Active time: 10 minutes Total time: 20 minutes
Cooking green beans in a smoking-hot pan blisters their skins and makes them tender and a little chewy with a delicious hint of smoky flavor. Add lean ground pork, a splash of rice wine, soy sauce and chili oil, and you’ve got a do-at-home answer to your Szechuan takeout cravings. Be sure to turn on your oven hood or open a window to vent the smoke while cooking the beans.
RD tip: The “extra-lean ground pork” in this recipe is key for a light, functional meal. Using regular ground pork can triple the fat content, which turns a light meal into a heavy one.
Blistered Green Bean and Pork Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon safflower oil
- 1 pound (454g) green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 8 ounces (227g) extra-lean ground pork
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice cooking wine or dry sherry
- 1 teaspoon red chile oil or dark sesame oil
- 2 cups (202g) steamed brown rice
Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the green beans, salt and pepper and sauté until they are blistered and tender, 3 1/2–4 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and set aside.
Return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the ginger and pork and cook, breaking up the meat with a spatula, until the meat is no longer pink, 2 minutes. Drain off excess fat, if present. Return the green beans to the pan. Add the soy sauce and cooking wine and cook, stirring frequently, until hot. Drizzle with the chili oil and serve with the rice.
Serves: 4 | Serving Size: 1/4 of the green bean mixture/142g and 50g rice
Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 261; Total Fat: 9g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 30mg; Sodium: 354mg; Carbohydrate: 31g; Dietary Fiber: 5g; Sugar: 4g; Protein: 16g
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