Stir Fried Sichuan Green Beans

I recently made this recipe and it was VERY good.  It's from Cook's Illustrated.

2 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP dry sherry

1 tsp sugar

1/3 tsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp dry mustard

2 TBSP water

2 TBSP vegetable oil

1 pound green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces

1/4 pound ground pork

3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 TBSP)

1 TBSP minced fresh ginger

3 scallions, white and light green parts sliced thin

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1. In small bowl, stir together soy sauce, sherry , sugar, cornstarch, white pepper, pepper flakes mustard, and water until sugar dissolves; set aside.

2. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over hight heat until just smoking.  Add beans and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender and skins are shriveled and blackened in spots, 5 to 8 minutes (reduce heat to medium-high if beans darken too quickly).  Transfer beans to large plate.

3. Reduce heat to medium-high and add pork to now-empty skillet.  Cook, breaking pork into small pieces, until no pink remains, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds.  Stir sauce to recombine and return beans to pan with sauce.  Toss and cook until sauce is thickened, 5 to 10 seconds.  Remove pan from heat and stir in scallions and sesame oil. 

To make this dish vegetarian, substitute 4 ounces of shitake mushrooms, stemmed and minced, for the pork.  If using mushrooms, add a tsp of oil to the pan in step 3 before adding the mushrooms.