Blanching is crucial for stir-frying green beans. Green beans have a fibrous texture and require time to cook. Stir-frying alone often isn't sufficient to achieve the desired doneness and texture. By blanching the green beans beforehand, they are cooked to perfection before being mixed with other ingredients in stir-fry dishes.
Ingredients and equipment
3 cups of green beans (or the desired amount)
A large bowl with cold water or ice water
Steps
Fill a14-inch stainless steel wok or a pot with water up to about 30% of its capacity.
Heat the water until it boils.
Place the green beans into the boiling water.
Cook the green beans for approximately 4 to 5 minutes, depending on the preferred texture and doneness.
Once the green beans reaches the desired texture, use a spider strainer to move them to a bowl of cold or ice-cold water.
Allow the green beans to sit in the cold water for around 3 minutes.
Drain the water.
Move the green beans to a storage container.
Add the green beans to a wok at the end of the stir-frying process.
Helpful Tips
To attain the bright green hue of green beans, use ice-cold water.
Blanch the green beans until it's about 90% cooked to the desired texture; the rest of the cooking will occur when it's added to the wok during the final stir-frying stages.
It's ideal to use the blanched green beans on the same day.
Blanching can be done one to two days in advance before using it in stir-frying, though with a slight decrease in quality.
Optimal results are achieved when vegetables are cut to the size needed for a stir-fry dish.
Blanching green beans is typically unnecessary for most stir-fry recipes. However, it does offer better control over the doneness of the green beans and helps maintain its vibrant green color.
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