As anyone who has ever made a stir-fry knows, the most time-consuming part happens on the cutting board, not in the pan. All the slicing, mincing, julienning and matchstick-making needed to turn whole ingredients into small, uniform pieces takes far more effort than cooking them, which, in a ripping-hot pan, happens in minutes.
But there’s one simple way to streamline the process, and it’s already waiting for you at the supermarket: ground meat. Swapping it in for whole cuts of chicken, beef or pork makes a good part of the knife work disappear. Yes, you’ll still have vegetables and aromatics to deal with, but as far as your protein goes, just open the package and add it to the pan.
Some of the world’s greatest stir-fries are made with ground meat. There’s classic Sichuan dry-fried green beans, often studded with ground pork, and Thai pad krapow, with ground chicken and basil. In these recipes, ground meat isn’t just a timesaver; it makes the dish better.
That’s because, compared with a sliced cutlet, those tiny, loose crumbles have more surface area, ready to absorb all the seasonings in the pan. In this recipe — a riff on the Sichuan green beans — the garlic, ginger, cumin, soy sauce and a bright hit of rice vinegar permeate the chicken and make it especially savory.
Ground meat can also be more economical than the chicken breasts, tenderloins and steaks often called for in stir-fry recipes. And it defrosts quickly, so you can stock your freezer when it’s on sale. I find it takes about an hour to defrost a pound of ground meat if I put it on an overturned sheet pan (if it’s vacuum-packed you can leave it in the package; if it’s packed in a Styrofoam tray, take it out of the package first).
In this recipe, I opted for ground chicken (or turkey) because it’s mild and light, letting the beans, garlic and cumin shine. Ground pork, beef, lamb or duck are fine substitutes if you want something brawnier. But take note that beef and pork can throw off a fair amount of fat while browning. If that’s not your preference, look for a leaner grind or cut back on the oil, since the meat will render plenty of its own fat.
Give it a good sear, and you’ll get little crispy, caramelized bits of chicken clinging to blistered green beans, all of it glossy with sauce. It’s a deeply flavored meal that proves the easier path can also be the better one.
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