Always on the hunt for unusual vegetables, I scooped up these Chinese long beans (aka yardlong beans, long-podded cowpeas, snake beans or asparagus beans) last weekend at my local farmers’ market. They hold up well to cooking, that is, the beans don’t get soft and mushy, and retain a good amount of al dente-ness, which make them ideal for stir-frying.

A quick Sichuan-style stir-fried green bean dish immediately sprang to mind. Just a handful of ingredients — Sichuan [green] peppercorns, minced garlic and ginger, a few dried red chiles, garlic scapes that I preserved earlier this spring. ground pork and a sauce of soy/tamari, dry Sherry, and brown sugar — transformed these beans into a plate of utter deliciousness. The ground pork can be omitted for vegetarians/vegans.

It’s an easy one-pot (or wok) dish that quickly comes together. The “secret” to making Chinese Sichuan green beans is a cooking technique called dry-frying” (gan bian); frying the green beans in a hot wok until the skins starts to blister and char in spots.

Sichuan green beans are traditionally made with preserved mustard stems. That’s where these preserved (lacto-fermented) garlic scapes came in handy. Garlic scapes won’t be around until next spring, but something to keep in mind. You could always try lacto-fermenting other types of greens.

I also prefer green Sichuan peppercorns if you can find them. I bought mine here. They have an interesting and pleasing floral, citrus quality with more of that intense mouth-numbing tingle (the tingly sensation is due to a substance called hydroxy-a-sanshool).

Sichuan Chinese Long Beans with Preserved Garlic Scapes

2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorn to taste
3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
1 pound long Chinese long beans, cut into approximately 2-inch pieces (or substitute green beans)
1/4 pound ground pork
3 tablespoons preserved garlic scapes (Sichuan pickled mustard greens are typical)
3-4 dried red chiles, whole
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons dry Sherry wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Toast the Sichuan peppercorn in a dry skillet until fragrant and slightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool and grind to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a hot wok over medium-high heat. Add the beans and stir-fry until the skins start to blister and char in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.

Lower heat to medium. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the pork and pickled scapes, and season with salt. Cook, breaking up the pork with a wooden spoon/spatula, until no longer pink. Add the dried chiles, garlic and ginger and stir-fry another minute. Add the reserved green beans, Sherry wine, soy sauce, sugar and Sichuan peppercorn to taste and stir-fry another minute or two. Serve with rice if desired.