Green Beans Omelet 四季豆炒蛋

This is your quick and easy 15-minute recipe (and my short and simple 1-hr-at-most post lol). Eggs have always been my best friend; their versatility has never failed to impress me. Easily paired, mixed and matched, you can have them the simple way (fried, boiled or poached simply), made just slightly complicated with them used in all the many kinds of omelets and simple stir-fry dishes like...

• this Green Beans Omelet 四季豆炒蛋; 
• the Farmer's Market Omelet;
  
  
  


• the Egg Foo Yong 芙蓉蛋;
  
  
  

• the Preserved Radish with Minced Meat Omelet 菜圃肉碎煎蛋; or
  
  
  


• the Stir Fried Ridged Gourd with Eggs 胜瓜炒蛋.
  
  
  

Or they can be incorporated into a little more complicated ones. Say...

• the Tricolor Steamed Eggs with Minced Meat 肉碎蒸三色蛋; or
  
  
  

• the Scrambled Egg with Glass Noodles 粉丝炒蛋.
  
  
  

That's quite a list of all the everything egg-related dishes I have posted thus far! But truth be told, the eggs have always been the really reliable one single ingredient that somewhat makes my life easy at times. They have come to my rescue time and again - when time is a limiting factor and you need to whip up a meal in no time; or you simply just run out of ideas as to what to put onto the dining table any nights; or you have an extra guest or two that you need a little something more to be served all too soon.

This omelet with green beans generously scattered all over - it's simple and totally inexpensive, tasty and nutritious - pretty much all the essentials in a single serving.

Green Beans Omelet 四季豆炒蛋 
Serves 3-4
1/2lb green beans, rinsed and drained
*6 eggs
2 to 3 dashes white pepper powder
2 tsps light soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
a pinch or two of salt
a couple sprinkles of water
2½ tbsps cooking oil

* I retained just three yolks, discarding the rest. You can really use just any amount of eggs, just be sure to adjust the seasonings to taste.

1. Trim the ends off the green beans lightly and dice the beans - small and even.

2. Break the eggs into a bowl. Add in the white pepper powder and light soy sauce, beat to mix.
3. In a large non-stick skillet, heat about a tbsp of cooking oil over high. Once well heated, add in the minced garlic and stir fry until fragrant, lightly browned. Add in the diced green beans followed by a pinch of salt. Stir to mix well. Sprinkle in some water and sauté until the green beans turn tender, looking slighly translucent. Remove from heat.

4. Transfer the green beans into the bowl of beaten eggs. Beat lightly to mix well.
5. In the same non-stick skillet, bring the remaining cooking oil to heat over high. Once hot enough, turn the heat down to medium-low and pour in the egg mixture gently. Swirl to spread the egg mixture throughout the pan evenly. Leave undisturbed until the bottom starts to set a little.
6. Using a spatula, gently push one edge towards the centre and tilt the pan slightly to let the liquid egg mixture on top flow in underneath replacing the empty space. Do the same around the rest of the edges until all the egg mixture has a fair share of heat underneath. Be sure to spread out the ingredients evenly in the process. Let fry gently until the bottom starts browning and appearing set. Carefully lift and flip the omelet over. Let fry until it browns evenly on the whole.

7. Remove from heat and serve.