Simple, delicious, this Asian Ground Turkey and Green Bean Stir Fry is one of those recipes I have on repeat.

Let’s talk home renovations for just a minute. HGTV makes them look so seamless, so simple, and their budgets seem to be in the realm of reasonable when they start talking about “just a little paint here” and “this homey, made for just this room touch” there that just transforms a bland (sometimes terrible) space into something magical. This transformation is expedited in the show with “day 5”, “day 20” and “day 43” within a matter of minutes before the commercial break allows you to head to the other room to get something finished before returning for the final reveal.

Real life? This is NOT the case of the one hour, one week, one month reveal for a DIY project. The day after Christmas we started restaining the kitchen cabinets and the downstairs bathroom vanity as they had been poorly done before we purchased the house and we knew it was something we wanted to redo at some point. Well, at the end of the disaster of 2020, we determined it was “that point” and started the long, laborious process of properly sanding, staining, properly sealing with topcoat, and at last adding hardware to every single cabinet door and drawer front that this house contains. In case you were counting, that was a grand total of 42 different pieces of hardware that needed to be installed. With the drying process in-between each coat of stain and then topcoat, this project took close to a month and a half to complete which does NOT include countertops, backsplash, new sink, faucets, flooring, painting, and everything else that a glorious HGTV reveal showcases. This was just for cabinet doors, drawers, bases, and hardware.

So needless to say, our kitchen was out of commission for quite a while. Once the base cabinets had dried, I was able to utilize the crockpot and easy skillet things such as eggs (basically things that didn’t splatter a whole lot because I was paranoid about destroying the beautiful topcoat I had just applied days before to the base cabinets). But now, almost a week after everything is finished (for now, mwhahaha) I feel comfortable enough to use the kitchen fully. And let me tell you, it is a glorious thing to be able to utilize ALL of your counters and not have clutter such as hammers and drill bits chilling near the olive oils.

Things they don’t tell you about home renovations…exactly how much painters tape you’re going to need.

slow and steady wins the race. I am obsessed with how the cabinets came out with the newly installed hardware.

Once I had the (self proclaimed) mental go ahead to use my kitchen again, I knew I wanted to make one of my go-to, easy recipes that is one of those dishes that would be termed “ugly delicious”. It is not going to win any type of beauty contest, no matter how hard you try to dress it up. It is, however, incredibly satisfying, with tangy, savory, sweet, and heat permeating through the entire stir fry that pairs perfectly with a fluffy, floral jasmine rice. This dish is a favorite for a reason, a simple go to 30 minute meal. This Asian Ground Turkey and Green Bean Stir Fry hits all the elements of a quick, perfect weekday dinner. The sauce takes only a few ingredients but packs a huge amount of flavor, it incorporates both a vegetable and a protein, and you serve it over rice, though I imagine you could substitute noodles if that’s what tickles your fancy.

This dish is something that you can ramp up the spice if you like, or tone it down from how the recipe is written depending on who you are feeding. The sauce is savory, sweet, with a little bit of heat, and nicely thickened from the little bit of cornstarch. I choose not to blanche the green beans because it saves me a step, but feel free to do so if you love that bright green color blanching greens gives you.The way they cook in the sauce with the ground turkey allows them to be tender crisp, which is a nice textural contrast to the soft rice and silky sauce.

She won’t win you first place (or even runner up) in a beauty pageant, but she’d definitely take the Miss Congeniality award.

To time everything perfectly, I make sure all the sauce ingredients are ready to go as well as the rest of the ingredients. Once everything gets going it moves along pretty quickly so you don’t want to get stuck behind because you don’t have something ready. I start the rice, uncovered, and have my larger skillet preheating. Once the water for the rice boils, I cover it, turn the heat down, and set the timer for 15 minutes. That allows me to start the stir fry, and by the time you finish the stir fry the rice is done steaming (you’ve turned the heat off at the 15 minute mark). Then, you fluff the rice, spoon out a serving of the rice and cover with the ground turkey, green beans, and sauce, then top with sesame seeds, green onion, sriracha, and if you’ve got them, pickled red onions. Any type of pickled vegetable would enhance this dish, I just tend to have pickled red onions on hand much of the time. Cucumber slices would also be refreshing and add a nice crunch.

Asian Ground Turkey and Green Bean Stir Fry

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 4-6, depending if you add additional sides

You should chop, mince, and portion out all your ingredients before you start cooking for this recipe. Sometimes you can get away with doing things on the fly, however this recipe moves along so quickly that it throws off the timing of the finished dish (with the rice) if you do things as you go.

I like my green beans to be in bite sized pieces, between 1 to 2 inches long. I’ve only ever used fresh green beans so I can’t say if the texture will be the same if you attempted this with frozen.

Since it’ jut my husband and myself, I only make a cup of jasmine rice (dry) which yields about 3 cups, cooked. This allows us to get 4 adult sized portions (5 if we add sides like potstickers or egg rolls), however you can make larger quantities of rice if you love a huge rice to stir fry ratio.

I like to store leftovers in separate containers in the fridge, as an Iris serving is different than the husband’s serving, plus he tends to prefer the meat while I tend to go for the green beans. I also like that this keeps the fluffiness of the rice, which won’t sog out if you have the sauce soak into it. However, you do you in how you like your own leftovers. :)

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

1/2 Cup Chicken Stock
1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tsp Sesame Oil
2 Tsp Chili Oil
1/2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 Tsp Cornstarch

For the Stir Fry:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Onion, finely chopped (1/2 onion)
1 Pound Ground Turkey (I use 85% lean, 15% fat as it has a better texture/flavor)
3 1/2 Tsp Minced Fresh Garlic
2 Tsp Minced Fresh Ginger
1 Pound Fresh Green Beans, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
Salt and Pepper, to taste

To Serve:

Jasmine rice
Sesame seeds
Chopped scallions
Pickled Red Onions (or any other pickled vegetable you happen to have on hand)

Directions

For the Sauce:

In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken stock, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, chili oil, red pepper flakes, and cornstarch. Set aside.

For the Stir Fry:

Heat a large skillet (or wok) over medium heat till hot. Add the olive oil and then when it is heated through (it will be shimmery and smell super grassy and fragrant) add in the onions. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper in the onions and stir to combine.
Sauté the onions for 5-7 minutes, until softened and browning on the edges.
Add in the ground turkey and break it up into big chunks. Add in the garlic and ginger and continue to brown the turkey, roughly 5-7 minutes. You can continue to break dow the turkey chunks into smaller crumbles as it continues to cook.
Add the green beans to the skillet, then stir the sauce int its bowl to redistribute the cornstarch and add the sauce to the skillet. Stir everything to combine and bring to a boil.
Cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. During this time, the sauce will thicken and the green beans will cook. I like my green beans to have a bit of crunch to them still, and I have found this is the perfect amount of cook time to achieve my favorite texture. If you like your green beans cooked through a bit more, cover and add an additional 5 minutes to simmer time. Taste, and add additional salt and pepper if needed.
Serve over white rice, with chopped scallions, sesame seeds, Sriracha, and pickled red onions.