Stir-fried Green Beans with Ginger and Hoisin Sauce

One late Friday afternoon, visiting with my daughter and her family, I looked on in speechless wonder as my eight year-old granddaughter and her friend hovered in front of the pan of freshly roasted green beans and picked them off, munching on them happily, as if they were candy. As each member of the clan passed through the kitchen, they made strategic detours in front of the baking sheet and nibbled on green beans. Up until that moment I hadn’t realized that my love for all things green was shared by my grandchildren. I continued to gawk in amazement.

Stir-fried Green Beans with Ginger and Hoisin Sauce

Regrettably, I have never been able to replicate my daughter’s successful recipe for roasted green beans. However I will testify that this recipe for stir-fried green beans with ginger and hoisin sauce, adapted from the recipe by Tony Rosenfeld, published in Fine Cooking magazine, is finger-licking good. Salty and sweet with the heady punch of minced ginger and garlic, I had to restrain myself so that I could take a picture for this post. If you have ten minutes to spare, you too can enjoy these green beans. But maybe make a double recipe just in case anyone else in the family would like to have a taste.

Assemble your ingredients. Wash and trim the green beans. Pat the green beans with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible.

Peel the ginger and grate it using a microplane or mince finely. Grate the garlic with a microplane or mince finely. Set the aromatics aside.

Place a straight-sided 12-inch skillet on the stove. Preheat it over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds to the dry pan and stirring constantly toast them until they are light golden in color. Remove from the pan and set the sesame seeds aside. Toasted sesame seeds add a nutty flavor to the dish.

In  a small bowl mix the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar. Set the mixture aside. Heat the canola oil in the straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat until it is shimmering. Add the green beans and cook tossing occasionally until most of the green beans show brown patches (see above) and are tender, about 5-8 minutes. Test them after 5 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to low and add the ginger and garlic. Cook stirring for 45 seconds. Add the soy mixture to the pan and cook for another 30 seconds, until the green beans are coated and the sauce is warmed through. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.

Print Recipe

Stir-fried Green Beans with Ginger and Hoisin Sauce

Vegetables and Sides

By Adapted from recipe by Tony Rosenfeld published in Fine Cooking – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 8 minutes – Total Time: 18 minutes

Stir-fried green beans that are salty and sweet with the heady punch of minced ginger and garlic

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, or other vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or microplaned
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced or microplaned
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

Instructions

1

Wash and trim the green beans. Pat the green beans with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible.

2

Peel the ginger and grate it using a microplane or mince finely. Grate the garlic with a microplane or mince finely. Set the aromatics aside.

3

Place a straight-sided 12-inch skillet on the stove. Preheat it over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds to the dry pan and stirring constantly, toast them until they are light golden in color. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the pan and set the sesame seeds aside. Toasted sesame seeds add a nutty flavor to the dish. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel.

4

In  a small bowl mix the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar. Set the mixture aside.

5

Heat the canola oil in the straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat until it is shimmering. Add the green beans and cook tossing occasionally until most of the green beans show brown patches and are tender, about 5-8 minutes. Test them after 5 minutes. 

6

Reduce the heat to low and add the ginger and garlic. Cook stirring for 45 seconds. Add the soy mixture to the pan and cook for another 30 seconds, until the green beans are coated and the sauce is warmed through. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.