Green Beans & Ground Pork Stir Fry - Video Recipe

My Green Beans & Ground Pork Stir Fry is wife-approved!
I do a lot of stir-frying because it's a simple one-pot dish that combines veggies with protein. Just enter "stir fry" in the "Enter Ingredient or Recipe Keyword(s)" window on the top right side of this blog to see the tasty recipes I've come up with.

But the recipes have all been photo and text-based only -- up to now. Well, it's time for an animated recipe video that only The 99 Cent Chef can do, plus it's fun to watch and cheap to make.

Green beans tend to cost more here in LA, but I still manage to get them for about a dollar per pound at my local 99c only Stores, and they are often on sale at regular grocery stores (especially during holidays.)

I usually use ground turkey or chicken in my stir fries because it's cheaper (and leaner), but an inexpensive 10-ounce package of Farmer John ground pork is too good a deal to pass up. (You could also use breakfast link sausage.) This recipe is enough to feed two. To stretch it out a bit more just add the stir fry over cooked rice or boiled ramen noodles.

If string beans are too expensive then use sliced carrots or any fresh veggie you can get on sale, including spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, or local farmers market veggies. I used fresh ginger, but have found that powered ginger, in the dried herbs and spices section of a market, is a tasty substitution. (Biting into a small piece of ginger, even cooked, is intense, so, powered ginger is a pleasing and flavorful way to go.) Soy sauce is found everywhere now, and I only use a couple of tablespoons of more expensive oyster sauce, so you'll get a lot of stir frys out of it (and like soy sauce, it keeps in the refrigerator forever.)

At the end of this post, under Hindsight, I have some lighter variations of my Green Beans & Ground Pork Stir Fry, so there is no excuse not to make it...soon!

Green Beans & Ground Pork Stir Fry - VIDEO

Play it here. Video runs 3 minutes, 21 seconds.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients (2-3 servings)

• 1 pound green beans - Okay to use less. Frozen green beans (or a favorite veggie mix) is a cheap substitution. Just add at the end of the recipe and cook until defrosted.
• 10 ounces to 1 pound of ground pork - I used a 10-ounce package. Substitute ground chicken or turkey for a lighter stir-fry.
• 1 tablespoon of chopped ginger - optional. Okay to use a teaspoon of dried ginger (add with meat.)
• 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic - fresh or from the jar
• 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce - or your favorite Oriental stir fry packet, or sauce, like sweet and sour.
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 small pack of sweeteners - Substitute a teaspoon of regular sugar or any favorite sweetener like honey.
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or flour
• 1/2 cup of broth, white wine, or water - or use a 1/4 cup for less sauce, it's up to you.
• About 3 tablespoons oil for stir-frying - 2 tablespoons for green beans, and 1 teaspoon for ginger and garlic (if needed.) Okay to use less oil, for a lighter stir fry.
• Pepper to taste - No salt is needed as soy sauce has plenty.

Directions
Trim off stems from green beans and any brown or dried tips. I left green beans whole, but you can chop them in half, or into bite-sized pieces.

Add 2 tablespoons oil to a wok over medium heat. When the oil is hot carefully add the green beans. Keep them moving for about 3-5 minutes, to cook to a desired tenderness. I like a little crunch so I stopped the cooking by 3 minutes, but okay to cook a couple of minutes more for more tender beans. When done remove beans to a plate or bowl.

Peel and chop a small chunk of ginger. The skin on ginger is tissue-soft, so the edge of a spoon will scrape it off easily enough. Use a knife for hard-to-reach parts. Slice and chop ginger into small pieces, about a tablespoon amount.

Add one teaspoon of oil to the wok (if oil is used up from frying green beans.) Saute ginger for a minute over medium heat.

Next, chop one clove of garlic or use a teaspoon of garlic from a jar. Add it to sauteing ginger. Reduce heat to low and saute for another minute, careful not to burn the garlic.

 While garlic and ginger saute, open a package of pork. When garlic is heated though for a minute add the ground pork. Mix it with ginger and garlic.

Now add soy sauce and oyster sauce. (If you don't have oyster sauce use an easy-to-get teriyaki sauce, or just go with soy sauce only.) Sprinkle in some sugar and cornstarch (or flour.) Season with pepper to taste. You can add red pepper flakes for extra heat.

Mix well and stir fry pork until done, about 5-10 minutes over medium heat. (No need to add oil, as pork is usually fatty enough.) When pork is done you can strain off some or all of the fat, depending how lean the meat is. I like to leave in at least a couple of teaspoons of fat for flavor.

Now time to finish it up. Add 1/2 cup of broth, white wine, or water. Put in the cooked green beans and stir fry over medium-high heat until liquid thickens and the beans are heated through about 3-5 minutes.

Serve hot over rice or noodles. Also tasty on its own.

Hindsight
This is a basic stir-fry recipe. You can use almost any type of protein, including ground chicken, turkey, beef, or sliced chicken, pork, or beef.

Frozen green beans (or a favorite veggie mix) is a cheap substitution. Just add at the end of the recipe and stir fry until defrosted.

The amount of ground pork and green beans is approximate -- add more or less as you like it.

You could also substitute green beans with cheaper chunks of carrot or any veggie you like.

If you like a lot of sauce then double broth or liquid, and cornstarch amounts. You can also add more oyster and soy sauce.

For a lighter stir-fry steam green beans covered, to a desired tenderness (about 3-5 minutes) instead of frying them in oil. And use less greasy ground chicken, turkey or sliced chicken breast.

I served my Green Bean & Ground Pork Stir Fry over brown and white rice. You could also boil a package of ramen noodles and drain them.