Yardlongs are good prepared with a spicy Chinese stir fry method.

Jim

Jim says, "spicy Chinese stir fry method", we need a good recipe with that comment! :)

I hope I get some Yardlongs this year, as my wife just mowed down a row of them and I might be moving from current home before end of summer.

Dean

They were a very nice addition to last night's mixed, garden veggie, stir fry.

Do you have the recipe for that, Jim?

This recipe is from The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo. Although it specifies green beans, it is my experience that dishes of this type are usually made with yard long beans, which are more commonly seen in Chinese markets. I think either type of bean is O.K. to use in this recipe. Tienstsin preserved vegetable is chopped celery cabbage preserved with salt, garlic and spices. That will give you an idea of what to substitute if necessary. Kimchi, maybe?

SZECHUAN DRY-SEARED GREEN BEANS

In this dish all the ingredients are dry and chewy, with a lingering flavor. It is unusual and delicious. The beans are wrinkled but crisp, and each is speckled with a little adhering meat and preserved vegetables.
Serves 4.

1 1/2 pounds green beans
1 cup oil
1/4 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon minced Tientsin preserved vegetable

Seasonings:
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili-pepper oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped scallion greens

Rinse and dry the green beans; break off the ends and cut in bite size lengths. March-chop the ground meat a few times to loosen its formation. Chop the scallion greens. Put everything in separate piles on your working platter. Measure out the seasonings into a small bowl and mix well.

Heat the cup of oil in a wok or large, heavy skillet until it foams a cube bread instantly, about 375 degrees. Scatter in the green beans and deep-fry until they are wrinkled and a little blistered, stirring constantly, and lowering the slightly if necessary. Pour beans and oil into a strainer over a small pot.

Return 3 tablespoons oil to the pan, scatter in the meat, and stir quickly in poking and pressing motions to break the lumps. Stir until it begins to brown; then add the preserved vegetable and stir well. Shower in the green beans; stir in scooping and turning motions a few times. Add the seasonings, then the scallion greens. and stir vigorously in sweeping motions until the liquid is absorbed by the ingredients. Pour into a hot serving dish.

My red noodle yard long beans are very prolific!
I usually stir fry them in high heat with some olive oil, garlic, onion and shishito peppers. Sometimes I add a zucchini or a gourd, whatever I have that day in the garden.
Silvia

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whgille -- thanks for posting that pic. I'm growing red noodles for the first time this year, and I was a little curious that they LOOK as though they are ripe, yet they are soooo thin, only 'bout a 1/4 inch. I had kind of expected a fuller pod, but yours don't seem any thicker than mine, so I guess they must be ready. So you must judge their readiness from the length, I take it. Can't hardly wait to try them!! Maybe grow the green kind next year....

I like to use the red noodle at this stage of ripeness, they are tender. But if you want, you can harvest them later. You will be the judge about which size you like better. Red noodle are very ornamental, productive, and keeps the color after is cooked. Cut them in pieces before cooking.

I am also growing the green kind, they will be ready in about a week. I timed them so they would not be producing at the same time.

Good luck with your harvest!

Silvia

Garlic Chinese Beans:

Steam the beans lightly, perhaps in a bowl with 2 tbsp water covered with a towel in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Undercook them slightly from how you like to eat them, since they will keep cooking in the wok.

Put a little oil in the wok and allow to get very hot, followed by minced garlic to taste. Stir-fry until you smell the garlic, then add in the beans, salt and white pepper to taste. Stir-fry to coat the beans with oil and garlic, and then put on a plate. Enjoy!

This is also delicious when you serve with steamed chicken.

Another option is to saute mushrooms before adding the garlic.

You can also add a bit of chili sauce with the beans if you like it spicy.

Very simple, very easy, and SO delicious!!! Works great with just about any veggie. I personally love this with a mix of asparagus and beans. I've also been known to add pine nuts to the mix, but the basic recipe is just so good!

Now I wanna grow some red yardlongs...

No need for a fancy recipe. Just chop the beans up into 1/2 inch sections. Stir fry some chopped up scallions, ginger, (and ground pork if you want) in cooking oil. If using pork, you might want to add a small amount of soysayce to it. Add a little sesame oil if you like that. Once the oil seems to have absorbed the flavors, toss the chopped up long beans into the pan and stir fry them until they are bright green and tender enough to eat. Add tiny amounts of water (or cooking wine) if necessary to keep the pan from glazing over and burning while you wait for the beans to cook enough. Salt to taste.

You can also add fresh chilies at about the same time as you put the beans in, or dried ones early on with the other ingredients, if you really want.

Yard long beans, green and red, cashews, shrimp, chili sauce, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, grated carrots. Delicious!
Silvia

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That looks awesome! I would love a plate for dinner!