Garlicky pork and green bean stir-fry
Blistered green beans and savory, garlicky pork over rice, a Chinese home-style favorite that’s on the table in twenty minutes.
- 20 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.81 a serving
- 590 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 3 tbsp gluten-free tamari
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 12 oz green beans, trimmed
- 1 lb ground pork
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 packages microwave rice pouches, 8.8 oz pouches
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Each serving has about 590 calories, 26 g protein, 51 g carbs and 31 g fat, and costs about $2.81 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No gluten-free tamari? Soy sauce works.
- No green beans? Frozen green beans work.
- No ground pork? Ground chicken or ground turkey works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the tamari, sugar and sesame oil together in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Heat the oil in a large over medium-high heat until it , then add the green beans in a single layer.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Medium-high heat
Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, every couple of minutes, until they’re blistered with spots and just tender, then move them to a plate.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 6 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Don’t stir constantly. Leaving them alone is what gives them the wrinkly, charred spots.Add the pork to the same pan, break it into small , and for 5 to 6 minutes, until no pink is left and it starts to .
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: If a lot of fat collects, tilt the pan and spoon some into a mug. Never pour it down the sink.Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Add the garlic, ginger and pepper flakes and for 30 seconds, .
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium-high heatTimer: 30 sec
Return the green beans, pour in the sauce, and for 1 minute, until everything is glossy and the sauce has cooked down.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium-high heatTimer: 1 min
Heat the rice pouches in the microwave as the packages say.
Timer: 1 min 30 sec
Spoon the rice into bowls, top with the pork and green beans, and scatter the green onions over the top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
