Wonderfully tender-crisp and well-seasoned, these Chinese green beans are one of my favorite side dishes. Ready in about 25 minutes, they're truly easy to make.
Green beans are delicious! Even simply boiled green beans, liberally salted, are good. When not overcooked, they are like a salty snack. But these Chinese green beans are especially flavorful, and the secret is to saute them briefly, just until tender-crisp. The sauce, featuring garlic, soy sauce, and honey, is restaurant-level good.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Green beans: I recommend using fresh beans.
- Soy sauce: I use reduced-sodium soy sauce in most of my recipes. You can also use a gluten-free alternative.
- Honey: Just a little to balance out the other flavors.
- Minced garlic: Freshly minced tastes better than jarred minced garlic.
- Red pepper flakes: I use ½ teaspoon, which makes the dish quite spicy. If you don't like spicy food, you can use half that amount.
- Sesame oil: To finish the dish. It adds great flavor!
Variations
- You can use half a teaspoon of garlic powder in the sauce instead of fresh garlic. Freshly minced garlic is much better. But in a pinch, garlic powder is an acceptable substitute.
- You can add a teaspoon of minced fresh ginger to the sauce.
- Toast a tablespoon of sesame seeds and sprinkle them on the finished dish.
- Instead of red pepper flakes, I sometimes mix a teaspoon of hot pepper sauce into the sauce. The only caveat is that pepper sauce tends to create chili fumes when cooked, so if you're sensitive to that, you might want to stick with pepper flakes (and possibly use less of them).
Instructions
The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Mix the sauce ingredients - soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, cornstarch, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
Sauté the beans in avocado oil until they are tender-crisp and just begin to brown in spots. Reduce the heat to low, add the sauce, and cook briefly, just until the green beans are coated and the sauce has thickened.
Drizzle the beans with sesame oil and serve.
These came out so good! I used a full pound of beans, and there was still plenty of sauce to coat them. I also used sriracha instead of chili flakes - about ½ teaspoon. This isn't overly salty or sweet or spicy. They tasted just like the Asian green beans I've gotten at take-out restaurants. What I love is that I can make them gluten-free. So, so, so good!!!
Jenelle
Read more comments
These came out so good! I used a full pound of beans, and there was still plenty of sauce to coat them. I also used sriracha instead of chili flakes - about ½ teaspoon. This isn't overly salty or sweet or spicy. They tasted just like the Asian green beans I've gotten at take-out restaurants. What I love is that I can make them gluten-free. So, so, so good!!!Recipe Tip
Cooked green beans should be bright green and tender-crisp. You don't want them brown and limp. So even though we want them to be browned in some spots, we don't want to overcook them.
Eight minutes over medium heat works for me (plus a minute after adding the sauce). But keep a close eye on them as you cook. Depending on how hot your stovetop runs, they might be ready faster.
Recipe FAQs
Some recipes instruct you to parboil the beans before sautéing them. Frankly, I lack the patience for that, and I also find it unnecessary. One-step cooking is always better than two-step cooking, and washing one pot is preferable to washing two! So no, I don't parboil the beans, and they turn out beautiful - bright green, crisp, and delicious.
I don't recommend using frozen green beans. You want the beans to be tender-crisp, which is more difficult to achieve with frozen beans. However, Tricia notes in a comment below that she used frozen beans successfully, so it's up to you whether you'd like to try.
Those are a hard no. They tend to have an unpleasant metallic taste and are also often brownish and limp.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them in the microwave at 50% power. Sometimes, I snack on them cold - they are surprisingly good that way!
Serving Suggestions
You don't have to serve these green beans with an Asian-style meal. They are quite versatile and go well with any meat or fish.
I often serve them with grilled chicken breast, baked pork chops, broiled shrimp, or seared tuna. They are also very nice alongside fried or poached eggs for a tasty and filling meatless meal.
Still, they obviously pair well with Chinese-style dishes. So, I often serve them with Asian meatballs or Asian salmon.
Recipe Card
Restaurant-Style Chinese Green Beans
Video
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce - or a gluten-free alternative
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic - minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Beans:
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 12 ounces green beans - trimmed, long ones halved
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, and cornstarch. Mix in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add the beans and sauté them, stirring often, until they are tender-crisp and just begin to brown in spots, about 8 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low. Give the sauce another whisk, then add it to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until the beans are coated in the sauce and the sauce has thickened, for about 1 minute.
- Transfer the green beans to a serving plate, drizzle them with sesame oil, and serve.
Notes
- Cooked green beans should be bright green and tender-crisp. You don't want them brown and limp. So even though we want them to be browned in some spots, we don't want to overcook them. Eight minutes over medium heat works for me (plus a minute after adding the sauce). But keep a close eye on them as you cook. Depending on how hot your stovetop runs, they might be ready faster.'
- I recommend using fresh beans.
- You can add a teaspoon of minced fresh ginger to the sauce.
- Instead of red pepper flakes, I sometimes mix a teaspoon of hot pepper sauce into the sauce. The only caveat is that pepper sauce tends to create chili fumes when cooked, so if you're sensitive to that, you might want to stick with pepper flakes (and possibly use less of them).
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them in the microwave at 50% power or snack on them cold.
Nutrition per Serving
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Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Toni says
Scrumptious!!! I have not yet even cooked the beans! I made the sauce. Freakin' awesome! I think I might also use this as a marinade! I did add 1/4- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame seed oil to the sauce. I will update after I cook the beans...if there is any sauce left!
Vered DeLeeuw says
Yay! Glad you like it so much, Toni! Sesame oil is always a yummy addition.
Melanie says
This recipe is the bomb! I love Chinese green beans. I've tried to make them many times but they're never as good as the restaurant ones. UNTIL THIS RECIPE! Adding the sauce at the end is the ticket. Thanks so much!
Vered DeLeeuw says
Yay! You're very welcome, Melanie!
Precilla Roberts says
This was great!
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe, Precilla! Thanks for the review.
Tomiko Graves says
Can you use frozen green beans in this recipe? If so, does the cooking adjust in any way?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Tomiko, I don't recommend using frozen green beans in this recipe.
Tricia says
I used frozen green beans because that is what I had. I boiled them for two minutes, drained them well, and patted them dry. I then followed the recipe except shortened the cooking time to 4 minutes. This recipe was DELICIOUS!!!
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm glad to hear that frozen green beans work in this recipe! Thanks, Tricia.
jenelle says
These came out so good! I used a full pound of green beans, and there was still plenty of sauce to coat them. I also used sriracha instead of chili flakes - about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon. This isn't overly salty or sweet or spicy. They tasted just like the Chinese green beans I've gotten at take-out restaurants. What I love is that I can make them gluten-free. So, so, so good!!!
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Jenelle! Thank you so much for leaving a comment.
Sarah Cheney says
Super simple and tasted just like what I was craving. Ended up making a double batch of the sauce and used half of it on some ground pork that I'd fried up and this made for a super yummy quick dinner!
Vered DeLeeuw says
Sounds like a great meal, Sarah! Thanks for leaving a comment.
Melis says
Thank you so much for posting this! It's a very close copycat for my favorite high-end chinese lunch spot. Simple, fast, super delicious. I had everything on hand, which was a total bonus.
Vered DeLeeuw says
You're very welcome, Melis!
Boots says
AWESOME! The only change I made was to saute the beans in sesame oil. I could eat the whole wok-full at one time. Easy, healthy and oh, so tasty!!!
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.