Food hacks

Too good to not share:

http://imgur.com/a/ZGOMa#43

124 recipes for students on a budget.

Hainanese chicken chop rice

ok, purists can stop yelling at me about how it's supposed to be Hainanese PORK chop rice. I just happened to have chicken in the fridge, ok? just substitute the chicken for pork chops lah! A couple of weeks ago I have some great Hainanese Pork Chop rice at this restaurant in Georgetown. It cost me RM12, along with a three-hour journey from my home outside USM to Georgetown. So, I decided to make my own, which cost me half price, although it still takes an hour to prepare because there's so many stages to cook. But worth it.

Hainanese Chicken/Pork Chop Rice
1 chicken cutlet (I used store-bought... what?! they're convenient!)
1 potato, cut in rounds
1 onion, sliced
3 tbsp frozen peas
optional) 1 broccoli stem, cubed

1/4 cup water or unsalted stock
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vinegar
1 tbsp dark soy
5 tbsp ketchup
pepper to taste
(optional) hot sauce to taste

1. Steam peas and broccoli (if using). Set aside.
2. Shallow-fry potatoes, onions and chicken. Drain and set aside.
3. In a hot wok, mix in the rest of the ingredients together. Add chicken/pork and veggies, and simmer sauce to reduce by half. Serve immediately, with rice.

Breakdown:
Total Cost: RM6
Chicken chop: RM 3.50
Potato: RM0.70
Onion: RM 0.30
the rest were lying around in the pantry....

Negitoro Don

One of my all-time favourite Japanese foods is negitoro, the combination of raw fatty tuna (maguro) with spring onion served in maki (sushi rice roll), temaki (hand roll) or don (rice bowl). Of course, sushi-grade tuna is quite hard to come by in Malaysia, much less the fatty maguro belly. So I jumped at the chance when I came across some frozen tuna at the supermarket the other day. Here's my take on negitoro don:

*This recipe calls for and serves RAW seafood. Make sure you have a reliable source of seafood and use appropriate hygiene protocols!

Negitoro don (Minced tuna and spring onions on rice)
Serves 1

100-150g sushi grade tuna (maguro) or fatty tuna belly (maguro toro)
1 spring onion, minced
1 tbsp rice wine
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 bowl of cooked rice - preferably a short grained white rice

1. Mix all the liquid ingredients together with the sugar in a large bowl

2. Mince tuna using a chopper. Mix tuna mince with seasoning sauce

3. Mix in minced spring onions

4. Top negitoro over bowl of rice, ensuring even coverage. Serve and enjoy with some miso soup!

Cost breakdown
Cost per serving: RM6 approx
Tuna cost me RM10 for a 250g block

Olio Spaghetti with Mushrooms

I love olio-based pastas. It's easy to make, light and very good on the tummy - especially if you're lactose intolerant (like my poor self!)

Olio Spaghetti with Mushrooms

What you need:

A couple of button mushrooms, sliced
1 can of mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic, chopped finely
2 chillies, seeds removed; chopped finely
Some parsley, chopped finely
Olive oil
Butter
Angel hair pasta

What to do:

1. Heat some butter in a pan and fry button mushrooms until it is cooked. Remove accumulated water (you'd get quite a bit thanks to the mushrooms) and set aside.

2. Using a low fire, line pan with olive oil (you will need quite a bit of oil as you are making an olio base) and fry garlic until fragrant. Throw in parsley, chili and all mushrooms.

3. Meanwhile, remember to cook the pasta! Angel hair pasta tends to cook a lot faster than other types of pasta so be sure to keep an eye on it.

4. Once pasta is cooked, drain well and throw into pan containing olio base. Over a low fire, mix pasta evenly. Season with some salt and black pepper.

There you go!

Easy Peasy Potato Salad

I'm back!

So here's a really simple recipe, inspired by a good friend.

Easy Peasy Potato Salad

What you need:

1 can of whole mushrooms
Light sour cream
A couple of russet potatoes

What to do:

1. Clean potatoes and chop them into cubes, leaving the skin on.

2. Sprinkle some salt on the potatoes, mix them up and chuck them into a steamer. Steam for 10-15 minutes or until just cooked.

3. Once cooked, leave potatoes to cool. Put into fridge.

4. Open the can of mushrooms and slice them thinly. Take potatoes out and mix mushrooms in.

5. Add 2-3 tablespoons of light sour cream. Add some salt and pepper to the mixture and mix well. Return salad to fridge until it is ready to be served.

Tadah!

Prawn 'Bisq'

Yes, I know it's spelled 'bisque' but given that this recipe's a budget version I thought it might be appropriate because I had to replace some of the more pricey ingredients with more budget friendly ones - prawns instead of lobster, and milk instead of cream. Pardon the lack of recipes there days - it's been a pretty hectic year and my meals have tended to be simple.

Prawn 'Bisq'
(Serves 1-2)
300g small-medium prawns, with shell - about 10-15 prawns
1 medium onion, chopped
3 shallots, minced
1 litre water
1 tsp tomato paste
Milk
salt
pepper
Greens for garnish

1. Peel the uncooked prawns and reserve the shells. Optional: cut prawns into smaller chunks.

2. In a pot, sweat the onion with a little salt in a little oil until translucent. Turn up the heat, add prawn shells and fry until fragrant.

3. Add water, bring to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Reduce liquid to half - about a couple of hours

4. Remove shells (Or just strain the entire stock) and set aside. In the same pot, sweat the minced shallots in a little oil. Return the prawn stock to the pot and add tomato paste. Bring to a boil.

5. As soon as the water starts to boil, kill the heat and put the prawn meat in. Cover, and leave for two minutes (One, if you've cut up the prawns into chunks) - the residual heat will do the cooking for you.

6. Serve in large bowl, add milk and season to taste. Garnish with greens and a little olive oil.

Breakdown
Total cost: RM4.50
Cost per serving: RM2.25

Dhal Curry

A perfect, cheap and easy curry to make when you're missing Malaysian food.

This recipe was adapted from my mother's classic never-goes-wrong Charmaine Solomon cookbook. It is one of the easiest and fuss-free dhal recipes I have come across.

Dhal Curry

200g split yellow lentils
1 large onion (finely sliced)
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1-2 potatoes (optional)
1 carrot (optional)
3 cups hot water

1. Wash the lentils then leave to soak in a bowl of water for a few minutes. Discard those that float on the surface. Drain well and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a fry pan or pot then fry onion, garlic and ginger until the onion softens and turns golden brown.

3. Add turmeric and mix well. Add lentils and fry for a minute or two. Add in carrots and potatoes if using.

4. Add hot water, bring to boil then reduce heat to a simmer.

5. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are half cooked. Add salt to taste and garam masala.

6. Continue cooking until lentils are soft, some water is evaporated and the consistency is similar to porridge. If the curry is too watery, continue boiling without the lid.

Done! Make sure you serve it up with some nice crispy roti. Mmmmm.

Beer battered onion rings

After three months of traveling and fieldwork, it feels good to be able to be at home long enough to cook - and my first creation for the year is a sinful beer-battered onion rings. Remarkably easy to make with simple ingredients - and of course, you can beer-batter just about anything else: shrimp, fish, cheese...

Beer-battered onion rings
2 large onions, cut into rings 1-2 cm in diameter
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 bottle beer, chilled.
Oil for frying

1. Set aside 1/4 cup of flour and dredge onion rings in flour
2. Mix salt with remaining 3/4 cup of flour and slowly pour in beer to make a batter.
3. Heat oil for frying. Shake off excess flour and dip onions in batter. Cook for one minute in medium-high (200) and the in medium (160) for another minute. Drain and serve immediately.
4. Remember, a colder batter will make for a crisper crust so stuff the mixing bowl in the fridge if you have to.

Watercress Season!!

watercress is going for 2 bucks for a big bundle... i got some just to make a watercress drink but had heaps left so made this...

tagliatelle with watercress pesto



it was very easy and very yummy...great for a quick meal....and even for a dinner party- it is that good!!! I had it again for lunch the next day and remember thinking: "How glad I am to be able to cook!! heheheheh...!!!"

i would reserve half the pine nuts for sprinkling on top though and also add salt...i've noticed that all most recipes don't call for salt...but adding salt really brings out the flavour in this dish.

The recipe is from BBCgoodfood.

I also had enough to make some soup but didn't take a picture. Really good value huh...??

Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting

First and foremost, apologies for the crap picture. It was late at night and I was using my camera phone. The cupcakes look more like tarts to me... hmm.

Anyway. I made these cupcakes for the staff at Melton Health's Paediatric department to say thank you for accomadating me during my clinical placement. Cupcakes are a great way to say thank you because if they're good, people will remember you for life.

The trend nowadays is cupcakes but unfortunately while they may look nice, many a times they taste terrible because the icing is too sweet and the cake at the bottom is dry. Cupcakes are essentially CAKES and I am of the believe that you have to get the cake right first.

This is a recipe that I have tried many times and made it my own. It is cheap to make because it uses the most basic ingredients and most importantly, extremely easy to make. It's not rocket science.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting (makes 15-20 cupcakes)

150g butter (softened)
155g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
200g self-raising flour
80ml milk
195g pure icing sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2-3 drops yellow liquid food colouring

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases.

2. Using an electric beater/mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. I suggest that you do not take this step for granted and exert patience when creaming because it affects the quality of the cupcakes!

3. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until combined. When all the eggs are in, add in the vanilla essence and beat well.

4. Using a spatula, fold in the flour and milk alternately until combined. The mixture should not look lumpy but smooth and creamy. This step definitely takes more effort (read: sore shoulders) but again, more effort equals better results.

5. Spoon mixture evenly into the muffin cases. Because we've used self-raising flour, only scoop 1 heaped tablespoon of batter into one muffin case if not your cupcake is going to look... obscene. Make sure you try to level the batter with the back of your spoon so your cupcakes don't bake slanted!

6. Place the muffin tray into the oven for 15-20 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool.

7. Only when the cupcakes are nearly cool do you start making the frosting (it hardens if left unattended). Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, gradually add the lemon juice, a few tablespoons of water, a few drops of colouring and stir with a spatula until a smooth paste forms. Taste the frosting and add more lemon juice or icing sugar (I personally like the frosting to be tangy). The frosting should not be watery and if it has become too watery, add some icing sugar (don't forget to taste again!). The paste should be almost butter-like where it can be easily spread on the cupcakes.

8. Spread the frosting evenly over the cupcakes using a butter knife. Set aside and allow the frosting to set.

Voila!

Bag and Tag - Pork

Ever since watching Alton Brown's episode on pouch cooking, I've been experimenting with a few pouch configurations myself - starting with the timeless combination of pork and asparagus. You could of course use aluminum foil instead of greaseproof paper, but I think some acids react with aluminum, so if you do take care not to use acids like lemon.





Pork and Asparagus Pouch

1 pork chop, deboned
5 asparagus spears
3 lemon slices
2 tbsp chopped spring onions
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp stock (home made preferred, of course) or water
1 tbsp oil

Special Equipment:
Toaster or Microwave oven
Oven tray
Greaeproof paper - make sure it's oven and microwave safe!

1. Preheat toaster oven (if needed). Tear out a square of greaseproof paper twice as big as your oven tray. Fold in half.

2. On one half of the paper, lay out asparagus, topped with pork which has been seasoned with salt and pepper. Pour on liquid seasonings (soy sauce, oil and stock) over pork and asparagus before covering with lemon slices and spring onion.

3. Fold other half of paper to form a pouch (see image), fold the sides and staple shut - but not airtight. Or, if you don't have a stapler like me, just crimp the sides as best you can. It's won't be an airtight seal, but that's ok.

4. Bake in the toaster for 12 min, or in a microwave for 10 min. Remove from oven, let it sit for 5 minutes (and relish the wonderful smell), cut open the pouch and enjoy. Watch out for hot steam!


Cost Breakdown:
Total Cost: approx RM5++ - a little pricey, but well worth it!
Pork chop RM2
Asparagus RM2
Lemon RM0.50

Tags: Pork and Asparagus, Bag Baking

Dough-boy speaks

Hi everyone, I must say I have been away for quite a long while.
Updated my profile and I'm making a comeback with more budget meals.

I have been experimenting on quite a number of dishes which includes Sayur Lodeh, Salt n Pepper Chicken Ribs (to give Rose Garden Melb a run for their money, as if)
Vietnamese Pho and on Bun Bo Hue after my exams.
Some of these are more of a challenge, because the time and accuracy to tastes can be rather complex.
But of course there are the upcoming budget meals from me.
I will show you some of the quickest healthy lunches which I prep to have at the office.

Cheers.
currently 17Deg

Easy Carbonara

I was getting tired of the tomato based sauces that I usually cooked, and besides, I didn't have any tomatoes on hand.


Easy carbonara
1 serve pasta, see cooking instructions below
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp butter
4 tbsp milk
1 broccoli stem, sliced thin on the oblique
salt and pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions but remove from heat 2 min before recommende preparation time.

2. While pasta is cooking off the boil, heat butter in saucepan and stir-fry broccoli stems.

3. Set heat to low. Add milk, then salt and pepper to taste.

4. Drain pasta and add to pan. Add yolk and mix until sauce is thickened. Serve hot.

Waitaminit... what am I going to do with the egg white, you ask? That's another recipe... so freeze it until you're ready to use it again.

Cost breakdown
Total cost: RM2.80
Pasta RM1
Milk RM0.50
Egg RM0.30
Broccoli RM1

Tags: Carbonara recipe

McBBQ Sauce

Most people dig the fries at McDonalds; me, I dig the barbecue sauce. For a while I thought it was a queer obsession until I realised I was not alone (See here). Attempts to replicate the sauce called for the mixture of two specific sauces, which means you can't do it outside of the US. So I decided to do some trial and error and come up with a decent facsimile using everyday raw ingredients.

McDonald's Barbecue Sauce, version n.
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp soy
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp worster
4 tbsp sugar

1. Whisk all there ingredients together. Use as a dip for nuggets or some fried chicken.

(No cost breakdown for this - it's cobbled from ingredients that I already had in my pantry)

Tags: Barbecue sauce, McDonalds

Pan Fried Chicken

Fried chicken. Now, who doesn't like it? This recipe is based on Alton Brown's but if you look closely there are a few modifications because of the inavailability of some ingredients. The upside is that this recipe is pan-fried and uses much less oil.


Pan Fried Chicken
Chicken pieces - I used wings

Seasoning
1 tsp salt, chili powder, coriander per piece

Full cream milk
Flour for dredging
Oil for frying

Special equipment
2 plastic containers big enough to hold twice the volume of chicken.
Heavy wok or pan

1. Separate chicken wings and place in plastic container. Pour milk to half cover and leave to marinade for at least four hours. Turn chicken pieces every two hours to ensure good absorption.

2. Drain milk and lay chicken out on board. Sprinkle liberally on both sides with seasoning and then dredge with flour, taking care to shake off excess. (What I do: Put flour and chicken in container, seal tightly and shake vigourously)

3. Fill pan with oil up to 1 cm. Heat to 200 (Medium) and place chicken pieces skin side down, taking care to leave space between the pieces. Fry each side for exactly 5 min (adjust for bigger pieces of chicken), turning only once.

4. Drain and serve! This chicken goes really well with barbecue sauce.

Cost breakdown
Total cost: RM3.50
Chicken wings RM2
Milk RM1
Flour RM0.50

Tags: Pan fried chicken

The Really Simple Coleslaw

I must admit: when it comes to culinary vegetation, I'm not particularly imaginative. Steamed broccoli tossed in oyster sauce goes with rice, scalded choy sum goes with noodles, and raw green salad goes with everything else. So today, I decided to try something different: coleslaw - and we're not talking about the mass-produced shite from kay-eff-see. This recipe uses only cabbage and onion and you can add sliced carrots as well (I was too lazy, hence the omission) during the salting.

(sorry, no picture this time - too lazy to take one)

The really simple coleslaw
1/4 head of cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white vinegar
6 tbsp sugar
Pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp salt

1. Using your hands, rub salt into the cabbage and onions. Mix well, and then drain in a colander using a weight. Squeeze dry for at least 45 min.

2. In a saucepan, heat vinegar over low heat and dissolve sugar. Once all the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and whisk in pepper and oil. set aside to cool.

3. Discard drained liquid from vegetables. Wash free from salt and squeeze dry again.

4. Place vegetables in a non-reactive container and pour vinegar solution over. Leave in fridge for at 6 hours, stirring every two hours.

5. After that, drain excess liquid and enjoy! Makes about 4-5 servings.

Cost Breakdown
Total Cost: RM3.35++
Cost per serving: RM0.70++
Cabbage RM2
Onion RM0.35
Vinegar RM1 (RM5 for the whole bottle)

Tags: Coleslaw

Mamak Mee Goreng

Oh, this was divine. Of course it doesn't rival what I get back home but I must say it comes pretty close.

Note that I eliminated bean sprouts from the recipe because I have an extreme dislike for them, mainly due to the fact that I used to work in a high class restaurant that saw me picking the heads and tails off 5kgs worth of bean sprouts every morning.

I also didn't use spring onions as a garnish because I'm not a big fan.

Mamak Mee Goreng

500g-750g yellow noodles (rinsed)
1-2 tablespoons of sambal olek
3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 packet tau foo pok (tofu puffs; cubed)
1 medium potato (peeled, boiled and sliced)
Beansprouts (if you like them)
A few tablespoons of fried onion
1 red chilli and 1 green chilli (sliced)
A squirt of lime before eating

Seasoning sauce:

1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon bottle chilli sauce
3 tablespoons bottle tomato sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
A dash of white pepper
4 tablespoons water

1. Combine all ingredients of the seasoning sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a wok and fry the sambal olek and garlic until fragrant.

3. Add seasoning sauce and fry for a few seconds before adding the noodles and tofu puffs. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes and ensure that it does not stick to the wok (add a bit of water if necessary).

4. Add the potato, fry for awhile, then add beansprouts if using.

5. Stir fry a bit more, add fried onions, red and green chilli and ensure that all ingredients are mixed well together.

Voila!

Arrabiata Malaysia

This spicy tomato-based pasta sauce is easily made from local ingredients. It's cost-to-serving ratio is also hard to beat! Dried chillies are quite potent, so adjust according to taste - although don't go more than four or you'll be stuck with a bowl of liquid fire that will kill your tongue long before you can taste anything.


Arrabiata Malaysia
4 large tomatoes, seeded
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
2-3 dried chilis
Salt
Pepper

Optional: Blender, 2 tbsp wine or rum

1. Blend or chop fine onions and garlic together, and then the same for the tomatoes and chilli. Keep the tomatoes separate for now.

2. In a saucepan, sweat onion and garlic mixture in low heat for 15 min with a pinch of salt.

3. Add tomatoes and chilli mix and continue cooking on low for 30 mi n- the mixture will start out looking pink but end up a dark red. If using alcohol, now is the time to add it.

4. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon on your favourite pasta and enjoy, or keep in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month. Serving size is 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons, recipe makes 8-10 servings.

Cost breakdown
Total cost:: RM3 ++
Cost per serve: 30 cents ++
Tomatoes: RM2
Onion, garlic and dried chilis: Less than RM1

Tags: Arrabiata, pasta sauce

Kway Teow Hailam

While out on a recent field trip, I had the privilege of sampling Malay hospitality. We made a visit to a colleague's home in Butterworth, the mainland side of Penang, and were greeted with a freshly made noodle dish served with a light peppery gravy. Our hostess called it Mee Hailam - I've seen it on the menus of local eateries here, but this was the first time trying it. I'm not sure about the etymology of the name - perhaps it's a corruption of the Chinese province of Hainan? This is my paltry attempt at replicating the dish. I substituted the yellow Hokkien noodles for flat kway teow rice noodles because it was what I had at the fridge.


Kway Teow Hailam

Noodles
250g flat rice noodles or yellow Hokkien mee
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp caramel sauce

Gravy
1/2 cup of stock (Homemade is the best of course, or else something low salt)
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp finely ground black pepper
Dash of sesame oil
Handful of spinach leaves
80g beef, cut in 1 inch chunks, then flattened - should yield 5 or six slices

*I prepared this as a wok recipe, i.e. high heat over low surface area, i.e. cooks extremely fast. I suppose you could use a skillet, but you might have to use a little more stock (say, 3/4 cup) to compensate for liquid boiling off.

1. Heat wok to high and stir fry kway teow with soy sauce and caramel sauce. Put on plate and set aside. (Note: Skip this entirely if using Hokkien mee. Instead, just blanch noodles in boiling water for 30 sec and plate)

2. Bring stock, soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil to a boil. Add beef, wait for 30 sec and turn off heat before adding spinach.

3. Scoop out beef and veges onto noodles before pouring in the gravy - then pour the gravy over, as much or as little as you want. Garnish and serve!

Cost breakdown
Total cost: RM3 (Approx)
Rice noodles: RM1
Beef: RM1
Spinach: 40 cents

Tags: Mee Hailam

Toaster Oven Ribs

The secret to fall-off-the-bone ribs is a long, slow cooking process facilitated by an oven - which I don't have. What I do have is an oven toaster, which basically has two settings: on and off. But with an insatiable craving for pork ribs and a little kitchen hack knowledge, here's how you can make grilled pork ribs using a toaster oven...

Lest I get cried foul, I do have to add that this dish is finished off in the toaster. You'll need a steamer to cook the ribs first. And the meat won't fall off the bone, but it will be juicy and tender. The big pro to cooking this way is that your ribs will be done in half an hour, and not two.

Toaster Oven Ribs
Two pieces of whole pork spare ribs, or half a slab of baby back ribs (whichever is cheaper, duh)
One onion, sliced thin

Marinade
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp worcester sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
(You could of course use store bought bbq sauce, but where's the fun in that?)

1. Mix marinade ingredients and divide in two portions. Marinade ribs in fridge for at least an hour using one portion.

2. Steam ribs for 10 min. In the meantime, preheat toaster oven. Grease oven tray with butter and layer with onion slices.

3. Baste ribs with second portion of marinade. Finish off cooking in the toaster for 10 min. Makes one serve.

Cost breakdown
Total cost: RM4 (One serve)
Pork ribs RM3
Onions and Marinade RM1

Tags: Toaster oven, pork ribs