Budget meals - omelettes

I can recall the times where the household budget was tight and we literally had to stretch everything we could and kept our expenses as minimal as possible. The same applies to food.

My mum had to think of ways to cook up something with only one main ingredient all the times just to feed the family. One of her ways was cooking omelettes. She would beat 2 eggs and then spread them as wide as she could over the wok over the thinly sliced long beans or onions to make them look like bigger portion. The she would slice the omelette evenly and serve it with congee for us.

During that time, it was considered the most delicious meal I ever had. I still have fond memories about omelettes. Not only they are cheap and easy to prepare, they are also nutritious too. Here are some variations that use different ingredients.

Long Bean Omelette Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 cup long beans, sliced lengthwise
• ½ tsp. salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 6 eggs, beaten until light
• Sambal sauce for serving

Steps:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in wok. Toss beans just until they start to become tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Add beans to beaten eggs and stir.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in wok, making sure to cover the entire wok surface. Pour approximately 1/3 of the mixture into the wok. Cook over low to medium heat until it is set on the bottom, but still moist on top. Fold in half and serve on a warmed plate. Repeat two more times to use up the rest of the mixture. Serve hot with sambal sauce

Artichoke & Fresh Fava Bean Omelette

Ingredients:

• 3 small trimmed Artichokes
• 1 cup fresh or frozen green Fava Beans
• Olive Oil for frying
• 1 medium sliced Onion
• 1-2 cloves, minced Garlic
• 4 Eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sliced (optional) Spicy Sausage
• and pepper Salt
• fresh chopped Parsley

Steps:

1. Halve the artichokes and slice each half into 4 segments. Wipe dry with paper towels.
2. Blanch the fava beans for 5 minutes in boiling water, then plunge into cold water. Drain and reserve.
3. In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and saute the artichokes, onion, and fava beans. When the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes, add the minced garlic and saute briefly.
4. With a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables from the skillet, leaving as much of the oil in the skillet as possible. Pass the oil through a fine sieve, wipe the skillet with paper towels, and pour the oil back into the skillet.
5. Beat the eggs lightly. Heat the oil over low heat and pour the eggs into the skillet. Add the sautéed vegetables and sausage slices, and season with salt and pepper. Stir the egg mixture with a fork for a few seconds, until the omelet begins to thicken. Continue cooking for about 1 minute, or until the omelet is almost firm and starts to brown on the bottom. Carefully slide the omelet onto a plate, invert the skillet over it, and turn over. Saute the omelette for a few seconds on the second side.
6. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve immediately.

Onion and Broad Bean Omelette

Ingredients:

• 1kg new broad beans
• ½ kg onions
• 6 eggs
• 1 large glass of oil salt

Steps:

1. Fry the onion with the beans, beat the eggs and leave them on a low flame for the omelette to thicken.

Crabstick Omelette & French Bean Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• Half a large onion, roughly chopped
• 2 Eggs
• One Dozen Crabsticks, quartered
• Large handful of French Beans, thinly sliced
• Your choice of cooked rice

Steps:

1. Heat up some cooking oil in a deep frying pan.
2. Drop in the onions and french beans, stirfry until beans are almost cooked. Add salt.
3. Add the crabsticks, slosh everything around until the beans are thoroughly cooked and the crabsticks are showing LIGHT brown streaks.
4. Scoop out half the crabsticks.
5. Add the rice, a pinch of pepper and more salt or some soy sauce. Mix everything up nicely.
6. Transfer the fried rice into a plate, then put the scooped-out crabsticks back into the pan, with the eggs, to make the omelette.

Bean, pork and bean sprout omelette recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 tbs finely chopped coriander
• 1 tbs water
• Olive oil
• 100g pork mince
• 2cm piece fresh ginger, finely sliced
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• ½ red chilli, seeded, finely sliced
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 80g baby green beans, topped
• ½ cup bean sprouts
• Coriander, to serve

Steps:

1. Whisk eggs, coriander and water in a bowl.
2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the eggs and swirl around the pan to make an omelette, cook for 30 seconds. Slide the omelette from the plan onto a chopping board.
3. Add more oil to the frying pan, add the pork mince, ginger, onion and chilli, cook over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring until cooked through. Add fish sauce and 2 tsp of the sesame oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Heat oil in small frying pan, add the beans and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until just tender, season with salt and pepper.
5. Spoon the mince into the centre of the omelette, top with beans and bean sprouts and roll to enclose. Top with coriander and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve.

Asparagus and shiitake omelette with black bean and ginger broth and pickled cucumber

Ingredients:-

• 6 free-range eggs
• 4 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 asparagus, trimmed and blanched
• ½ cup bean sprouts
• Pickled cucumber
• 1 tbsp sushi vinegar (see note)
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, peeled and sliced lengthways with a vegetable peeler
• Black bean and ginger broth
• 2 tsp peanut oil
• 2 cm piece ginger, cut into julienne
• 1 small red chilli, seeds removed, cut into julienne
• 2 tsp salted black beans, rinsed (see note)
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp white sugar

Steps:

1. For pickled cucumber, combine vinegar and sugar in a bowl and stir to dissolve sugar. Add cucumber, toss to coat and stand for 15 minutes.
2. For broth, heat peanut oil in a saucepan over high heat. Add ginger, chilli and black beans and stirfry for 1 minute. Add Shaoxing wine, bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes or until reduced by half. Add stock, soy sauce and sugar and simmer for another 2 minutes. Keep warm and set aside.
3. In a bowl, lightly whisk eggs, add mushrooms and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground white pepper. Heat half the oil in a wok over high heat until oil starts to shimmer. Pour in half the egg mixture and stir once. Cook for 30 seconds or until starting to set, then place 2 asparagus in middle of omelette and cook for another 30 seconds or until almost set. Slide onto a serving dish and roll into thirds. Repeat with remaining mixture then pour over the warm broth and top with bean sprouts and pickled cucumber.

Ginger Omelette

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 big nob of ginger, approximately 3 inches or more
• A dash of soy sauce
• A dash of white pepper powder
• A tablespoon of sesame oil and a little cooking oil

Steps:

1. Peel the ginger by scraping the skin off with a spoon.
2. Thinly slice the ginger and then cut them into match sticks.
3. Break the eggs into a medium bowl. Season with soy sauce and white pepper. Beat the eggs.
4. In a non stick frying pan, dry fry the ginger until they are almost dry.
5. Add some cooking oil and sesame oil as if you use only sesame oil, it will smoke very quickly as the smoking point of sesame oil is quite low.
6. Fry until the ginger is brown but not burnt.
7. Add the egg mixture and try to distribute the ginger evenly.
8. Lift the edges of the omelette to allow more runny eggs to set.
9. Flip the omelette by sliding it onto a large plate and then slide back the omelette with the uncooked side down back to the frying pan.
10. Do not overcook the omelette as you want a moist omelette and not a dry one. Serve this as one of side dish with steamed rice.

Anchovies Egg Omelette

Ingredients:

• Two eggs
• Anchovies
• Corn Flour
• Butter

Steps:

1. First of all, prepare the anchovies and wash em. Clean the little fish to prepare it for stir-frying. Heat up the pan on the stove and put some butter in it.
2. After the pan heats up, throw the anchovies in and stir-fry it until it's golden brown. Let the anchovies be for a while and start to crack two eggs, and beat the eggs with a fork or a spoon.
3. Then proceed to our some corn flour into the egg mixture and give it another round of good beating until it mixed well.
4. Take anchovies out and then but some butter in the pan again.
5. Proceed to pour the egg flour mixture into the pan and let it be for a while until you can see that the lower part are forming and hard but the upper part, the top are still watery
6. Throw the cooked anchovies from earlier on top and spread evenly and continue to cook in low heat. When it is cooked, fold the egg omelette in half and you are done.

Omelette with mushroom,anchovies & sweet radish

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 pieces preserve sweet radish, chopped
• Anchovies
• Fresh shitake mushrooms, cut into cubes
• Dried parsley flake
• Black pepper powder

Steps:-

1. Heat up the pan with oil, fried the anchovies till golden brown, set aside
2. Stir fry the sweet radish & shitake mushroom till soft, sprinkle dried parsley flake and add some black pepper powder, set aside
3. Beat 2 eggs till fluffy, pour onto the pan, put slow fire
4. Sprinkle the anchovies, sweet radish & shitake mushroom on top of the omelette, cook the omelette till well cook

Green Bean Omelette with Dried Anchovies

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of sliced green bean
• 2 tbsp dried anchovies (soak in water for 10 min, drain and pat to dry)

Seasonings

• 1 tsp fish sauce
• Dash of pepper

Steps:-

1. Blanch green bean in hot water and then rinse in cold water
2. Crack eggs in a bowl add seasonings in and beat the eggs
3. Heat non-stick wok, add 1 tsp of oil, and dried anchovies, stir fry till brown and then start adding green beans in for 1-2 minutes and start adding egg in, let the egg set for 1-2 minutes before try to turn onto the other side for another 1-2 minutes. Ready to serve

Caramelised onion omelette

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 tsp peanut oil
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Ground white pepper to taste

Steps:-

1. Slice onions finely.
2. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan set over very low heat. Add onions and stir to cook frequently, until onions turn soft. Do not allow to brown.
3. Sprinkle mirin over onions and continue cooking until onions become sticky and golden.
4. While the onions were cooking, crack eggs into a bowl and add the salt and pepper. Beat well.
5. Distribute onions evenly over pan. Turn up heat to medium and add eggs to the pan with the onions.
6. Stir gently with a spatula while swirling the pan. Do this until the surface is just set and the underside is golden brown.
7. Flip the omelette over to cook the other side.
8. Slide onto a plate and either leave whole to serve, or cut it up into quarters.