How to Make Chinese Yardlong Beans with Ground Pork

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This satisfying dish of Chinese yardlong beans seasoned with spicy ground pork checks all the boxes for a weeknight family meal. It’s quick to make, requires only a few ingredients and makes great leftovers.

Chinese yardlong beans are the star of this show, though in this case “yardlong” means 12-24 inches. They’re chewy, very hearty and pair well with intense salty and spicy flavors. It’s easy to stir fry yardlong beans, as they tend to stay firm and crisp throughout the cooking process.

At the Chinese market, you’ll find two types of yardlong beans — light green (baak dau gok) and dark green (cheng dau gok). The darker beans are generally preferred for their crunchier, less fibrous texture, but they also tend to be the pricier of the two varieties and either will work fine for this recipe. If yardlong beans are not available, you can substitute string beans.

Preparation requires only basic stir frying, so you can definitely make this meal after work with the kiddos around. Frankly, cutting the yardlong beans into smaller pieces is the most time-consuming step. It might even make sense to complete this task in the morning before heading to the office.

Serve this dish hot out of the pan with rice. The salt and spice in the ground pork marries up with the crunch and subtle sweetness of the beans really well. Box up the leftovers to reheat for lunch the next day.

Here’s how to make Chinese yardlong beans with ground pork, step-by-step. The detailed tutorial with pictures and directions is at the bottom of the page.

Your turn! What tips can you share from your family’s recipe? Want to ask a question before you start cooking? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!

Chinese Yardlong Beans with Ground Pork Recipe

Makes: 4 Servings | Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
dash of white pepper
1 pound yardlong beans
3 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons toban djan (chili bean sauce)
1 teaspoon garlic

Directions

1. Combine the ground pork, soy sauce, ginger, Shaoxing rice wine and white pepper in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Remove the ends, then cut the yardlong beans into 1/2″ pieces.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan over high heat. Add the yardlong beans and, stirring frequently, fry for 10 minutes until all sides are blistered. Set aside in a bowl.

4. Reheat the pan over high heat, then add the green onions, ground pork and toban djan. Cook until just browned on the outside.

5. Add the garlic and yardlong beans to the pork. Stir until combined and warmed through. Serve immediately.

Step-By-Step Tutorial

Start by gathering your ingredients. This is a super-simple recipe that you can prepare in less than 30 minutes. If you don’t have yardlong beans available, substitute green beans.

Combine the ground pork, soy sauce, ginger, Shaoxing rice wine and white pepper in a bowl. Set aside while you prepare the yardlong beans.

Remove the ends of the yardlong beans, then cut them into 1/2″ pieces. You can gather the beans into handfuls, then cut many at the same time.

Continue until all the beans are cut. This is probably the most time-consuming part of the recipe.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan over high heat. Add the yardlong beans and, stirring frequently, fry for 10 minutes until all sides are blistered. Set aside in a bowl.

Reheat the pan over high heat, then add the green onions, ground pork and toban djan. Cook until just browned on the outside.

Add the garlic and yardlong beans to the pork. Stir until combined and warmed through.

Serve immediately with white rice.