Garlic Green Beans

Most stir-fried green bean recipes use a tablespoon of oil, which is enough to coat the pan but not enough to give you the blistered, wrinkled skins that define restaurant versions of this dish. This recipe uses a half cup. That's not a typo. It's closer to a shallow fry than a stir fry, and it's the single thing that makes the dish work.

The science is straightforward. Green beans blister when their skins hit hot oil and dehydrate fast enough for the internal moisture to create steam pockets that wrinkle the surface. A small amount of oil doesn't surround the bean, so only one side blisters. A large amount of oil immerses the beans, so every surface gets the treatment. The result is beans that are blistered, wrinkled, and lightly charred all over, with a tender inside and a chewy-snappy skin.

Dry the beans completely before they hit the oil. Wet beans steam instead of blister, and the steam splatters dangerously when it hits hot oil.

High heat, hot pan, oil added and brought up to near smoking, then beans in. Five to six minutes of occasional stirring, and the beans transform. When they come out, the skins should look wrinkled and lightly charred, with snap still left in the interior.

Drain the excess oil out of the pan. Most of it has done its job at this point and can go back in the bottle for next time. What's left is just enough to cook the garlic and bind the final seasoning. Minced garlic for twenty seconds, then soy, sugar, and a pinch of salt only if needed. Toss the beans through this quickly. The seasoning should cling lightly, not pool. A restaurant-quality side in seven minutes.