- STIR..FRIED BEANS ANDPEPPERS WITH EGGS

It described as an omelette chopped up and reheated, the eggs in this recipe would not sound particularly attractivewhereas in my view this is one of the best possible ways of cooking them. Both here and in the following recipe for Stirfried Beans and Peppers with Fried Rice and Eggs (which is much less omelette-like) their flavour comes through remarkably clearly despite the rice and other ingredients, which are designed to complement it and add texture.

You need only a quarter of a cabbage for this recipe, and to keep the remainder as fresh as possible for another meal it is besttoslice as much asyou need from oneside, peeling offthe outermost leaves iftheyarecoarse orstringy. Wrap the partwhich will not be used in foodwrap and store in the refrigerator. For2-3.

4 ozll25 g (about '14 small) CAbbage Salt

8 oz/250 g brown Patna, AmeriCAn long-grain or Basmati rice

About 5 tablespoons oil

4 oz/125 g button musfrrooms

4 oz/125 g Kenya or otfrer stringless green beans

I red or yellow pepper or (preferably) '12 of eacfr

2-3 spring onions

'12 incfr/l cm piecefresfr rootginger

3 eggs (any size)

Pepper

3 teaspoons soy sauce (preferably ligfrt)

Saucepan with a lid

Wok or large saucepan

• METHOD .

Remove any tough stalks from the cabbage leaves and cut the leaves into '12 inchll cm squares; wash. Bring I pintl600 ml slightly salted water to the boil, put in the Cabbage, return to the boil and boil for 2 minutes. Drain in a sieve set over a bowl to catch the cooking water. Rinse and leave to dry.

2 Rinse the rice and put into the saucepan with a lid. Add % pintl450 ml of the cabbage water, a few drops of oil and a very little salt. Bring to the boil, lower the heat to a simmer, coverand simmerfor 30 minutesfor Basmati, 30-35 for Patna or American long-grain rice: test to see if it is tender by breakinga grain between the thumb and forefinger. If necessary, simmera few more minutes, adding a little extra water if it is dry. Keep covered until you are ready to serve.

3 Trim the mushroom stalks and wash the mushrooms. Top and tail the beans, cut into sticks about I inch/2.5 cm long and wash. Leave both to dry on plates lined with kitchen paper. Wash, dry and quarter the pepper, discarding the core; remove any dark spots and seeds (which are hot), trim off the white inner membrance and cut the flesh into strips about 1/4 inchl 5 mm wide and % inch/2 cm long. Leave on another plate. Cut off the leaves and roots of the onions, peel off the outer layer and thickly slice the white part. Peel, wipe and thinly slice the ginger, throwing away any tough or fibrous pieces.