Passion for healthy food and environment at Hornsby MTC Workplace Solutions

20/03/2014

From February to March of 2014, I have delivered a series of workshops with the topic of Love Food Hate Waste at MTC Australia Horsnby office. It is a mixed group of English study, the participants are from a diverse background but most of them are Mandarin speakers. It was great to see all participants enjoying and sharing the information about how to reduce food waste at their homes, thereby reduce the cost of living and reduce the impact on the environment.  


In the first workshop we have covered the topics of Introduction to the workshop series,the environmental impact of food waste, the lifecycle of food and the common reasons of food waste. The participants were very enthusiastic and keen to learn new things related environmental issues. In the second workshop, we have more fun Interactive group activities around how to plan for the meal, how to control the food portion, how to store food correctly, how long food can be kept fresh, or use it before it going off, and not to forget how to cook with left-over food. We celebrated and evaluated what we had learned in the the last workshop while participants shared food they had brought into class made from left-overs at home. A fun and tasty opportunity to try and share eachother’s left-over food recipes. It was a great last session in which we talked, laughed and shared food together. 
Everyone thanked MTC Australia and ECC for providing such a great opportunity to attend our environmental workshop and some of the practical actions have been taken by MTC participants to reduce food waste in their homes after attending the workshops.

In the last workshop, Sally shared her unique recipe of Thai Fried Rice. Sally comes from the Southern part of Thailand and this great recipe is from her grandma. This delicious fried rice features baby shrimp and bits of sausage as well as some healthy greens. Please find more exciting left-over rice recipes here!

Ingredients:
4-5 cups cooked rice, preferably several days old (see tip on rice below)
1 cup Chinese sausage cut into very small pieces
1+1/2 cups baby shrimp
3/4 cup frozen peas
3 sliced spring (green) onions and coriander
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced

Stir-fry sauce:
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce (available in Asian/Chinese food stores)
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cayenne pepper
Preparation:

Rice Tip: For good-quality fried rice, leftover rice is best and try to make the rice as dry as possible.

Preparation:

  1. Drizzle 1 Tbsp. oil over the rice and gently work it through with your fingers, eliminating any lumps or    clumps and separating into individual grains as much as possible. Set aside.
  2. Stir all stir-fry sauce ingredients together in a cup. Set aside.
  3. Place 2 Tbsp. oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry to release the fragrance for about 1 minute. 
  4. Add the shrimp and sausage, and stir-fry another 1-3 minutes, or until shrimp and sausage are cooked.
  5. Add the rice, peas, and stir-fry sauce, drizzling it over. Gently stir-fry until everything is well mixed for 1-2 minutes.
  6. Add the spring onion and coriander, continue stir-frying for just half minute.
  7. Add 1/2 fish sauce and quickly toss and served with Thai chili sauce on the side.