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Spicy Sichuan Green Beans are lightly blistered in a hot wok or pan alongside aromatics, Sichuan peppercorns, and a healthy drizzle of homemade Homemade Chili Oil! They’re super delicious, so easy to make, and a satisfying vegetable side to any of your favorite Asian dishes!
Watch the Spicy Sichuan Green Beans Recipe Video Below!
Some of my favorite ways to eat vegetable is in Chinese dishes – I love how the vegetables shine and have so much flavor in dishes like Chinese Eggplant, Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce, and Sesame Garlic Snap Peas! Bok choy is one of my favorites – whether you enjoy them in Garlic Bok Choy, Bok Choy with Garlic Sauce, or Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce – they’re all delicious!
Table of Contents
- Watch the Spicy Sichuan Green Beans Recipe Video Below!
- Spicy Sichuan Green Beans Ingredients
- Dried Red Chili Peppers
- Recipe Instructions for Spicy Sichuan Green Beans
- Expert Tips for Spicy Sichuan Green Beans
- Storage and Reheating
- What to Serve with Spicy Sichuan Green Beans
- Spicy Sichuan Green Beans Recipe
Spicy Sichuan Green Beans Ingredients
- Green Beans – I like to trim the ends but you can leave them off if you don’t mind them. This is optional but I prefer the green bean pieces to be bite size and not too big – about 1.5-2″ pieces is ideal. You can keep them any length you prefer.
- If you love green beans like I do, try them in dishes like Din Tai Fung Green Beans, Roasted Green Beans with Bacon, and Chinese Green Beans with Pork
- Salt
- Neutral oil – My favorite neutral oil is avocado oil, but you can also use canola or vegetable oil! I don’t use olive oil when cooking Chinese food for two reasons: 1. It has a low burning point and 2. I find that the flavor profile does not usually go with the dish.
- Sichuan peppercorns – This is a key ingredient for the Spicy Sichuan Green Beans – the mouth numbing tingle from the peppercorns is so good!
- Sichuan peppercorns are also used for Mapo Tofu and Sichuan Hot Chicken!
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Dried red chili peppers – see note below.
- Soy sauce – this is “light” or “all-purpose” soy sauce
- Chili oil – I always recommend using Homemade Chili Oil or Chili Crisp; you can use store bought if that is what you have on hand or prefer.
- sugar
- shaoxing wine – this is a Chinese cooking wine and one of my key pantry essentials for Chinese cooking. If you are comfortable cooking with alcohol, I highly recommend picking up a bottle, as it adds a depth of flavor that really takes your dishes to the next level. However if you cannot or do not want to use this ingredient, you can substitute with sherry, mirin, or chicken stock.
- msg – this is optional.
Key Tip
Dried Red Chili Peppers
I find these at my local Asian grocery and they’re usually labeled Chinese Chiles or Chiles Japones; if you can’t find these, you can also use Chiles de Arbol.
I used 8 dried red chili peppers for this recipe but you can adjust to your own spice preference. Most of the spice in chili peppers is actually inside. Since we are not cutting open the dried red chili peppers and rather, are cooking with them whole, the chiles will add flavor and aroma without adding too much heat.
I love cooking with dried red chili peppers – I use them in recipes like Mongolian Beef, Mongolian Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken and Three Cup Chicken, where I want to add the flavor and aroma of chili peppers, with just a hint of spice.
Recipe Instructions for Spicy Sichuan Green Beans
1. Cook the Green Beans
Optional: trim the ends off the green beans before cooking.
Heat your wok or pan over medium high heat with a tablespoon of neutral oil, then add the green beans to the wok. Toss and sear the green beans in the small amount of oil until your start to see scorch marks and blistering on the green beans. This process only takes about 3-4 minutes, so watch the green beans carefully!
2. Fry the Aromatics and Chilis
Once the green beans are nicely blistered but still crisp, remove them and set them aside in a bowl.
In the same wok or pan, het 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat, then add your garlic, ginger, sichuan peppercorns, and dried red chilis. Stir fry them for 30 seconds to release the aromas and oils, then add back the seared green beans.
3. Combine to Finish
To the wok or pan, add soy sauce, shaoxing wine, salt, sugar, optional msg, and a generous tablespoon of chili oil. Stir fry and mix well for 1-2 minutes in the wok before serving your delicious Spicy Sichuan Green Beans! Plate them up and enjoy!
Key Tip
Expert Tips for Spicy Sichuan Green Beans
Green Beans
- I like to trim the ends off of the green beans – this is optional.
- I prefer using bite sized pieces for Spicy Sichuan Green Beans, about 1.5-2″ in length. You can keep them any length you prefer. If you keep them longer, note that they may take a little bit longer to cook through in your wok or pan.
Dried Red Chili Peppers
- I find them at my local Asian grocery store – they’re usually labeled as Chinese Chiles or Chiles Japones; if you can’t find these, you can also use Chiles de Arbol.
- I used 8 dried red chili peppers for Spicy Sichuan Green Beans but you can adjust to your own spice preference.
- Since we are cooking with whole chili peppers and not cutting them open, they are more for flavor and aroma than spice.
Success is in the Prep
- Spicy Sichuan Green Beans is one of those recipes that comes together extremely quickly – the key is having your ingredients prepped and in bowls right next to your wok or pan! Have your green beans, chilis, peppercorns and other spices ready and easily accessible during the cooking process.
Storage and Reheating
Store any leftover Spicy Sichuan Green Beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Note – as they’re refrigerated, the green beans will lose their crunch and continue to soften.
Reheating leftover Spicy Sichuan Green Beans in the air fryer at 350°F for 6-8 minutes until warmed through.
What to Serve with Spicy Sichuan Green Beans
I love pairing Spicy Sichuan Green Beans with other dishes that have similar flavors, like Dan Dan Noodles, Chili Oil Noodles, or Chinese Silken Tofu. They also go great with a main dish like General Tso’s Chicken or Kung Pao Chicken!
I also like having several vegetable sides that go well together (like how Koreans serve their side dishes or “banchan”) – Spicy Sichuan Green Beans would go great with Chili Garlic Bok Choy or Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad!
If you tried this Spicy Sichuan Green Beans or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Spicy Sichuan Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 lb green beans, washed and trimmed
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp neutral oil
- 1/2 tbsp ground sichuan peppercorns
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 8 red dried chili peppers, chiles japones
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sichuan chili oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 1/4 tsp msg
- 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
Instructions
- Dry fry green beans in 1 tbsp of neutral oil over medium high heat, coat in oil until blistered and dry. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp of neutral oil. Add sichuan pepper, garlic, ginger, and dried red chilis. Stir fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Turn the heat to high and add green beans along with shaoxing wine, soy sauce, salt, sugar, chili oil, and msg. Stir fry for 1 minute and enjoy!
Notes
Storage and Reheating
Store any leftover Spicy Sichuan Green Beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Note – as they’re refrigerated, the green beans will lose their crunch and continue to soften. Reheating leftover Spicy Sichuan Green Beans in the air fryer at 350°F for 6-8 minutes until warmed through.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m a truck driver and drive across the whole country when I look for szechuan food I know it’s not real szechuan if this isnt on the menu.
When I make this at home I get the fermented pickled mustard greens
Delicious!
I’m a truck driver and drive across the whole country when I look for szechuan food I know it’s not real szechuan if this is t on the menu
This was amazing; this had the perfect spice with the peppers! The wok made the flavor even better!
So good!
Yum! So good!
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Made this with thinly shaved and sliced ribeye over brown rice. So delicious!
That sounds absolutely DELICIOUS!
Wow! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a entirely different topic but it has pretty much the same page layout and design. Excellent choice of colors!