Often I have an idea in my head of what I want to make, create, cook.
Sometimes it works first time, sometimes it doesn't.
Today it did with this easy and delicious stir-fried seafood with chillies.
Make the rice first to have with it and then leave to steam with a lid on the pan or sieve hooked over a pan.
This is for one but to make for two you'll just need more seafood really and adjust the seasonings to taste, don't just double without checking what it tastes like.
So for my exactly-as-I'd-wanted-it brunch stir-fry, I had:
2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
approx 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 green chilli, finely chopped
approx 1/3 a small-ish white onion, thinly sliced
a few long / fine green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch lengths
about 1/3 green pepper, diced
about 1/4 Knorr chicken stock cube
mixed seafood (defrosted if frozen) - I had a few prawns, scallops (cut in half if very large) and squid rings .... de-vein the prawns and cut along the outside back (leaving top and bottom intact) so they butterfly somewhat on cooking
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
a good slosh of oyster sauce
a pinch of sugar, perhaps 1/4 teaspoon
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, diced
Getting it all together, the prep, is the only time-consuming thing, and then it's so easy to bring together.
Put a non-stick frying pan over a low heat, add 20 sprays cooking oil (or a tablespoon if you don't use spray oil) and add the garlic, ginger and green chilli.
Stir for about 30 seconds until it smells good then add the onion, green beans and green pepper.
Stir and add a slosh of water and the piece of stock cube, and stir, cooking for about a minute.
Add the prawns first, toss and stir ... then the scallops - toss and stir ... and then the squid and stir again.
Add the soy and oyster sauces plus the sugar and cook for 2 minutes or so until the seafood is cooked.
Throw in the spring onion and red chilli and cook, stirring, for another minute.
Serve with the rice ... and that's it!
Super-simple, really tasty and a great storecupboard staple if you keep frozen seafood in the freezer.