CHINESE STIR FRIED GREEN BEANS

SHERRIE'S CHINESE STIR FRIED GREEN BEANS
1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed *
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup Tianjin preserved vegetable (see my comments below)
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon MSG

Steam the green beans until tender, 7-10 minutes. Drain well. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and saut?everything except the green beans for 3 minutes. Add the cooked green beans; cook and stir another 5 minutes.

Makes about 4-6 servings
Can be frozen

* If you can get Chinese long beans, the dish will be even more authentic. You'll have to trim and cut them into shorter, more manageable lengths because they're about 2-3 feet long.

Per 1/4 Recipe: 183 Calories; 14g Fat; 4g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 7g Net Carbs
Per 1/6 Recipe: 122 Calories; 9g Fat; 2g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

This is quoted from Sherrie's website: "Our local Chinese restaurant makes the greatest stir fried green beans. I know most Chinese restaurants make these and, since we eat there so much, the chef and owner shared the recipe for these beans I could never seem to duplicate. So here is a well kept secret of Chinese restaurants! Chinese Winter Vegetable comes in jars. If you have always wondered what those little brown flecks are in your local Chinese restaurant's green beans, well this is it! He gave me the label so when I went to the Chinese grocery in Memphis I would know what to ask for. It's basically cabbage that's been preserved. It's very salty and has a sort of garlic hint to it!"

I had to take a guess on the carb count for the preserved vegetable because the label was wrong. It listed more fiber than carbs and a hidden carb calculator gave a much higher carb count based on the calories listed. I suspect that the calories listed were wrong as well so I've based the counts on 1/2 cup of sauerkraut, which was the closest equivalent I could think of. Since the ingredients in tianjin preserved vegetable are just cabbage, garlic and salt, there really can't be all that many carbs. I found this stuff at a local Asian supermarket for $1.99 for a 21-ounce crock. It comes in a sort of "bean pot" made of ceramic. The lid is just a plastic cover that fits over the opening in the top. It's not sealed and doesn't need to be refrigerated. Inside, the vegetable is packed in a plastic bag inserted into the crock. I read online that it needs to be rinsed before using because it can sometimes contain sand. In any case, it's very salty so a rinse might not hurt. The smell reminds me a little bit of horseradish with a slight pickle smell. I wrote to Sherrie and she says that she uses the preserved vegetable straight out of the jar without rinsing it.

These beans are quite good with a very salty, almost sweet flavor. They almost taste like they have mushrooms in them too. Don't be tempted to add any extra salt. I didn't rinse the cabbage and it was fine and not gritty. What I might do next time though, is chop it up a little. I don't think these are quite the same as the green beans that they serve at our favorite Chinese restaurant, but they are good. The beans I've had are quite a bit sweeter and seem to have oyster sauce on them.

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