Getting Creative for Breakfast
I have a confession. It tends to be a super contentious opinion when the conversation comes up: breakfast has always been, hands-down, without a doubt, my least favourite meal of the day. I always found it kind of boring and uninspiring. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a nice oatmeal, or classic eggs and such for breakfast, but every single day?!….. I ate it because I should, not because I wanted to. I never got overly excited by the idea of going out for brunch. The line-ups are outrageous for an overrated, overpriced, uninspired meal. I know, most people would strongly disagree with me on this one. Everyone loves brunch! Having said that, the past year I have noticed myself changing my tune a bit on the topic of breakfast food. I’ve been making an effort as my lifestyle has changed with my career moves, to be more intentional about my breakfast, and without even noticing it was a priority, some of my most creative meals lately have been experiments with healthy, fun, exciting breakfast ideas. Today I was feeling inspired by the breakfast I made for myself, and so here we are.
To preface this, while I do love an elaborate, slow morning Sunday homemade brunch with Benn + Wally – unhurriedly chopping and mixing, while lazily sipping coffee and listening to our favourite records as we cook – that is definitely not a practical option most days… If only! We’ve all got a full day to get to and work to get done, so a quick breakfast is the reality more often than not. So how to make a quick meal that isn’t boring and same same every single day?
As you may have picked up on by now, I gravitate towards dinner as my favourite meal of the day. The most creative, versatile and exciting to cook and enjoy. So lately, I find it is incredibly delicious, and better yet, easy, to incorporate last nights dinner leftovers into this mornings breakfast! Hear me out.
One of my absolute favourite dishes to make is a Thai chilli ground pork + green bean mixture, a freestyle dish I came up with, originally inspired by a dish that I used to order at one of my favourite Thai restaurants in Vancouver. I took the base components of that dish – ground pork and chopped green beans – and threw in a bunch of my favourite flavours (garlic, ginger, Thai red chillies, sesame seeds, cilantro, fish sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, lime) to make a mixture that packs a serious flavour punch. Funny enough, the first time I made this was for a Mother’s Day brunch a few years ago; I asked my mom what she would like me to make for her, anything she could imagine, and she said she wanted something savoury, and something with an asian-inspired flair to it. So I made this Thai chilli pork + green bean mixture to top a miso infused steel-cut oatmeal, and finished with a soft boiled egg. It was heaven in a bowl. My favourite kind of flavours, savoury, spicy, fresh foods that just exude energy and happiness. I loved this dish so much that I have since made it in a variety of different ways, usually for dinner. I will often make the Thai chilli pork + green beans as a summery main to be served simply as lettuce wrap. I have made it into a salad roll with the lettuce and meat mixture wrapped in rice paper and dipped in fish sauce on the side. I have served it simply over a bed of rice for a heartier winter meal. That is what we had for dinner yesterday. But we had plenty of extra left in the fridge this morning. So today, my latest variant of the dish was my usual morning spinach and egg, super thin omelette, topped with the leftover Thai chilli pork + green beans. My kind of breakfast. Couldn’t have been a quicker (took me all of 6 minutes to prep + cook) or more delicious start to the day.
So the moral of the story: I am changing my views on breakfast, it can be fun too (without being a ton of work). And secondly, creatively reinventing the same dish over and over again has been so much fun! I am sure there will be many more riff’s off of that original, and if so I will be sure to keep you posted ;)
My favourite ultra thin, 1-egg, garlic + spinach omelette, topped with leftover Thai chilli pork + green beans. Packing a serious flavour punch.
A few of the different variations on this dish that I have made over the years.
Thai Chilli Ground Pork + Green Beans
Ingredients
- Ground pork
- Veggie Oil
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Thai red chillies
- Cremini mushrooms
- Green beans
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
- Fish sauce
- Lime
- Cilantro
- Sesame seeds
Method
1. Prep all ingredients and have at the ready. Chop green beans and mushrooms into small pieces. Mince garlic, ginger. Roughly chop Thai red chillies, cilantro. Quarter limes.
2. Cook the ground pork in a cast iron skillet. As the pork is cooking, start another non-stick skillet pan heating with 2 Tbsp of oil, add the garlic, ginger and Thai red chillies, saute until aromatic. Add the mushrooms, cook until softened, stirring regularly. Stir in the green beans and let cook for a few minutes.
3. Once the pork is almost cooked, transfer to the pan with your vegetable/aromatics mixture. Mix well. Add a splash of sesame oil, then your soy sauce and fish sauce to taste (start with 1-2 Tbsp and go from there). Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime to serve.
4. I have not included measurements, it is a rough freestyle – make it how you like it! Just taste as you go once you get to the sauces and your taste buds will tell you how you’re doing! Serve over a bed of rice, or on its own using butter lettuce as a wrap. Save some leftovers for your morning eggs ;) And if you come up with another variation, let me know, I’d love to hear!
