Sichuan green beans

Step 1

Pour about 3cm deep of vegetable oil in a pan or wok and heat up. Once hot, fry the trimmed green beans until just starting to wrinkle – about 5 minutes. Do not overfill the pan, you can work in batches

Step 2

Drain the beans on kitchen paper and pat down to remove some of the oil

Step 3

Empty the wok of leftover oil, leaving about 1 tbsp in the pan. (You can reserve and re-use the oil for any future frying you may do.) Add the ginger and garlic and fry until soft but not coloured

Step 4

Next add the chillies and sichuan peppercorns, followed by the pork mince then the soy sauce, Chinese rice wine and sugar

Step 5

Cook on a medium-high heat, stirring all the time to evenly caramelise the pork

Step 6

Once the pork is nice and caramelised, return the beans to the pan to reheat. Toss to combine with the pork

Step 7

Taste and season with salt if needed, then serve hot