The Right-sized Stir Fry





















I know it’s just a matter of time I’ll be a vegetarian. I eat less and less meat these days. When I do have, it’s most often a light touch of seafood. Red meat has been a rare choice of my diet.

On a typical weekday, I can’t but reach out for lunch. The meat proportion is usually large. My stomach would be telling me “enough for today!”

So, back home cooking for dinner, I have developed a natural tendency to minimize the meat portion. It’s not unusual really that I would have a complete vegetarian diet. Besides, vegetables can be kept much longer than meat. It saves me the trouble of shopping regularly. As somebody who strives to cook dinner every working day but time is a major constraint, vegetables are my natural choice.

Here’s one I always do. Stir-fried eggs with Shimeji mushrooms. Yes, both eggs and mushrooms are classified as vegetarian. In Hong Kong, it’s popular to have stir-fried eggs with shrimps. The tenderness of the shrimps goes perfectly well with eggs. Here, I replace shrimps with my favourite Shimeji mushrooms (also known as Bunapi Shimeji, White Beech or White Clamshell).

The Shimeji should always be cooked, it is not supposed to serve raw. When raw, this creature has a somewhat bitter taste. The bittereness disappears when cooked. The cooked mushroom has a pleasant, firm, slightly crunchy texture and a delicious mildly nutty flavor.

Ingredients:
1. a handful of white Shimeji mushrooms;
2. two eggs; and
3. spring onion, finely chopped;

Cut off the bottom unwanted part of the mushrooms. Rinse them slightly and leave dry. Stir the eggs hard and well, with a small pinch of sea salt.

Use a wok that can stand heat because the heat plays a vital role in this stir fry. Heat it up with four spoonfuls of oil. Throw in the mushrooms and stir-fry them well for about half a minute. Spread them slightly over the wok.

Then go the eggs and spread them around the mushrooms. Leave them alone for seconds so that eggs get slightly cooked. Pour the spring onion and stir fry everything well.

Fire off and instantly bring them to the plate to keep the tenderness intact.

With rice and Chinese green vegetables, it's a dinner that serves me well. I won’t ask for anything else. I won’t have any more complaints about the day. And I’ll be ready for another hard one coming.