Dry-fried
干煸 / 乾煸 · gānbiān (pinyin)
A Sichuan wok method that cooks an ingredient over high heat until its surface dries, browns and blisters, before aromatics and seasoning go in.
What it means
Gānbiān (干煸 / 乾煸) is the Sichuan method behind dishes such as dry-fried green beans. The Woks of Life translates the name literally as dry seared and describes searing the beans in a dry wok without oil until they take small scorch marks.
The restaurant and home versions differ. The Woks of Life notes that restaurants often deep-fry the beans first because it is faster, while the home method holds them in a hot wok and lets them sear. Aromatics and seasoning go in once the main ingredient has taken on color.
It is not the same as a stir-fry. Serious Eats describes dry-frying as cooking the main ingredient in some hot oil with no batter, so the heat drives out moisture and leaves the outside dry and browned, then finishing it with a brief stir-fry. The Woks of Life’s home version skips the oil for the searing stage. The Woks of Life also adds the pickled mustard green sui mi ya cai to its dry-fried green beans.
A common mix-up
Dry-fried is not a synonym for deep-fried, even though restaurant versions often start in a deep fryer for speed. The name describes the finish, a dry blistered surface.
Questions people ask
What does ganbian mean?
The Woks of Life translates 干煸 literally as dry seared. The name describes the result: the surface of the ingredient dries out and browns in the hot wok before the seasoning goes in.
Is dry-fried the same as deep-fried?
No. Serious Eats says dry-frying uses some hot oil and no batter to dry and brown the outside. The Woks of Life notes that restaurants often deep-fry the beans first for speed, which is a shortcut to a similar blistered surface rather than a different dish.
Sources & further reading
Background and preparation references. Our descriptions are editorial summaries, not restaurant reviews.