Begin frying the bacon in a large skillet.
Start boiling a large pot of water.
Place beans in a colander and rinse them well.
Then snap the ends off and snap them in half.
Prepare the sauce by mixing sugar, soy sauce, and salt in a small bowl.
Make sure your onions are sliced, garlic is pressed (or minced…but I think if you don’t have a garlic press, the Easter Bunny needs to bring you one this year), and everything is ready to go.
Hold on tight…it’s a crazy, crazy ride. Remove bacon from pan and drain on a paper towel. If you feel like it, you can crumble it now or wait until it’s cooled off a little.
Pour bacon drippings out of pan (I keep an empty tin can around for this very purpose). Now…if you want to be naughty (and who doesn't??), return a couple tablespoons of bacon drippings to the pan. Otherwise, just use some olive oil and heat pan to medium-high heat.
When the pan is hot… Add onions and garlic. Give them a quick stir
Add beans to boiling water. Boil for one minute; you’re not cooking them until they’re done, just blanching them to take the edge off.
Meanwhile, stir the onions and garlic so they don’t scorch.
Place colander in a clean sink, drain beans in the colander in the sink.
Once beans have been drained, add them to the onions and garlic. Stir fry 2-3 more minutes.
Give your sauce a quick stir and then pour on top of the beans.
Keep stir-frying until the beans get kind of glazy.
Stir fry for another 2 minutes.
Add crumbled bacon and lots of freshly-ground pepper to the beans.
Keep stir frying until the sauce sticks to the beans and the bacon.
Transfer to a serving dish and allow to stand a few minutes so the beans cool down a bit and the glaze thickens up a little.