It’s funny how you always want what you don’t have.
When I was growing up in Australia, I wanted to be Oliva Newton-John in Grease. I practised singing like her in front of the mirror, my t-shirt hoiked down over my shoulders to create an off-the-shoulder top like she wore when she sang ‘You’re the One That I Want.’
It was the same with food, too. I craved the simple, plain food my Aussie friends typically ate for dinner. Tuna Mornay, in particular, sent shivers of ecstasy running down my spine.
But Tuna Mornay was not held in the same regard by my friend Megan.
“We call it Tuna Flop, Drop or Slop at my house,” she said cheerfully. “Because it does one of those when it hits the plate.”
Megan and all my Aussie school friends loved having dinner at my house. To them, it was like eating at a Chinese restaurant – they tried all kinds of dishes their parents would never have cooked at home.
Nowadays, most Aussies can manage a simple stir fry or some noodles at home and know the difference between bok choy and bean sprouts.
Still, I love cooking Asian food for people. I love seeing the expression on their face when they try something new and unfamiliar, and fall in love. Or when they discover for themselves how quick and easy a lot of Chinese dishes are to make at home. Best of all, though, is when I get an approving nod from someone who knows what a dish should taste like.
This recipe, Beef Stir Fry, developed recently for Bertolli Olive Oil, is perfect for a quick after-work dinner. Assuming you steam some rice and marinate the beef in advance, dinner can be on the table in ten minutes.
Even my beloved tuna mornay can’t compete with that kind of speedy deliciousness.
Tell me, dear reader, what did you eat at home when you were growing up and what type of food did you wish you were eating?
