Crunchy green beans and flavorful spice paste makes this Green Beans Belacan Stir Fry a tasty side dish. Best eaten with lots of rice.
Our vegetable garden is doing well despite unforeseen attacks by some very naughty squirrels. We did not have this issue last year but it became a problem as their population in our yard grew. We could prevent the rabbits and deer from getting in but squirrels can climb and fences cannot keep them out.
Fortunately, they were not interested in the green beans or the onions and so these crops were spared. After the bountiful harvest, I used one pound of the green beans and a few shallots to make this tasty Green Beans Belacan Stir Fry, a popular twist on the classic Kangkung Belacan.
The rest of the green beans went into another super easy and popular dish, Green Beans Omelet posted on Malaysian Chinese Kitchen soon.
In this recipe, I cooked the green beans for just a few minutes until they were tender crisp. They were a bright green color and still a little crunchy. It was really good and the family enjoyed it a lot, so much so I cooked it a second time with the second and smaller harvest of green beans.

Green Beans Belacan Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 3 red chilies (seeded and cut into pieces)
- 6 to 8 shallots (peeled and cut into pieces)
- 3 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 1 tbsp dried shrimp (washed and soaked for 10 minutes to soften) (15g)
- ¾ inch cube belacan (shrimp paste), toasted
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb green beans (cut at a diagonal into 1½ inch lengths) (450g)
- ¼ cup water (60ml) + 3 tbs (for spice paste)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Blend red chilies, shallots, garlic, dried shrimps, and belacan with 3 tablespoons water into a paste.
- In a large pan or wok, heat vegetable oil. Stir fry blended spice paste for 4 to 5 minutes until fragrant.
- Add green beans and fry on high heat. Pour in ¼ cup (60ml) water. Add a little salt if necessary. Continue to stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes until green beans are tender crisp.
- Remove and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Nutrition
Green Beans Belacan Stir Fry is best served with lots of rice. I hope you will get to give it a try soon.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
Meera Bai says
Love your receipes as your instructions are ver clear, hence easy to follow.
Linda says
Very happy to hear that. Thank you for letting me know.