Szechuan Dry Fried Green Beans with Ground Turkey

Place rice, water, and a pinch of salt in a small pot with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then stir. Reduce heat to low and cover. Set time for 16 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash and dry the green beans. Trim the stem end off. If the green beans you have are longer than about 4-5 inches, you can slice them on the diagonal in half.

Mince the garlic and ginger.

In a large, heavy bottomed sauté pan, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the green beans, and a generous pinch of salt, then stir-fry until they start to shrivel and turn brown in spots, about 8 minutes. Keep the heat high during this time. Remove the beans to a plate, cover loosely and set aside.

In the same pan, heat the rest of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and ground turkey.

Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat and cook until its mostly brown, about 4 minutes.

Add the drained black beans, chili paste, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and 5 spice. Stir everything together, and bring to a simmer. If desired you could add more chili paste to make it spicier or more salt as needed.

When the rice is done, turn off the heat but it can stay covered until ready to serve.
Place a flat mound of rice in each plate and top with green beans in an even layer. Spoon the turkey and bean sauté over the top so the beans pick up some of the sauce too. Garnish with sesame seeds.

*If too much time had passed and the beans become completely cold, you could reheat them in the pan. But, covered on the side, they should remain warm enough and don’t have to be piping hot on the plate.