Bacon & Egg, Prawn Noodle Omelette

Sunday Brunch; A weekly posting for the men of the house who say they cannot live on cupcakes alone. Though, this is disputed by my step son Dan who thinks he probably could!

After last weeks mini cheese popovers with the works, this Sunday's Brunch was a lighter affair but still with loads of flavour.

Bacon & Egg, Prawn Noodle Omelette

Serves 4

Ingredients

150g *dried prawn noodles (5.3oz)

1 tsp crushed ginger

1 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 spring onions shredded into strips

1/2 cup carrot shredded into strips

1/2 cup snow peas shredded into strips

1/2 cup red capsicum shredded into strips

1 tbs of peanut oil

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

4 eyes of fat free bacon shredded into strips

2 whole eggs & 4 egg whites lightly beaten 

Garnish

Sweet Chilli Sauce

*Black Sesame Seeds

*Fried Shallots

Preheat oven to 180c/350F

Method

Put dried noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water, leave for 3-4 minutes strain & refresh under cold water, separating noodles. Put to one side.

Heat large oven proof frying pan, on medium-high heat, add peanut oil & sesame oil.

Add ginger, garlic & three of the shredded spring onions stir fry 30 seconds.

Add carrots, snow peas, red capsicum, black pepper, salt & bacon stir fry one minute.

Add noodles, lightly mix with vegetables and bacon before spreading evenly over the base of the pan.

Pour beaten eggs over the noodle mixture, cook over over medium heat 1-2 minutes.

Slide frying pan into pre heated oven and cook until just set, 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from oven, drizzle with sweet chilli sauce, sprinkle with black sesame seeds & fried shallots. Toss over remaining shredded spring onion. Cut into wedges and serve.

Variations; 

Add chopped chillies of choice with garlic & ginger.

Change vegetables, shredded baby bok choy, bean sprouts, baby corn work well. Use vegetable noodles & replace bacon with diced smoked tofu for a vegetarian version. 

*Dried prawn noodles, black sesame seeds & fried shallots, available from asian grocers & some supermarkets

You might also be interested in Chocolate Bacon

Eggs

                 Eggs collected from our backyard chickens

I'm lucky to have an abundance of fresh eggs daily to use in my baking thanks to our backyard chickens. Here's a few quick eggy tips to ensure your successful baking....

Freshness; A quick test for your egg freshness is to submerge your egg in a bowl of cold water, if the egg sinks it's fresh, if it floats or stands on one end it's past it's best date. Weak shells & hairline cracks can also result in a floating egg. 

A fresh egg once cracked will have a yolk that stands high in a thick white, it will be compact and not spread over a wide area. 

Storage;The best way to store your eggs is in an egg carton, in your refrigerator.  The carton prevents water loss and protects the eggs from picking up unwanted flavours in your fridge. Refrigerated eggs keep up to 7 times longer than eggs a room temperature. 

Freezing; Eggs whites freeze extremely well in a sealed plastic freezer container for up to 10 months, defrost overnight in refrigerator and use as per normal. 

Eggs yolks can be frozen, add one teaspoon of salt or sugar for every six egg yolks, lightly beat in store in sealed plastic container in  your freezer. Whole eggs can be frozen by the same method. However eggs yolks that have been frozen become gluggy and don't bake as well as using a fresh egg. Make sure you label your eggs either "sweet" or "salty". Defrost in your refrigerator overnight.

Aged Egg Whites; Some recipes (particularly French Meringues) call for "aged egg whites", to age your egg whites leave the egg whites in a preferably open bowl overnight.

Room Temperature; Why does beating egg white call for room temperature eggs? Egg whites expand more & faster if the protein is warm. A fresh room temperature egg white can beat 6-8 times it's volume. 

Fat Free Beating; fat molecules are the enemy of beaten egg whites, this includes the egg yolk, make sure you use a clean, dry, metal or glass bowl when beating egg whites. Plastic bowls aren't recommended because fat particles can remain is crevices. Stabilise your egg whites half way through the beating process with a pinch of cream of tartar or a few drops of lemon juice.