We order the green beans every time we go to Din Tai Fung. Not sometimes, every time. My husband and kids will push vegetables around a plate at home and then finish a whole order of these before the dumplings even arrive.
These are my copy of them. Din Tai Fung green beans are flash fried in hot oil until the skins blister, then tossed with more garlic than seems reasonable. About 15 minutes, and a fraction of what the restaurant charges for a plate.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's the restaurant version, not a lighter take on it. The beans get flash fried until the skins blister. That's what makes them snappy on the outside and crisp-tender through the middle, and it's the step most home recipes skip.
- More garlic than you think is sensible. 8 cloves or more for a pound of beans, minced fine and cooked slowly until golden. Garlic mellows completely when it's cooked this way, so it reads savory rather than sharp.
- About 15 minutes. The beans fry in roughly a minute. Most of your time goes to mincing garlic.
- Cheaper than ordering it. A plate of these at the restaurant costs more than the whole bag of beans, and you get four servings out of it.
- The vegetable my kids actually finish. They'll push green beans around a plate at home and clear an order of these before the dumplings arrive.
What Makes Din Tai Fung Green Beans Different?
Most garlic green bean recipes are a sautรฉ. These aren't. The beans go into hot oil for about a minute, which blisters and wrinkles the skin fast enough that the inside barely cooks. That's what gives you the snap on the outside and the crisp-tender bite through the middle, and it's the texture you can't get in a pan no matter how hot it is.
The garlic is the second half. It cooks separately, low and slow in the oil the beans left behind, until it turns pale gold and crisp. Sautรฉed garlic softens into the dish and disappears. This stays as distinct golden bits that cling to the beans, which is why the restaurant version tastes like garlic in a way a normal stir-fry doesn't.
Two stages, two pans' worth of technique in one pan. That's the whole recipe.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Green beans: Fresh, firm ones that snap rather than bend. Trim the ends and cut them into roughly 3-inch pieces, which is how the restaurant cuts them and what makes them easy to pick up with chopsticks. Dry them completely before they go anywhere near hot oil. Haricots verts work and cook a little faster.
- Garlic: Far more than feels reasonable, minced fine by hand. A press turns it to paste, which burns instead of going golden. Cooked slowly it mellows out completely, so it reads savory rather than sharp even at this quantity.
- Neutral oil for frying: You need enough to submerge the beans, so figure about an inch in a shallow pan. Avocado, canola, vegetable, or peanut all have a high enough smoke point for 375ยฐF. Skip olive oil, it smokes too low. You'll pour most of it off afterward and keep a few tablespoons for the garlic.
- Salt and white pepper: White pepper is what Chinese restaurant kitchens use and it's slightly earthier than black. Black works if that's what you have.
- MSG, a pinch: This is the difference between good green beans and the ones you remember from the restaurant. If you'd rather not, chicken bouillon powder or mushroom seasoning does a similar job, since both are largely MSG anyway.
How to Make Din Tai Fung Green Beans
- Prep the beans and garlic. Trim the ends and cut the beans into roughly 3-inch pieces. Wash, then dry them completely with a towel, since wet beans splatter in hot oil and steam instead of blistering. Mince the garlic fine while you're at it. Once the frying starts there's no time to stop and chop.
- Heat the oil and fry in batches. Bring about an inch of oil to 375ยฐF in a shallow pan or wok, enough to submerge the beans. Fry a handful at a time for about 1 minute, until the skins wrinkle and blister and the color goes bright. Don't crowd the pan. Every batch drops the oil temperature, and below about 325ยฐF the beans absorb oil and turn soft and greasy. Let it come back up between batches.
- Drain. Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined plate or a wire rack.
- Cook the garlic low and slow. Pour off all but a few tablespoons of the oil, keeping the same pan. Turn the heat to low, add the garlic, and cook 2 to 3 minutes until it's pale gold and smells sweet. Low is the whole point. On medium it browns before it crisps, and burnt garlic turns the batch bitter.
- Toss and season. Return the beans to the pan, raise the heat to medium-high for about 30 seconds, and season with salt, white pepper, and a pinch of MSG. Toss until the garlic is clinging to the beans.
- Serve immediately. Best in the first few minutes, while the outside is still snappy.
Variations
- Chili crisp. A spoonful tossed in with the beans at the end, or drizzled over the top. It adds heat plus its own crunchy fried garlic and shallot, which doubles down on what this dish already does.
- Szechuan style. Add a teaspoon of Szechuan peppercorns and a few dried red chilies to the pan with the garlic. The peppercorns bring a numbing tingle that's different from chili heat, and they need the low, slow oil to release it.
- Garlic green beans with black beans. Fermented black beans stirred in with the garlic take it in a saltier, funkier direction. That's a different recipe on the site, and it's the version I make when I want something with more depth than garlic alone.
- Air fryer, no deep frying. Toss the dried beans with a tablespoon of oil and air fry at 400ยฐF for about 8 to 10 minutes, shaking halfway, until blistered. Then toss with the garlic cooked separately in a pan. Not identical, but close enough on a weeknight and far less oil.
- A squeeze of lemon. Off the heat, right before serving. It cuts through the oil and brightens the whole plate. Not what the restaurant does, but good.
How to Store and Reheat
These are at their best in the first few minutes off the stove. The blistered skin softens as they sit, so leftovers will be good but not snappy. That's the nature of anything fried, not something you did wrong.
Fridge. Airtight container, up to 3 days. Let them cool before the lid goes on, since trapping steam turns them limp faster.
Reheat in a hot pan. Two or three minutes over medium-high, no extra oil needed, until warmed through. This brings back some of the texture. The microwave doesn't, it just makes them soft.
The air fryer works too. A few minutes at 375ยฐF gets closer to the original texture than a pan does.
Don't freeze them. Fried green beans come out of the freezer waterlogged. If you want to get ahead, prep and dry the beans and mince the garlic a day early, then fry right before you serve.
What To Serve With This
- Steamed jasmine rice. The default. These are salty and garlicky enough that plain rice is doing real work, not just filling the plate.
- Shanghai fried rice. If you want the whole table to feel like a Chinese restaurant order. Fried rice and green beans is how most Din Tai Fung meals actually go.
- Crab rangoon. Not Taiwanese, but the same fried-and-savory register, and it's what people put out first.
- Soy garlic chicken. A sticky, saucy main against a dry, crisp side. That contrast is the point.
- Hoisin fish with ginger. Lighter than the chicken, and the ginger goes somewhere different from all that garlic.
- Soy glazed tofu. Keeps the whole plate vegetarian, since the beans already are.
- Korean cucumber salad. Cold and sharp next to something hot and oily. Din Tai Fung serves a cucumber salad for exactly this reason.
Rose's Tips
- Dry the beans completely. Not damp, dry. Water hitting 375ยฐF oil splatters, and any moisture left on the skin steams the bean instead of blistering it. Pat them down with a towel and give them a minute on the counter.
- Use a thermometer. This is the one recipe where guessing the oil temperature will cost you the whole batch. Too cool and the beans drink oil instead of crisping.
- Small batches, always. A handful at a time. Every bean you add pulls the oil temperature down, and once it drops below about 325ยฐF you're not frying anymore, you're steaming in oil. Wait for it to recover between batches.
- One minute is enough. You're looking for wrinkled, blistered skin and bright green color, not browning. If they've gone olive-drab they've been in too long and the snap is gone.
- Turn the heat down before the garlic goes in. This is the step people get wrong. Garlic in hot oil burns in seconds and turns the whole batch bitter. Low heat, two or three minutes, until it's pale gold and smells sweet rather than sharp.
- Season at the very end. Salt pulls moisture to the surface. Add it while the beans are still frying and you undo the crisp you just worked for.
Recipe FAQs
Almost always the oil temperature. If it's below 375ยฐF when the beans go in, they absorb oil rather than blistering. The other cause is crowding the pan, since every batch pulls the temperature down and a big handful can drop it 50 degrees. Fry a small amount at a time and let the oil recover between batches.
It's what gives you the blistered skin and the snap, and it's the difference between these and ordinary sautรฉed green beans. If you'd rather not, toss the dried beans with a little oil and air fry at 400ยฐF for 8 to 10 minutes until blistered, then finish with the garlic in a pan. Close, not identical.
More than feels reasonable, and that's the point. Cooked slowly over low heat, garlic loses its sharpness completely and turns sweet and savory, so the quantity reads as depth rather than bite. Mince it by hand. A press turns it to paste, which burns instead of going golden.
You can, but fresh is noticeably better here. Frozen beans hold water even after thawing, which means splattering and less blistering. If it's what you have, thaw completely and dry them as thoroughly as you can.
No, but it's what makes these taste like the restaurant version. If you'd rather skip it, chicken bouillon powder or mushroom seasoning does a similar job, though both are largely MSG themselves.
Anything neutral with a high smoke point: avocado, canola, vegetable, or peanut. You need enough to submerge the beans, about an inch in a shallow pan. Skip olive oil, it smokes well below the temperature you need.
Yes as written, as long as your seasoning is. MSG is vegan. Chicken bouillon isn't, so use mushroom seasoning if you're substituting.
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Din Tai Fung Green Beans (Copycat Recipe)
Equipment
- 1 A shallow, wide pan or wok.
- candy or deep-fry thermometer
- spider skimmer or slotted spoon.
Ingredients
- 300 grams Green Beans washed and trimmed
- 1 tablespoon Garlic cloves minced
- 1-2 cups Avocado Oil for deep frying
- Salt and Pepper
- MSG a pinch
Instructions
- Prep and dry the beans. Trim the ends and cut into roughly 3-inch pieces. Wash, then dry them completely with a towel. Wet beans hitting hot oil splatter, and they steam instead of blistering.
- Mince the garlic. Do this before the oil goes on. Once you start frying there is no time to stop and chop.
- Heat the oil to 375ยฐF. About an inch in a shallow pan or wok, enough to submerge the beans. Use a thermometer. This is the one number that decides whether they blister or go soggy.1-2 cups Avocado Oil
- Fry in small batches, about 1 minute. The skins will wrinkle and blister and the color goes bright. Don't crowd the pan. Every handful drops the oil temperature, and if it falls below about 325ยฐF the beans absorb oil and turn soft and greasy instead of crisping. Let it come back up between batches.300 grams Green Beans
- Drain. Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined plate or a wire rack.
- Cook the garlic low and slow. Pour off all but a few tablespoons of the oil, leaving it in the same pan. Turn the heat to low, add the garlic, and cook 2 to 3 minutes until it turns pale gold and smells sweet. Low is the whole point. On medium it browns before it crisps, and burnt garlic will make the batch bitter.1 tablespoon Garlic cloves
- Toss and season. Return the beans to the pan, raise the heat to medium-high for about 30 seconds, and season with salt, white pepper, and a pinch of MSG. Toss until everything is coated and the garlic is clinging to the beans.Salt and Pepper, MSG
- Serve immediately. These are best in the first few minutes, while the outside is still snappy.
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Notes
- Dry the beans completely. Not damp, dry. Water hitting hot oil splatters, and any moisture left on the skin steams the bean instead of blistering it. Pat them down with a towel and give them a minute on the counter. Cut them to about 3 inches. That's how the restaurant serves them, and it makes them easy to pick up. Use a thermometer. Oil temperature decides this recipe. Below 350ยฐF the beans absorb oil instead of crisping, and you can't judge it by eye. Fry a handful at a time. Every batch you add pulls the oil temperature down. A big handful can drop it 50 degrees, and once it falls below about 325ยฐF you're steaming in oil rather than frying. Let it recover between batches. One minute is enough. You want wrinkled, blistered skin and bright green color, not browning. Olive-drab means they've gone too long and the snap is lost. Turn the heat to low before the garlic goes in. This is the step people get wrong. Garlic in hot oil burns in seconds and turns the whole batch bitter. Low heat, 2 to 3 minutes, until it's pale gold and smells sweet rather than sharp. Mince the garlic by hand. A press turns it to paste, which burns instead of going golden. Season at the very end. Salt pulls moisture to the surface, so adding it while the beans are still frying undoes the crisp. About the MSG. It's what makes these taste like the restaurant version. If you'd rather skip it, chicken bouillon powder or mushroom seasoning works, though both are largely MSG themselves. Air fryer version. Toss the dried beans with a tablespoon of oil and air fry at 400ยฐF for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking halfway, until blistered. Cook the garlic separately in a pan and toss. Close, not identical. Storage. Airtight in the fridge up to 3 days, cooled before covering. Reheat in a hot pan for 2 to 3 minutes or in the air fryer at 375ยฐF. Don't freeze, fried beans come out waterlogged. To get ahead, prep and dry the beans and mince the garlic a day early, then fry just before serving.
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Rose Sioson says
Iโm so glad you found it helpful! These garlic green beans are one of my favorites tooโtheyโre simple but so full of flavor. Thanks so much for your kind words, it really means a lot!