# Green Bean Dish in Chinese Restaraunts. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109 "2004-08-03T06:44:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/1 "2004-08-03T06:44:10Z")
Are the green bean looking vegetables you see in Chinese restaraunts, especially buffets, actually green beans? The reason I ask is because I really like them and would assume they’re a healthy thing to eat but have a hard time believing they’re actually green beans as I know them since I **hate** green beans. So, are they? Or are they some cousin of their’s? What kind of cooking method is used to make them? Steaming? Stir frying? Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/2 "2004-08-03T14:07:01Z")
I think you enjoy them because they are cooked in oil…usually in a wok or sauteed in a pan. Veggies cooked in oil are often alot better tasting to some people than their steamed counterparts. (French fries versus baked potato, for example). The beans also benefit from garlic and/or salt. Cooked in oil, it is no surprise they are delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/3 "2004-08-03T14:09:17Z")
Oops, forgot the mention that I have seen the staff sitting at tables and snapping the ends off the fresh beans - Big tables full of them, all being prepared. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/4 "2004-08-03T15:12:00Z")
As with pretty much all foodstuffs everywhere, preparation is the key. That’s why chefs make so much more money than short-order cooks. Usually, the green beans you describe are prepared by being stir-fried in vegetable (or peanut or sesame) oil. As they near doneness, soy sauce and fresh garlic are added, as well as fresh grated ginger sometimes, and maybe finely-ground black pepper. That’s it. They’re easy to make at home – just experiment to find the right proportions of all the ingredients to suit your taste. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/5 "2004-08-03T15:12:58Z")
They are also fresh beans as **Philster** noted. There is a world of difference between fresh, canned, and frozen green beans, with frozen being the closest to fresh imho. Also look for long beans at the Asian grocery store nearest you, they are like the name implies, green beans that are a good bit longer and are great in Thai food and essential to Thai fish cakes. The sauce they use is most likely oyster sauce which I think goes just about perfectly with green veggies. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/6 "2004-08-03T15:26:40Z")
You may also be being served [these](http://eat.epicurious.com/dictionary/food/index.ssf?DEF_ID=4538) [Link with picture at the bottom](http://www.botany.com/vigna.html) You can usually tell them in food because both ends have been cut (I assume to make them fit into the pan and onto the plate. When I have had them, they have also tended to be straighter then a standard greenbean. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/7 "2004-08-03T15:37:23Z")
Your ordinary green or string beans are _Phaseolus vulgaris_ and look like [this](http://www.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/pr/garten/schau/PhaseolusvulgarisL/BPhaseolusvulgarisL3.jpg). What you’re probably getting in Chinese food are Chinese long beans _Vigna sesquipedalis_, which look like [this](http://hk.geocities.com/fun_cooking/info/vegetable/chinese_long_bean.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/8 "2004-08-03T16:27:31Z")
The Chinese restaurant 2 blocks from my house (yes, I’m a lucky bastard :D) serves _string_ beans in a garlicy black bean sauce. And I believe they actually _are_ what we commonly refer to as string beans, in this case at least. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/9 "2004-08-03T16:32:46Z")
American Chinese restaurants serve both string beans and long beans. If you live in a town that does not have a large asian community you will probably get string beans. I like both. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/10 "2004-08-03T17:36:15Z")
After looking at the pictures, it looks like what I am familiar with is long beans. How easy are those to find? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/11 "2004-08-03T19:41:51Z")
Depends on where you are. Asian specialty stores should have them, as well as certain well-stocked supermarkets. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-bean-dish-in-chinese-restaraunts/258109/12 "2004-08-03T23:42:42Z")
As a Northwest doper, **Aes** should have no trouble finding an appropriately stocked market. Mmmm. Asian vegetables. Did I mention, mmmm?