I want green beans!

Of course, J doesn't eat everything, but compare to other 5-year olds he isn't a particularly picky eater either. He used to pick pepper, onion, etc. off of his food. A few months, he became very conscious about what food was good for him. He would eat all the veggie that he used to despise and say "I don't like it, but it's good for me." Yay! When I was in LA for the girls weekend, hubby drove the kids to MacDonald's. J said "Baba (Chinese for daddy), MacDonald's is fast food. Fast food isn't good for you." So hubby asked him if he wanted to go somewhere else. J tilted his head, thought about it for a second, said "It's OK for today." (!! Is that a 5-year old?)

A few weeks ago, when I took J grocery shopping, he asked for green beans. What a shocker! I was only too happy to oblige. Since then, I made a point to buy green beans every couple of weeks.

Green Beans with Ground Pork

1 lb beans
1/2 lb ground pork
1 garlic clove, minced
1 green onion, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced (optional)
salt
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cooking wine
2 tbsp oil

Marinate:
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cooking wine

Marinate the pork for 30 minutes.

Break the beans to about one inch long segments. Blanch or microwave till almost tender (about 5 minutes). (Traditionally, you'd fry the beans. But that's a lot of oil! Definitely not healthy. =)

Heat 1 tbsp oil, add garlic, green onion and ginger, once aroma comes out, add pork, stir till no longer pink. Remove and drain.

Heat 1 tbsp oil, add beans to the pan, stir frequently till tender (about 1 minute). Add cooking wine and soy sauce, season with salt. Add the meat back in. Stir to mix.

Alternatively, you can use strips of ham, or slices of Chinese sausages, then no need to marinate or cook the meat first.