This recipe holds a certain special memory for me. Growing up, my family would celebrate birthdays, awards, or just life at a vegan Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. Dry-fried green beans were a must-have every time we went there. Something about escaping the cold of San Francisco and enjoying slightly charred green beans with stewed eggplant and fried rice was so comforting. I knew I wanted to re-create this recipe and hopefully share the comforting energy that comes with it.

Dry-frying is a classic technique that, despite its name, doesn’t involve a completely dry pan but rather a pan with a very small amount of oil. Dry-frying takes moisture out of the ingredients and makes them crispy. I love to dry-fry my green beans because this technique gives the green beans a nice charred flavor without resulting in overcooked and listless green beans. Tien Tsin chiles are small, mild dried chiles that impart lots of smoky chile flavor. Depending on where you live, they can be hard to find, but I recommend going to stores specializing in Chinese foods, a spice shop, or substituting with another small dried pepper such as chile de arbol. Sichuan peppercorns can be found at most grocery stores, but if you have trouble finding them, a spice shop is a good place to look. The spices in this recipe are used to flavor the oil in the pan and indirectly infuse the green beans.