 'Eat your beans, pipike,' my mother would say - 'pipike' being a term of endearment meaning 'little chicken' in Magyar. I would pout and slump my shoulders, for my mother's green beans cooked as zöldbabfőzelék (or green bean stew) were not a favourite of mine. In fact, I disliked that dish (and it's spinach counterpart) so much that I can still recall gagging with every mouthful. Zsa Zsa, the family's little black dachshund (and my very best friend for many years), would look on from her red and white basket, ears pricked, eyes wide, and I could tell that she was pleased it was someone other than her naughty self being scolded (albeit gently). Mum didn't ever force me to eat, she was glad if I had a few small meals throughout the day, rather than 'three straight'. Actually, I think she consulted a specialist one time, as she was concerned at the small amounts that I ate. He reassured her that I was healthy, active and happy, and so she was more relaxed about it. 'Que sera, sera,' she would sing merrily with Doris Day, I can still hear her and see the joy in her eyes... 'whatever will be, will be... '. Before I started school and while my father was at work at his barber shop, mum and I ate plenty of good things together. Lots of sliced red and green capsicum (bell pepper) accompanied by Swiss cheese. Crusty continental bread cut into 'horses' topped with bite sized 'soldiers' of lean speck or Kaiserfleisch. And apples. Mum was always either grating apples or cutting up apples for me with her green plastic apple cutter/corer. I think I still have it somewhere in a drawer. I suppose it would be almost vintage now. The kind of item some bloggers might buy nowadays as a prop. So now, back to the beans. I'm sure I would eat zöldbabfőzelék if my mother made it for me today. My Hungarian cook and blogger friend, Zsuzsa has shared her recipe here and I must admit it looks as though it would make a delicious side. Green beans are plentiful at our local farmer's market, and so fresh that one cannot fault them. I've combined them with home-grown chillies (frozen from the summer), home-grown garlic, melt-in-the-mouth eye fillet, red eschalots, and French green peppercorns in brine.  The recipe... My recipe is adapted from one by Luke Nguyen in his book The Songs of Sapa - stories and recipes from Vietnam. Luke uses winged beans in his version, which I sometimes find hard to source. I have added a few ingredients, including the green peppercorns, chilli and sesame oil. I also skip adding fish sauce in the stir fry process, as I prefer a drier finish. Would my mother have liked this? Perhaps not, with the chilli and zesty peppercorns it may have given her heartburn. Peter and I love it, and it features regularly on the menu at our place. BEEF WITH BEANS & GREEN PEPPERCORNS 500g beef eye fillet, sliced into strips 1-2 tablespoons peanut oil 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce* 2 teaspoons caster sugar 1 clove garlic, chopped 2-3 bird's eye chillies, chopped 2 red eschalots, sliced 250g green beans (or snake beans) cut into 1cm lengths 1 tablespoon brined green peppercorns, drained** coriander, to garnish baby spinach leaves, to serve rice to serve, if you like Combine the beef strips in a Pyrex bowl with half the peanut oil, sesame oil, fish sauce, caster sugar and chillies. Mix well to ensure the beef is evenly coated. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or so. Heat a wok, add the rest of the peanut oil and then stir fry the beef quickly in batches, ensuring that you maintain the temperature of the wok and do not 'stew' the meat. Toss in the green beans, eschalots, garlic and peppercorns, and stir fry until just tender, only 1-2 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately on a bed of baby spinach leaves and steamed rice. Serves 2-3 as a main meal. * Use less or more fish sauce depending on your taste preferences and the saltiness of your fish sauce. ** I use a French brand of green peppercorns in brine, available from supermarkets and specialty stores. The process in pictures... Serve immediately... enjoy... You might also like...
 Tell me, which particular foods, if any, made you gag and slump your shoulders as a child? And do you enjoy eating the same food now that you have grown up?
29 Comments
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:07:19 pm
Thanks Krista, I have to say, that beef just melted in the mouth!
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:07:33 pm
Chris, thank you. Very kind of you : ) 5/9/2013 01:10:48 am
This looks like a beautiful dish, especially the picture of it sizzling away in the wok. I never liked peas as a child, of course Mum was always trying to get me to eat them. Then one day I decided if I don't like them I'm not going to eat them anymore and haven't really eaten alot of them since.
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:08:00 pm
Catherine, that's funny. I know a few people who don't like peas!
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:08:28 pm
Interesting, Azita. It did get gobbled up, trust me : ) Oooh, I think I'd like this recipe too, Lizzy! I have some chunks of Cape Grim eye fillet in the freezer to get through, and this might just the thing. And I had a flash of nostalgia when I saw the tinned peppercorns - I remember buying that brand years ago! I must go hunt them out again. Thanks darling x
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:09:06 pm
Celia, with those tins of peppercorns you have squirrelled away, and the Cape Grim eye fillet, this is the dish for you! xo 5/9/2013 11:20:48 am
Yummo Lizzie!
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:09:55 pm
Thanks Bec.... that's funny. It is wise to taste everything you send out. Just between you and me, I use the entire little tin for two of us too, but thought I'd err on the safe side in sharing my recipe. 5/9/2013 11:48:24 am
I wish your mum could cook for you again, Liz. Because then I'd come down to meet her. She sounds like the mother many of us wish we'd had.
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:10:35 pm
Thanks Maureen, if my mum was here to cook for me, you'd be on my guest list for sure, my friend. I was blessed to have such wonderful parents. : ) 5/9/2013 02:07:25 pm
Looks to be a very healthy dish Lizzy, true!
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:10:51 pm
'Tis indeed, Joanne.
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:11:12 pm
Thank you, John, your kind words are inspiring for me : )
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:11:28 pm
Aren't they just, Fiona!
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:11:43 pm
Thanks Peter, so very simple and yet so delicious! 5/9/2013 11:38:29 pm
I was a fabulous eater as a kid - I ate everything. I'll never forget when mum made me eat tomato soup when I was little (about 5) and was refusing to eat it. She forced me to, and when I'd eaten the last spoonful, it promptly came back up all over the table. She never forced me to eat anything after that :) Love the sound of that dish, one can never go wrong when peppercorns are involved!!
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:12:30 pm
Eek... and let that be a lesson to all those mums out there... force your little one to eat something they don't like and you just might have a big yukky mess to clean up! : ) 6/9/2013 11:54:11 pm
I love the word pipike! It sounds so cute, like the perfect nickname for a young child.
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:13:24 pm
Thanks Lisa, pipike is a cute nickname... my dad used to call me that too. Small meals and healthy snacks are just the ticket for little ones, aren't they! Thank you for your kind words xo
Lizzy
8/9/2013 09:13:42 pm
Laura, thank you, so very kind xo
Susan
23/10/2014 12:29:53 am
I cooked this tonight so simple, quick and tasty! The fillet steak just melted in your mouth. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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Photo Jay Cranon, The Canberra Times
Hello. I'm Liz, a writer, cook and traveller based in Canberra, Australia.
Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes, postcards and morsels from my adventures, conversations with cookery writers and chefs, and news on food and cooking.  Search by topicNB: I use Australian standard measuring cups and spoons in my recipes.
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