Chicken & Long Beans Stir Fry with Fermented Black Beans

Ingredient love.
Say hello to Chinese fermented black beans. I don't know why I didn't use this ingredient more often. A bag of it sat quietly at the corner of my fridge, so close to being forgotten.

How could I?

A savory girl like me. I should be ashamed.

It's an amazing ingredient.
It's very savory.
It's perfect with garlic.
And chilli.
It gives humble old dishes, just like my chicken and long beans stir fry, the extra oomph.
Use sparingly though, a little of this ingredient goes a long way.


Recipe
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1-2 small red chilli, chopped, remove seeds to tame the heat if necessary
- a bunch of long beans, cut into about 5 cm long sections
- 2 chicken thigh fillet, remove skin, cut into bit sized chunks
- 1 tbsp fermented black beans
- olive oil, corn starch, sugar, fish sauce

"Marinate" chicken chunks with two heaping teaspoon of corn flour, a bit of oil, fish sauce and sugar. Saute garlic and chilli in hot oil, add chicken chunks, add the fermented black beans, cook until you get a bit of brownage, and the meat's cooked. Add long beans, cook until it softens a bit, adjust seasoning if necessary, cook until the long beans reach the level of softness you like, serve hot.

Perfect with lots and lots and lots of rice.

I introduced this ingredient to my helper and now she can't get enough of it ^_^'

Simply Tasty Long Beans Omelette

The day has arrived. The day I've always wondered about.

If only...
- If only I lost my appetite, what would it be like?
- How would it feel to wake up not thinking about breakfast?
- How would it feel to arrive at work not being excited about lunch?
- How would it feel not to be hungry at 11 am, despite the huge breakfast?
- Wouldn't it be nice if for once, I am not eagerly peeking into my lunch box or impatiently waiting for the clock to hit 1 pm?
- What would I do if I didn't search for yummy recipes all day or thought about where to go for dinner? (I should be working)
- Would the office be more quiet and peaceful if my stomach did not grumble every hour?
- Would I be the perfectly petite Hong Kong girl who fits into a pair of size 24 jeans if I didn't finish my second bowl of rice for dinner?
- Would the world be a better place if I didn't crave something sweet with my late evening bad TV programs?

Finally, it happened. The day I lost my appetite.
I was hyper, my heart was racing, I was restless, and most importantly, the whole day, there was no moment where I felt hungry, and I was not excited about food nor did I think about food at all.

What happened to me? Did I fall in love? Was I broken hearted? Not really.
Sous chef said it was probably the heat, but I can never be sure. It's still a mistery.

But...how was it?

Well...it was NO fun!

No matter how great it would be if I didn't enjoy food, loving and being excited about it feels wayyy better.

Here's something simple yet incredibly healthy and tasty, to celebrate our love for food.
Cheers!
Simply Tasty Long Beans Omelette

Sounds weird? I thought so too when I first tried this dish, cooked by sous chef's mom. I was not a fan of long beans, but I was surprised with how tasty it turned out. I am now officially hooked.

Recipe
- 3 eggs, beaten
- a bunch of long beans, sliced into 3-5mm pieces
- salt, pepper (or fish sauce)
- olive oil

Beat eggs, mix the long beans with the eggs, season well. Heat up wok/frying pan until it's really hot, then pour the mixture. Fry until you get a bit of brownage, the beans will keep the eggs moist. You can add freshly chopped chilli if you want some heat. Serve with steamed rice.

Sigh. The loss of appetite could've been a fantastic way to lose weight, no?