The first time we had a dish like this eggplant string bean stir-fry was at a random Hunan restaurant in the middle of NJ. It’s amazing how immigrants from China can come to the U.S., set up shop in a sleepy town, and bring some of China to the suburbs.
This eggplant string bean stir-fry is one of our must-order dishes when we go out to this particular restaurant, and we discovered it’s a very quick-to-prepare dish for home cooking as well.
Luckily, with summer’s abundance, seasonal eating is at its best right now. I know that there are many home-growers out there (proud to say that I am one among you!), and I bet your eggplants and green beans are about to be ready for this yummy dish. I know I can’t wait for mine to come in. All this rain has stunted their growth a bit, but it’ll be harvest time eventually.
To tell you the truth, I had a long debate with myself about this dish: my original plan was to make it healthier, like my Sichuan Dry Fried Green Beans, with no frying. But my inner voice kept saying, “Give me the real thing!” My grandmother told me to always listen to my inner voice, so I made some adjustments, and the result is––in my opinion––a happy medium.
You’ll need:
- ¼ cup oil
- 8 oz. green beans, cut into 2-3 inch long pieces
- 1 long purple eggplant (approx. 8 oz), cut into ½” x 2” strips
- 2 slices ginger, julienned
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
- 1 red holland chili, de-seeded and sliced (you can also substitute some red bell pepper if you want the dish to be mild)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- Salt, to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
In a flat bottomed frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat, and shallow fry the green beans. Roll the beans around slowly until they start to look wrinkly and slightly crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a plate and set aside.
Using the remaining oil in the pan, do the same procedure with the eggplant using slightly higher heat. It’s done once the edges turn slightly browned, and the eggplant is tender.
Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside along with the green beans.
Add one tablespoon of the leftover oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic, and red chili, and cook for a minute. Mix in the green beans and eggplant, and then the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, and white pepper.
Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, and serve your eggplant string bean stir-fry with rice.
- ¼ cup oil
- 8 oz. green beans, cut into 2-3 inch long pieces
- 1 long purple eggplant (approx. 8 oz), cut into ½” x 2” strips
- 2 slices ginger, julienned
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
- 1 red holland chili, de-seeded and sliced (you can also substitute some red bell pepper if you want the dish to be mild)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- Salt, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
- In a flat bottomed frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat, and shallow fry the green beans. Roll the beans around slowly until they start to look wrinkly and slightly crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a plate and set aside.
- Using the remaining oil in the pan, do the same procedure with the eggplant using slightly higher heat. It’s done once the edges turn slightly browned, and the eggplant is tender. Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside along with the green beans.
- Add one tablespoon of the leftover oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic, and red chili, and cook for a minute. Mix in the green beans and eggplant, and then the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, and white pepper. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, and serve.
C.C. says
Thanks for this recipe and your website! So I tried this recipe tonight, but (as I feared) as soon as I put the eggplant into the skillet all the oil was absorbed. How did you get away with just using 1/4 cup oil? I ended up adding some more oil and eventually water to keep my skillet from being too dry. My end result was much more saucy…
Judy says
Hi CC, eggplant absorbs oil like crazy, but you have to resist adding too much oil as 1/4 cup oil for this dish is plenty. Try reducing the heat when cooking the eggplant. Some pieces tend to get a lot of oil and some don’t, but the oil will even out during the finishing step.
Minerva says
Is it possible to substitute for the more common rotund eggplant? If so would you recommend I peel it first?
We moved from Los Angeles where we had access to a variety of amazing Asian food to a very rural town in Pennsylvania where all ethnic food is absolutely horrible. Having grown up accustomed to just running out and buying all my favorite foods, I’m really having a hard time with the food out here. I’m SO glad I found your blog and am very excited to be able to eat the foods I miss so much!
Judy says
Hi Minerva, you can use the big round eggplant. Just peel the skin off, as it is quite tough.
Sam T says
Thank you for this recipe! This is the first time I’ve actually enjoyed eating eggplant! I got some huge Chinese eggplants in my produce box this week and was trying to figure out what to do with them. We also had some green beans so this was perfect. I added some ground turkey to round it out with a protein. This cooking method gave everything a lot of flavor. Delicious!
Judy says
That’s lovely, Sam, so glad you enjoyed it.
Mary says
I bought asian eggplants and green beans at a farmstand yesterday, and I had banana peppers from a friend, so this recipe was perfect. We enjoyed it so much, I made again today, but substituted napa cabbage for the green beans. I liked the original version best, but I was out of green beans and it was still very good. I also substituted pastured lard for the frying oil, but I do that for most of my frying. My mom really liked the flavor, and she doesn’t usually enjoy recipes with that much garlic. I also added a pinch of cayenne, as the banana peppers are so mild.
Judy says
Yeahhh! Super! Thank you for leaving us a lovely comment, Mary!
Katie says
We are living in China, so I’m so excited to find your blog!
I made this tonight, but I stir-fried an onion and some thinly sliced chicken first, and then followed the recipe in the same pan. I ommitted the pepper because of my kids. I used fresh purple eggplant and a bunch of long green green beans, bought off the street.
I also boiled chinese noodles on the side, and actually didn’t turn them into soggy much, which I often do.
The meal was delicious, my kids enjoyed the green beans, and were even brave enough to try eggplant! I think that’s a win!
Judy says
Yeahhhhh, a win is a WIN! Thank you for your lovely comment, Katie!