There are two kinds of people: those who like pickles, and those who don’t like pickles. This pickled long beans stir fry recipe is for the people who ardently love the sour vinegar-y edge of a good pickled vegetable. To the non-pickle lovers, apologies, but come back in a few days for our next post.
One of Our Favorite Hunan Dishes
Pickled Long Beans with Pork is a favorite stir-fried dish that our most beloved Hunan restaurant serves up. It has the perfect level of tongue burning chili flavor, crisped bits of ground pork, and strong, vinegary pickled long beans whose flavor is transformed into smokey pickled deliciousness by the effect of the wok’s searing heat. I’m drooling on my keyboard just thinking about it.
Now I say “beloved”—this is not an exaggeration. This Hunan restaurant is pretty magical by all accounts. It’s located off the side of a quiet road in the middle of New Jersey suburbia, and a Chinese family lives above the restaurant, growing their own herbs and veggies in old wooden boxes in the parking lot, and pickling their own salted chilies (AKA duo jiao) and long beans (AKA snake beans).
When you step inside, it’s like a wormhole to China, complete with plastic lined tables, a menu chock full of brightly lit pictures of every dish and Chinglish typos galore, and no plate of Sesame Chicken in sight.
They cook up some of our favorites like Hunan Steamed Fish with Salted Chilies and Tofu (duo jiao yu) and Cumin Lamb. Despite the obscure location, people in the area know just what a hidden treasure it is.
It’s one of our favorite pockets of town in a state chock full of weird but delightful culinary gems tucked away in plazas and strip malls, so if you ask us exactly where it is, we probably won’t tell you. But you can recreate this dish at home! :)
Serve with Rice or Noodles
The great thing about this pickled long beans stir fry recipe is that you can make it as a stir-fry and serve it with lots of white rice (this dish is the soulmate of a bowl of white rice). As pickle-lovers know, sometimes, there’s just something about the perfect sour, spicy pickle that can put you right again.
One quick note on ingredients: these pickled long beans can be purchased at most Asian grocery stores in a vacuum sealed package or in a jar. For those who don’t have access to such things, a homemade pickled long bean recipe is high on our list of to-do’s!
Oh, and don’t forget that you can use use any leftovers to make pickled bean noodle soup the next day!
OK, here’s how to make it.
Pickled Long Beans with Pork: Recipe Instructions
First, marinate the ground pork. Mix it with 1 tablespoon of the oil, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine. Set aside while you gather your other ingredients.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add the pork and stir-fry until cooked through and lightly crisped.
Add the ginger and allow to infuse the oil for another minute. Next, add the garlic and cook until the garlic is lightly browned.
Add the spicy bean paste along with the diced green and red bell peppers and cook until they are slightly softened.
Add the bird’s eye chilies, Chinese pickled beans, sugar, and white pepper, and cook for a few minutes to heat the long beans through. If you want an extra kick, add the chilies early on along with the ginger to really infuse the oil.
Serve your pickled long beans stir fry with plenty of white rice!
Pickled Long Beans with Pork Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 8 ounces ground pork (225g)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 5 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon spicy bean paste (dou ban jiang)
- 1 small green bell pepper (diced)
- 1 small red bell pepper (diced)
- 3 to 10 bird’s eye chilies (thinly sliced, depending on your desired heat level)
- 1 package Chinese pickled long beans (chopped into ¼” pieces)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- First, marinate the ground pork. Mix it with 1 tablespoon of the oil, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine. Set aside while you gather your other ingredients.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add the pork and stir-fry until cooked through and lightly crisped. Add the ginger and allow to infuse the oil for another minute. Next, add the garlic and cook until the garlic is lightly browned. Add the spicy bean paste and stir to combine.
- Add the diced green and red bell peppers and cook until they are slightly softened. Add the chilies, long beans, sugar, and white pepper, and cook for a few minutes to heat the long beans through. If you want an extra kick, add the chilies early on along with the ginger to really infuse the oil.
- Serve with plenty of white rice!
nutrition facts
whats your recipes for the pickled green beans ? ty lmk
we don’t make those from scratch — not yet anyways!
Have you developed a recipe for pickled long beans yet?
I’d love it if you published a cookbook. Every recipe I’ve tried was great and reminded me of food we ate when we lived in China. A foodie friend proclaimed some of the dishes made from your recipes one of her “best meals ever!” She didn’t recognize that it was just a collection of foods we loved and missed- or. Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup, Cold sesame noodles, cucumber pickles and vinegar potatoes.
Not yet, Kathy. We did not think anyone cared for it :-) We will add it to our to-do list. A cookbook is definitely on our minds, please sign up for our newsletter for new posts and news. Our readers will be the first to know about developments like that! :-)
We have a restaurant in CA that make this dish with rice noodle soup. Do you have a recipe for the soup base?
Hi Ruby, try this soup base recipe.
Where is the restaurant you mention? It sounds great.
Fortune Cookies on Old York Road, Bridgewater NJ.
Thanks for the heads up about this restaurant! I just checked out the menu and it is my Chinese food bucket list I have been wanting to try. I will be taking an hour road trip to try their food!
Please call ahead, Jeremy, I believe they are offering pick up and delivery right now.
OMG !!
This “Pickled Long Beans with Pork Stir Fry” recipe makes me nostalgic.
My ex-BF’s mother used to make this delicious dish for me whenever we visited.
She used to make her own “homemade” pickled long/snake beans.
I have tried searching for the recipe without luck until now.
And so, of course, I am very much looking forward to…
“homemade pickled long bean recipe is high on our list of to-do’s”
Just can’t wait…because I’m very much a pickle-head, like you. HAR-HAR
YAY! Glad you found us :) It was in the stars.
What is the weight of a typical package? I had to go to Canada to pick one up (poor storage at the only place locally that has them) and they come in one kilo packets. Trying to get an idea of how much to calibrate for
Hi Hendrik, hmm, if I had to guess, I would say that you can use half of a one kilo packet. About 2-3 cups of chopped long beans is optimal.
As a fan of long beans and all things pickled (though admittedly my experience is mostly Western-style), I was excited to make this but I found the pickled long beans to have a sharp, overwhelming iodine flavor. Is this normal? I ended up rinsing them well before using them and still found it a bit much. I added a bit of sweet soy sauce (I meant to use Oyster sauce but wasn’t paying attention) and after sitting in the fridge for a day it was much better. Still confused as to whether this is how they should taste, though. There was no date on the package but the store is usually pretty good.
Hi JS, with Chinese pickled / preserved goods it can be very hit or miss in terms of the quality and flavor of the many many different brands you’ll find in the Asian grocery. We didn’t experience the overwhelming iodine flavor you’re mentioning. Our recommendation would be to try a different brand next time! Check the ingredients and look for the ones that have the least additives (this is how I pick out my preferred brand of chili bamboo shoots, for example.) You can also try rinsing them after you cut them. Just make sure to drain them well before adding to the wok.
I love pork and pickled cabbage – is this the same only with beans?
Hi Gail, this is different, as this uses pickled beans rather than cabbage, and overall is spicier. Though it sounds like you are a pickle head like me and will probably enjoy this dish as well!
Hi! Wondering how many ounces are in the bean package? Pic of package would be swell.
Love your site, use it more and more.
Hi Gail — we’ll post the bean package to our ingredients page soon! In the meantime, shoot for 2-3 cups of chopped pickled beans for this recipe.
Any chance you could share the name/address of the NJ restaurant you mention…?
yes! i too need the name of this illustrious place!!!
Hi Susan–feel free to email us! Gotta keep it relatively under wraps…
Hi Lauren–if you want it, you’ll have to email us! Can’t give away the secret to the whole internet ;)