I LOVE 刀削面 dao xiao mian because it’s qq and not as heavy as ban mian. It’s great in steamboat too. I got mine in Sheng Siong but I think I’ve seen it around in Fairprice.

For the crispy prawn chilli, I use this brand also from SS. It’s not that spicy even though it looks fiery. You can add chilli padi if you wish if you need more heat. The shallot oil I use is also ready-made. See what I mean when I say this is a simple recipe? Hahaha. Of course, home made shallot oil is the best but for the time-strapped cook, this is not bad too.

The recipe looks long but it’s because there are so many toppings. Whatever you do, don’t skip the braised minced meat and ikan bilis (and ikan bilis oil). Prawns, spring onions and vegetables are optional but nice to have.

Cbb took a mouthful (hers was without the crispy chilli) and kept exclaiming “it’s so nice, mama!” I hope your little one and your family love it too!

The post 刀削面 Shaved Noodles “Chilli Pan Mee” Style appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I love home made wanton soup because I like the wrapping process. No, really. I like to wrap wantons! I wrap mine this way:

1) Put a glob of filling in the center of the wanton skin and fold it into a triangle.
2) Use a bit of water to seal the edges. Then, holding both ends of the triangle, fold them over the top so that both ends meet.

Some people choose to fold it into an ingot shape, or twist it into something like a money bag, which is fun! Mine’s something like this:

For more ways on how to wrap wantons, check this page out.

Whenever I eat wantons soup in Hong Kong, they always come with lots of sweet yellow chives. It is almost impossible to find yellow chives in the local markets so I had no choice but to leave them out. The vegetable seller told me that yellow chives spoil quickly and she has not seen them for years. If you know of where I can get yellow chives, please leave a comment below!

When making wanton, I always add tiny dried shrimps to the pork, shrimp and mushroom filling. I get mine from Giant and also use it when stir frying vegetables and chicken. The dried shrimps lend a good savoury flavour to the minced meat and prawn filling. Here’s what the packet looks like:

Ready to make some easy wantons? Me too!

Makes 30 wantons (4 large servings)

What I used:

1 pack of 30 wanton wrappers
200g minced pork (marinated in 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, 1 sachet sugar, white pepper, a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon corn flour)
200g small prawns (soak in cold water + one sachet sugar for 15 mins, drain, then cut each prawn into half)
5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water til plump and sliced thinly
1 tablespoon dried shrimp as above
1 litre chicken stock
A handful green leafy vegetables
A small bowl of tap water to moisten the wanton skin when wrapping
A sprinkling of sesame oil and white pepper

1. Mix the prawns, mushrooms and dried shrimps with the minced pork mixture.
2. To wrap wantons, place a wrapper in your palm and spoon a teaspoon of filling in the center. Fold into a triangle and use a bit of water to seal the edges. Then, holding both ends of the triangle, fold them over the top so that both ends meet.
3. Heat up the chicken stock til boiling, then add the leafy vegetables. Slowly drop in the wantons til they are cooked and have floated to the top.
4. Sprinkle the white pepper and sesame oil and serve immediately.

How much I spent:

$2 for wanton wrappers
$1.60 for minced pork
$2 for prawns
$0.30 for vegetables
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $1.47

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I decided to make these for lunch because I found a packet of wanton wrappers in the fridge after 88 went to the supermarket- a clear sign that she wanted me to make some wantons! She is quite cute– she doesn’t tell me to cook a particular dish but when I find something in the fridge that I did not buy, it’s a hint for me to cook her that something. Since she “asked” for them, she got them! You can choose to add egg noodles into the soup which is what I’m gonna do when I cook these again. Then maybe, I’m gonna experiment with folding them differently.

Do you have a favourite way of folding wantons?

The post Shrimp and Mushroom Wanton Soup appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I really should be eating more lotus root because it is high in fibre, vitamin C, and most importantly for me, it can supply me with a healthy dose of copper, zinc and iron. Comparatively though, it is higher in carbohydrates (17g carbs per 100g) than carrots (10g carbs per 100g), broccoli (3g carbs per 100g serving), and is almost close to the carb content of potatoes (21g carbs per 100g). For diabetics, you can still enjoy this dish, lotus root, carrots and all, and even potatoes and rice (balsmati, for its low GI), as long as it is eaten in moderation. The key word is always moderation.

For example, I moderate myself to eat a maximum of one slice of black forest cake, one butter scone, one peach tart, 1 apple strudel, and 3 chocolate cookies in one sitting. Just kidding. That’s my secret wish.

Makes 3 servings

What I used:

One segment lotus root, sliced, enough to fill a regular plate (about 150g to 200g)
2 chicken fillets, chopped into pieces
50ml water or chicken stock
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
Half a carrot, cut into flower pattern or not is up to you LOL
Some spring onions for garnish
1 tbsp spicy bean paste
1 tbsp light soy sauce
Half tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp hua diao jiu; chinese cooking wine
1 tsp sugar
White pepper
1tbsp olive oil

1. Marinade chicken in bean paste, soy sauce, sugar, wine and pepper.
2. Fry ginger in olive oil for a minute, then add garlic. Fry together til fragrant.
3. Add lotus root and carrot, fry for a few minutes then add the water or stock.
4. Add in chicken pieces and stir fry to coat veggies with sauce.
5. Cook til chicken is cooked and heated through. Garnish with spring onions.

How much I spent:

$1 for lotus root
$1.50 for chicken fillet
$0.30 for carrot
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $0.93

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If there’s one thing I would change, I would cut the chicken into strips instead of pieces so that more sauce is coated on them. If you prefer more gravy, add more water or stock, then season to your liking. As with all types of dishes, taste, taste taste during the cooking process!

Serve hot with rice and a clear vegetable soup for a balanced meal.

The post Chinese Stir Fry: Lotus Root & Chicken in Spicy Bean Sauce appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I was supposed to be on my way to meet the girls for Boon’s going-away-to-do-her-PHD party this evening. With 15 minutes to spare before I had to get out the door, I suddenly had this compelling urge to do a blog post on Char Bee Hoon! So what’s a girl to do except sit down dutifully to write a blog post at the risk of being veryyy late.. and this same girl is now now pretty miffed because the post got accidentally deleted!

In any case, I hope (re)blogging about Char Bee Hoon cheers me up. If the Char Bee Hoon you’re familiar with is a version stir fried with light soy sauce with dark sauce added for colour, change your mindset now! Your family will thank you for it. That type of Char Bee Hoon tastes fine, like uh, how something would taste when it is stir fried with light soy sauce with dark sauce added for colour. For me, Char Bee Hoon should always be braised in stock. When the correct amount of (chicken, fish, or vegetable) stock is added to the pan, the bee hoon would have soaked up all the goodness by the time it is ready to eat.

As you can tell by my cooking, I am kinda obsessed with stock. I use them everyday.. in soups and stews, in vegetables, in stir-frys, in noodle dishes like this one. And with instant stock available everywhere, it’s not like you need to put in a huge load of effort to prepare them. I would even go as far to say that discovering stock cubes changed my kitchen life.. they are a quick and easy way to add flavour, providing you with a base to experiment.. and you do just that, knowing at the back of your mind you’re covered.

Cooking with stock is like being in a safe and long term relationship which gives you the power to explore and do a little dance in the universe, knowing that you can always go home.

Makes 6 servings

What I used:

Half packet bee hoon, soaked til just soft and drained (do not oversoak!)
1 egg, beaten, omelette it and slice. Set aside
12 prawns
1/3 beijing cabbage, chopped
4 dried chinese mushrooms, cut into strips
1 carrot, chopped into strips
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chopped shallots
Red chillies, fried shallots, spring onions and parsley for garnish
1 tbsp oilve oil
For the flavour stock (mix everything together):
Half a stock cube (chicken or fish) dissolved in 800ml hot water
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
White pepper

1. Heat oil in pan til hot, then fry shallots and garlic til fragrant.
2. Add in the mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes, then add cabbage, carrots and prawns.
3. Add the bee hoon, then slowly pour in the flavour stock til it comes up to about half the level of bee hoon.
4. Lower the heat, allow bee hoon to absorb the stock (about 4-5 minutes) til dry. Toss with chopsticks to mix.
5. Top with omelette strips and garnish with red chillies, fried shallots, spring onions and parsley.

How much I spent:

$0.60 for bee hoon
$4 for prawns
$0.30 for egg
$0.30 for carrot
$0.40 for cabbage
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $0.94 (or $0.27 without prawns for a basic but still delish version!)

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Every household has its recipe for Char Bee Hoon, and this is how I cook mine!

The post Char Bee Hoon 炒米粉 appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

A hearty stew is usually made up of a few core ingredients- potatoes, onions, a type of meat (beef and pork are common and impart great flavour) and (surprise!) celery. I know how most of you feel towards celery. Trust me, no one knows celery better. In a desperate attempt to lose weight (the wrong way) more than ten years ago, I survived on ONE stalk of raw celery per day. I hated celery. I lost a lot of weight (so would anyone, on the crazy diet) and lowered my blood pressure to a healthy range (it was 160/100 at my peak- very scary) and still hated celery. But I knew it was, and still is, good for me. What I want you to know, though, is that cooked celery tastes NOTHING like its raw form. It tastes earthy and potato-ey if cooked in a stew, and is essential to making a great stew. It is also used in chicken pie fillings.

Please do not leave out the celery if you decide to cook this dish. Please do not cook this dish if you intend to leave out the celery- it will not do this stew justice.

The version I’ve done above is a cross between a soup and stew because today I decided to serve this with rice instead of bread. This was after about 1.5 hours of slow cooking on a lowered flame. The stew gets thicker as it simmers. After two hours of slow stove-top cooking, this is what you’ll get:

A beautiful comforting soup, great with some warm crusty bread roll.

Makes 4 servings

What I used:

500g pork shoulder, chopped into 2-cm pieces (use beef if whoever you’re cooking for takes beef)
1 large onion, wedged
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 litre chicken stock (use beef stock if whoever you’re cooking for takes beef)
1 small Beijing cabbage, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped into chunks
2 carrots, chopped into chunks
1 tomato, wedged
4 stalks celery (leaves and white stems removed), chopped to 1-cm pieces
1 can mixed beans (kidney beans, chick peas etc, optional)
5 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp corn flour

1. Marinate pork pieces in some oyster sauce, soy sauce and corn flour for 15 minutes.
2. Heat up the oil in a pot, brown meat on both sides then set aside.
3. In the same pot, fry the onions til slightly soft, then add the garlic. Fry for 1-2 minutes then add the celery.
4. Fry for 5 minutes. Add stock if too dry.
5. When the celery is softer, add the rest of the stock and return the meat to the pot. Scrape the sides of your pot with the stock to get all the goodness.
6. Add in the carrots, potatoes, tomato, cabbage and bring to boil. Lower flame and simmer for 1 hour.
7. Stir in tomato ketchup and oyster sauce. Continue to cook for 30 minutes or til consistency is to your liking.

How much I spent:

$2.35 for pork
$1.20 for Beijing Cabbage
$0.60 for potatoes
$0.40 for carrots
$0.30 for tomato
$0.40 for celery
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $1.32

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Because this is so good, I recommend that you make a batch of this in a large pot. Cover leftovers and refrigerate.. heat it up for dinner the next day. You can also freeze leftovers in an airtight ziplock bag (keeps for 2 weeks if frozen properly) and reheat when you feel lonely.

The post Rustic Pork and Cabbage Stew appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.