Daikon Radish Stir-Fried Green Beans

Japanese dried radish is mild-flavored and relatively sweet than saltish compared to its Chinese counterpart preserved turnips/radish (菜圃 Cai-Pu). Mildly-sweet coming from the concentrated sugars in daikon when it is being dried, this dried radish can be used in egg omelettes and stir-fry vegetables.


I recalled a wok-fried green beans dish served in a vegetarian restaurant that does a vegetarian version of wok-fried/stir-fried green beans (干煸四季豆) with dried radish. This meatless dish is a delicious copy of the real deal typically briskly wok-fried with ground meat in high heat and hot oil.

To have it home-cooked, what is a less-grease, fuss-free way to achieve restaurant-style light char on the streaky green beans yet retaining the moist succulence of the green beans? First, a quick high heat to give green beans a good char on the outside, then adjusting the heat, and gently cooking them through under natural steam without the addition of water or stock.


Sweet Daikon Radish Stir-Fried Green Beans
Ingredients:
About 1/2 lb green beans
1/4 cup dried sweet radish, hydrate in warm water for about 5-10mins (or prepare according to package instructions), finely minced the radish
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 red chili, sliced
1 tsp organic light soy sauce
Sea salt and ground white pepper to taste

Directions: Heat the pan with 1tbsp cooking oil. Fry the sweet radish garlic, chili till they are fragrant. At medium-high heat, add the green beans and fry to mix the radish-garlic-chili mixture with the green beans. Cover the pan/pot and for 1- 2 minutes, do not adjust the heat or remove the cover. The green beans will develop a slight char on the outside. Then turn down the heat to medium-low, with pot/pan still covered, and allow the steam to cook the beans completely for about 8 minutes or more

(Note: As no additional water is added, you will notice green beans being charred as they directly touch the bottom of the pan which is hot from the start.  Allowing steam to cook through the green beans after the outside of the beams have been charred is a healthier cooking method with lesser use of oil to impart smoky flavor. ). If there is some "sticking" at the bottom of the pan, use 1-2 tsp of cooking wine to de-glaze - this adds more flavor but introduces minimal moisture (as alcohol vaporizes quickly).






Tag: stir-fry green beans

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