Another Cooking Class at the Renaissance

The Renaissance Hotel held another cooking class...much like the one we described back in July.  The photo above shows Theresa hard at practicing her cleaver skills.

There were three dishes in this edition....the first being stir fried potato with chili and vinegar, the second being noodle soup in "Suzhou" style, and the third being Chinese style sautéed green beans.  It was an all veggie menu.  Of the three, the green beans are the easiest and the ones that we've been making over and over again at home.

Here is the recipe.  Though it sounds precise, it is really not.  There are a million variations.  See the notes following the recipe.

Sautéed Green Beans with Chili (Sichuan Style)

Ingredients:

     - 1 pound green beans, cleaned with ends trimmed

     - 4 oz chopped bacon

     - 2 whole dried red chiles, thickly sliced.

     - Chopped spring onion

     - Ginger, peeled and cut into thin slivers

     - Garlic, thinly sliced

     - 1 Tbsp Chinese Rice Wine

     - Sugar

     - Soy Sauce

     - Oil, for sauté

Peparation

1. Sauté the green beans in oil until cooked but still crisp.  Remove, drain off excess oil.
2. Fry in same pan the chopped bacon, garlic, ginger, and Chinese wine
3. Add soy sauce, onions, and add back the beans.
4. Add sugar to taste.  Reduce liquid until syrupy.
5. Remove from heat and serve.

Ok...that's the recipe they taught at the Renaissance.  But there are a million different variations on the theme.  In the end, the main objectives are a.) to cook the green beans so that they are done....but crisp and not soft and b.) have them swiming in a tasty sauce.  Some variations....

• If you don't like spicy then forget the red chilis.
• If you don't have Chinese rice wine then you can forget it completely.
• Use sliced onion instead of spring onion.  Just add the onion earlier....e.g. sauté with the bacon rather than waiting to add later.
• Add a little cornstarch to thicken sauce with less effort.
• Add mushrooms.
• Deep fry the green beans first (that is the authentic Chinese way)
• Grill the beans over charcoal or in the oven instead of sautéing them.
• After cooking is finished, add a tablespoon of butter to the sauce and allow it to melt to enrich the sauce.

The more we play with this, the more I am convinced that you can't screw it up as long as you use a lot of garlic and a lot of fresh ginger.