My Date With Food: 2011

Snake Beans Fried Egg

The Only Snake I like...

I'm a very happy person right now, because I got myself a new toy...It's the Lumix LX5 camera. I've been hearing and reading good reviews about this camera...but it's not until I actually use it that I understand what are all the fusses about. My husband asked me why do I need a compact camera when I already have a SLR? OK, my defense was I needed a decent camera that I can carry whenever and wherever I want, without the bulkiness and the heaviness of SLR and LX5 is the answer! It is definitely an affordable and outstanding compact camera.

Anyway, today I want to share with you guys another super easy recipe that I recently got from my friend. When I saw my friend had this for her lunch, it straight away caught my curiosity to find out how to prepare this dish, it looked so yummy and easy to make.

Trust me! you only need 20 minutes to prepare this delicious dish. It's perfect for kids too as the small sizes make it easy for them to eat, even my sister in law was surprised when my niece finished the very last bean in her lunch box at school. The recipe is Snake Beans Fried Egg. ( I used snake beans because they are softer, however you can use any type of your preferred green beans)

Snake Beans Fried Egg

Ingredients (please adjust your measurement accordingly):

- 3 bunch of snake beans

- 6 eggs (beaten)

- 3 cloves of garlic (minced/chopped)

- Cooking oil

- Salt

- White pepper

Method:

1) Chopped the snake beans to small sizes (approximately 1 cm)

2) Heat up the wok and add cooking oil.

3) Add in the garlic and stir until fragrant

4) Add in the chopped beans, stir occasionally. You can add a little bit of water and leave them simmer until the beans are soft (approximately 3-4 tbsp).

5) Add in the beaten eggs, leave it for one minute before stirring. Season with salt and pepper.

6) Stir evenly and turn off the heat once the egg is dry and cooked.

7) And there you go, the simplest and delicious recipe to cook after a long day at work.

Before I go... Happy Chinese New Year everybody!

To keep the tradition going, make sure you wear new clothes, eat Chinese food and have lots of Chinese cookies as part of your celebration

Here wishing you guys prosperity and good luck in this year of Rabbit

Ginger and Shallots King Oyster Mushroom

My brother and his family have moved back to Sydney last week and they are staying at my place temporarily, so my house are pretty happening at the moment, especially with the presence of my niece and nephew. My free time has been pretty much occupied with watching cartoon, story telling, playing toys and of course keeping them out of trouble.

But today, when I came home I found the house empty...Yes!!!...that means few hours of freedom for me! (but don't get me wrong I love having them around but I wouldn't mind a few hours of 'alone time' at home) =p

So today after finished cooking, I watched a bit of TV, then I opened up my laptop, while going through my folders I realised I still have quite a few recipes and restaurants that I could share on my blog. So I picked this super easy recipe to share with you guys today.

I love all kind of mushrooms.... whether is Asian mushroom or Western mushroom, I love all of them! The first time I had the similar King Oyster mushroom was at a Korean stall in a food court. Since then, I've always wanted to cook the same one at home. So, here's my homemade version of Ginger and Shallots King Oyster Mushroom.

Ginger and Shallots King Oyster Mushroom

Ingredients:

- 3 king oyster mushrooms (sliced thinly like I have on the picture)

- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)

- 2 inch fresh ginger (sliced)

- 2 stalks shallot/spring onions (cut into 2 inch length)

- 1 carrot (sliced thinly)

- Cooking oil

Seasoning:

- 1/2 tbsp Oyster sauce

- 1/2 - 1 tsp sugar

- 1/2 tbsp Soya sauce

- 1/2 tsp corn starch

- 3-4 tbsp water

(You can adjust seasoning according to taste)

Method:

1) Heat up the wok with cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add in the garlic, give it a quick stir then add in ginger slices.

2) Stir-fry the ginger until aromatic and add in shallot, then add in carrots.

3) When carrot soften, add in the mushrooms and stir.

4) Add in seasoning and continue stirring until mushroom is cooked.

5) Dish out and serve hot with steamed rice.

Chikyu-Ya, Bondi Junction

So what do you do when you are at home by yourself? My husband tends to finish work quite late, so I usually reach home before him. I normally start my evening by preparing dinner and once I finished, I will find something to entertain myself, let it be watching TV, reading, photo editing, browsing or blogging! So today, while waiting for him to come home, I chose to do some blogging.

Today, I'd like to share one of my favourite neighbourhood restaurants in Sydney. I'm quite confident to say that this place has one of the best Chicken Karaage in Sydney, definitely the best for me and my husband!

The Karaage is a cross between Japanese fried chicken and Kentucky! Yes, you read me right...It's the Japanese version of Kentucky. It never fails to amuse me how tasty their karaage is. So what is the magic behind this tastiest chicken? I wish I have the answer. But, just like Kentucky they definitely have their own secret herbs and spices that they use to marinate the chicken.