubby a wimp so too spicy for him my my adult son and I thoroughly enjoyed
Wahoo! That’s great Sue (even more for you if it’s too spicy for hubby 😉)
Wow, this was fantastic. I served it with the cucumber, rice and very mild fresh chilli. Couldn’t get the chilli and garlic sauce, so I used sriracha sauce. Other half said to make it again with snowpeas next time.
Sounds amazing Gaye!!
So very delicious – had this dish with brown rice congee
What a great combo! ❤️
I was skeptics about this but I needed to use some ingredients in the fridge and they were all in this meal (beans and ground pork). I am so glad I did because it was so good! My husband said to keep this in rotation so that’s always a good sign. Thanks for making me try something new. 😁
P.S. I thought the charred beans would be rather ugh/undercooked and/or burnt tasting but you were right, they were really wonderful and gave the meal a nice bite.
I’m so glad you loved it Rita!
Love this recipe! I tried it with pork belly instead. Cooking the pork belly by itself after the beans, then took it out and then cook the onions, then add the pork back in.
Yuuuuum! Sounds great Ronna!
This was great! Now I’m sensitive to heat so to me it was a tad hot. But the flavor was wonderful. And I was able to eat it. My husband enjoys Asian food so he loved it. Another keeper from your site.
Just reduce the heat factor if you prefer Linda, I’m so glad you enjoyed it though!
Don’t plan to change a thing. To good the way it is. I’ll just drink more Ice tea😂
Can’t believe how quick, easy and flavoursome this was…. Didn’t have green beans so used broccoli instead- turned out great. Funnily enough I’ll now char the broccoli next time I have it as a side dish- so yum. 😋