Asian Green Beans & "No" Pork

How to make the most delicious tofu mince for stir-fries

Years ago, we used to have a little ramen shop in our local shopping center. They had very good ramen. At lunch, they would pop up little takeaway containers with a variety of lunch options - Fried Ginger Fish with rice, Teriyaki Chicken with rice, Green Beans & Pork Mince with rice. Back then when I was still eating everything, pork was still not my favourite. But this dish with green beans was really nice. Smoky, charred, tender beans punctuated by a dark stir-fry sauce with pork mince. Just enough to coat the steamed rice. Slightly different to the Chinese Green Beans & Pork stir-fry, this one had Japanese flavour notes.

I loved the dish enough to create a lovely vegetarian (vegan) version of it. Which is quite possibly my favourite way of enjoying green beans. Green beans are highly underrated. They often get relegated to a steamer and slapped onto a side plate as an afterthought at the dinner table. But they are so full of promise and hide a tender sweetness under that stringy green exterior. Just like broccoli, treating them to searing heat transforms their flavour profile and makes them incredibly more delicious.

So, instead of pork; I created a deliciously fragrant tofu mince that you can enjoy in so many different ways than just in a stir-fry (see recipe notes below). And this quick stir-fry will make you want to cook beans every week.

How To Make Fragrant Tofu Mince For Stir Fries