Chinese Green Beans and Mushroom Stir-Fry

Blistered green beans and fresh mushrooms stir-fried in a rich and savoury stir-fry sauce. This Chinese Green Beans and Mushrooms Stir-Fry is so easy and packed full of flavour.

The veggies are enveloped in a thick sauce that’s perfect to be scooped over some rice or noodles.

COOKING WITH A REGULAR PAN VS. A WOK

Chinese recipes usually call for a wok to cook the food in but on days when I want to cook up something with less oil, I use a non-stick pan or skillet.

Cooking in a wok really adds to that whole experience and the ‘wok hey’ you get from high heat of cooking with fire but you can cook this on your electric or induction stove with a non-stick pan.

Using woks usually require more oil to prevent the food from sticking to the base so the advantage of using a non-stick pan is being able to use less oil in your dishes.

So I could say this dish is like takeout but better because it uses less oil—so it’s healthier too!

THE GREEN BEANS

I leave the green beans untouched n the pan for a few minutes to get them nice and toasted on each side which will eventually turn into 'blistered' green beans.

You also still get that nice charring even on a non-stick pan.

Afterwards, I then set the beans aside after cooking on a plate.

MUSHROOMS OF YOUR CHOICE

For the mushrooms, I used a mix of fresh oyster and brown shimeji mushrooms. You can of course opt to use other mushrooms such as king oyster, shiitake, button, baby bella, enoki, etc.

WHAT IF I DON'T LIKE MUSHROOMS?

You can just cook more veggies! Or even cook some tofu or tempeh.

This dish is really versatile and the sauce can be cooked with many different ingredients so feel free to get creative!

STIR-FRY SAUCE

I put the sauce together with the intention of scooping the excess over rice or noodles so this dish is extra SAUCY.

The sauce is actually a mix of a few basic ingredients with one ingredient that really adds that nice depth—the black bean sauce.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED FOR THE SAUCE:

You can find the full and printable recipe in the card below.

• 1 tbsp soy sauce or to taste
• 1 tbsp black bean sauce
• 1 tbsp vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce, plus more as needed
• ¼ cup + 2 tbsp room temp. water, more to thin out if needed
• 1/8 to ¼ cup cane sugar or other sweetener, adjust according to desired sweetness
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or other rice wine, optional
• 1/2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar
• 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sriracha or other chili sauce, optional

BLACK BEAN SAUCE

I use this black bean garlic sauce from Lee Kum Kee but you can opt to use fermented black beans or douchi.

Important Note: black beans or black bean sauce are fermented and salty, so use this sauce sparingly. A tablespoon of this goes a really long way to add extra flavour. 

STIR-FRYING EVERYTHING

The last part: cooking the rest of the ingredients and mixing everything together

Here are some photos on step-by-step process:

I first heated up the same pan I used to cook the green beans.

From there, I sautéed the onion and garlic.

Once the garlic and onion are cooked, I added in the bell pepper.

When the bell pepper are cooked through, I then added in the fresh mushrooms.

For the sauce, I made sure to mix it again first before pouring it in the pan with the mushrooms.

When you've added the sauce, mix it well and leave it to simmer over medium high heat.

The sauce will thicken from the cornstarch and beautifully coat the mushrooms.

Then we'll add back the blistered green beans.

Mix everything well.

If you find the sauce a little too thick, you can add a little more water.

Turn off the heat, serve, and enjoy!

TO SERVE

Top the stir-fry with some sesame seeds, if you'd like!

You’ll need lots of rice (or noodles) for this dish. Waaay more than the rice photographed above (that was solely for photo purposes haha).

Trust me, you won’t enjoy this dish without either (or even both).

Check out the recipe below. Enjoy!

If you try out this recipe, I’d appreciate if you leave a rating or simply click on the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ on my recipe card!

You can also check out my other Chinese vegan recipes down below:

• Chinese Sweet and Sour "Pork"
• Crispy Salt and Pepper Tofu
• Ginger and Scallion Noodles
• Chili Garlic Oil Noodles
• Chinese Sweet and Sour "Pork"
• Crispy Wontons
• Vegetable Dumplings

Are you looking for more delicious, vegan recipes?

You can get a copy of my cookbook, Vegan Asian!

If you crave vegan-friendly versions of classic Asian dishes, this cookbook is packed with Southeast and East Asian dishes inspired by those I grew up enjoying at home and those I’ve tried from my travels. From iconic Thai dishes to piping-hot Japanese fare and everything in between, the recipes in this will take your palate on a delicious food trip across Asia, and hopefully keep you coming back for more!

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