These green beans from the popular dim sum restaurant, Din Tai Fung, have taken over the internet. These Din Tai Fung style garlic green beans are packed with flavour, and savory umami flavour. All you need is an air fryer, and 4 simple ingredients. These green beans will make even your pickiest eater, a veggie lover!
These green beans are the perfect side to hibachi style steak, and fluffy jasmine rice. Bonus - if you love these green beans, you have got to try our copycat dim sum cucumber salad, too!
Jump to:
👩🏽🍳Why This Recipe Works
A delicious restaurant copycat: These green beans will transport you to your favorite dim sum or chinese restaurant. The signature savory flavor that you expect from those restaurant green beans is so easy to replicate at home.
A healthier alternative: Traditionally these green beans are dry fried in oil, and then sauteed with the garlic and seasonings. This recipe ditches the oil frying and opts for the air fryer instead. You won't be able to tell the difference in taste!
A quick and easy side: Ditching the complicated pan-fry setup makes these green beans fuss-free. The air fryer does all the hard work for you, and the sauce comes together in minutes. Clean-up is also a breeze, since you don't have to worry about disposing of the oil!
🥘Ingredients
- Green beans: You can purchase pre-trimmed green beans from the grocery store, that are pre-packaged. This will generally save you a lot of prep time before cooking. If you are purchasing loose green beans, be sure to trim the tough, stringy ends off of them before cooking.
- Chicken bouillon concentrate: Bouillon concentrate packs a lot more punch than powdered bouillon products. I recommend using the concentrated paste over powders or regular broth, as it melds into the sauce well, and adds an additional layer and depth of flavor that you do not get from regular powders that tend to be overwhelmingly salty over any other flavors. Chicken bouillon is also one of the secret ingredients to that restaurant-style taste.
- Garlic: I always recommend using fresh garlic over pre-minced. Pre-minced varieties tend to be muted, and can sometimes have a metallic flavor to them. Freshly minced will always give you the best, garlicky flavor that we all know and love.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
📖Substitutions
- Soy sauce - You can use tamari or coconut aminos in place of soy sauce. I would not recommend substituting regular light soy sauce with dark soy sauce, as the flavor is slightly different.
- Chicken bouillon concentrate - Powdered bouillon or a stock cube will work if you do not have the paste version.
- Fresh green beans: You can use frozen green beans in a pinch, but I would not recommend using canned green beans due to the textural difference.
🔪Variations
- Bok choy: Try this recipe with bok choy instead of green beans for an equally as delicious twist on this recipe!
- Spicy: Add some minced thai red chillies to the sauce for a spicy kick!
- Extra vegetables: Toss in some broccoli and zucchini for a bulkier vegetarian side dish.
⏲️ Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all your ingredients: This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Trim the green beans - Trim off the stringy ends off of any of the beans.
Mince the garlic - Finely mince the garlic. If you prefer smaller bites of garlic, use a garlic press.
Add the trimmed green beans to an air fryer basket. Spray the green beans liberally with the cooking oil spray of your choice, and toss to make sure all of the green beans are coated. Air fry the green beans at 375°F for 10-12 minutes. [photo 1]
Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and lightly saute for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant but not brown. Reduce the heat to low, and add the soy sauce, water, and chicken bouillon concentrate to the skillet. Stir well to combine the bouillon paste into the soy sauce. Let the sauce simmer and reduce for 2-3 minutes. [photos 2 & 3]
Add the green beans to the skillet, and toss in the sauce. Remove from the heat, and serve. [photo 4]
💭 Expert Tips
Shake the air fryer basket: While the green beans are air frying, give the air fryer basket a shake periodically. This will ensure that all the beans are equally exposed to the heat.
Adjust cooking time to your preference: If you prefer a more crisp texture to your green beans, you can shorten the air frying time to keep their snap.
Go the classic route: If you do not have an air fryer, or want to make this recipe as authentically as possible, you can 'dry fry' the green beans. Heat a large skillet with 2 cups of neutral oil such as peanut oil. Add the green beans to the heated oil, and fry until the beans are lightly blistered.
🍽 Make Ahead & Storage
These green beans are best served freshly prepared, for the best texture. If the green beans are air fried in advance, they will soften and will lose some of their texture.
Leftover garlic beans can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for 3-4 days.
Reheat green beans in a skillet, in the microwave, or in the air fryer if you'd like to crisp the beans up slightly.
⭐ Recipe FAQs
To prevent garlic from burning, make sure the heat is not too high when sautéing it in oil. Stir the garlic constantly, and add in the liquids as soon as it turns fragrant and lightly golden. Burnt garlic can become bitter and will overpower the flavor of the green beans.
Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as vegetable oil, peanut, or canola oil, for sautéing the garlic and green beans. I recommend avoiding olive oil, as it does not stand up well to high heat cooking.
📝More Side Dish Recipes
Looking for more meal inspiration? Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly recipe roundups, straight to your inbox! Follow us on our socials, on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook! If you try one of our recipes, let us know how it was by rating and commenting!
Din Tai Fung Garlic Green Beans {Air Fryer}
Ingredients
- 24 oz Green beans ends trimmed
- 2 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 10 cloves Garlic freshly minced
- 1 tablespoon Chicken bouillon concentrate
- ½ cup Water
Equipment
Instructions
- Add the trimmed green beans to an air fryer basket. Spray the green beans liberally with the cooking oil spray of your choice, and toss to make sure all of the green beans are coated. Air fry the green beans at 375°F for 10-12 minutes.24 oz Green beans
- Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and lightly saute for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant but not brown.10 cloves Garlic
- Reduce the heat to low, and add the soy sauce, water, and chicken bouillon concentrate to the skillet. Stir well to combine the bouillon paste into the soy sauce. Let the sauce simmer and reduce for 2-3 minutes.2 tablespoon Soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Chicken bouillon concentrate, ½ cup Water
- Add the green beans to the skillet, and toss in the sauce. Remove from the heat, and serve.
Notes
- Shake the air fryer basket: While the green beans are air frying, give the air fryer basket a shake periodically. This will ensure that all the beans are equally exposed to the heat.
- Adjust cooking time to your preference: If you prefer a more crisp texture to your green beans, you can shorten the air frying time to keep their snap.
- Go the classic route: If you do not have an air fryer, or want to make this recipe as authentically as possible, you can 'dry fry' the green beans. Heat a large skillet with 2 cups of neutral oil such as peanut oil. Add the green beans to the heated oil, and fry until the beans are lightly blistered.
Comments
No Comments