I was on the way home yesterday thinking of what to cook for dinner. I wanted to prepare something simple, one-dish, something which is not saba/ salmon (we’ve been having fish almost daily as they’re easy to prepare in the airfryer!), and something new.

I knew I wanted noodles, but what kind? What noodles have I not cooked before for the blog which is relatively easy to prepare? Prawn noodles are out of the question because I didn’t have time to prepare prawn stock.. and I’ve featured Fishball Kway Teow Soup and Bak Chor Mee before.. the next easiest dish seems to be.. Ban Mian?

p/s- You don’t have to make your own noodles la, I used store-bought noodles for this dish!

The broth was phenomenal! Subtly sweet and incredibly infused with the myriad of ingredients, I’d say this is the best ban mian I’ve had in a long time, since Qiu Lian ban mian’s standards dropped years ago. This isn’t difficult to make, why not surprise your family today? Like what Jason said, this ban mian is “sibeh 好吃啊!” LOL!

(edit: 6 Oct 2014- he is obviously very happy that I made this again yesterday!)

The post Hawker Staple: Prawn Ban Mian (Handmade Noodle Soup) appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

To be honest, fishball kway teow soup is not something I would order when I’m out at the hawker centre. There are so many other glorious food to eat! Fishball kway teow reminds me of dieting, sore throat, being unwell and sick, and is not my top choice. Then again, I also wouldn’t order this when I’m dieting because I don’t eat a whole bowl of carbs when I’m trying to lose weight. Sometimes I don’t eat anything at all when I’m detoxing and take a liquid concoction made from organic cactus honey extract, citrus extract, herbs and spices plus lemon juice throughout the day.

Contrary to belief, not eating anything for a few days is doable and is not an “extreme measure”. I love detoxing for the way it makes me look and feel.. and weight does not rebound easily. I lost 6 kg since I tried a 4-day detox program and have kept it off since.

Anyway, back to kway teow soup. It is quite simple to make but did you know that a bowl of kway teow soup contains approximately 2500mg of sodium, which is more than the recommended sodium intake for one whole day? So although it is low in fat, watch the sodium. Leave the soup behind, or cook your own at home!

Makes 4 servings

What I used:

500g kway teow (flat rice noodles)
16 large fishballs from the wet market or those packed in water
A handful of lettuce leaves, sliced thinly (I used endives in the pic above, but you should really use lettuce!)
1 litre water
1 small piece ginger
3 tablespoons dried ikan bilis (anchovies) or use 2 ikan bilis stock cubes
Spring onions and fried shallots, for garnish
Light soya sauce to taste (about 1 tablespoon)
A dash of white pepper

1. Boil kway teow for 30 seconds in boiling water, drain, portion into 4 bowls and set aside.
2. If using ikan bilis instead of stock cubes, add ikan bilis and ginger to water and bring to boil. Lower flame and cook for 15 minutes. Fish ikan bilis out and season with light soya sauce to taste. If using stock cubes, just add them to boiling water.
3. Add the fishballs in the same pot. When cooked, ladle soup and fishballs over prepared kway teow and garnish with spring onions, lettuce and fried shallots plus a dash of white pepper.

How much I spent:

$1 for kway teow
$2.90 for fishballs
$0.50 for ikan bilis/ stock cubes
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $1.10

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You can add some garlic oil for fragrance if you wish.. but I normally leave out using extra oil as much as I can. On a side note, I was having a fainting spell that day after preparing the stock and fishballs, and told Jason to portion his own noodle + garnish and ladle the soup over. He took this pic using his handphone.. quite cute.. just throw everything together and eat! Hahaha! Check out his creation:

The post Hawker Staple: Fishball Kway Teow Soup appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Most people learn many things from their mother. How to sew a dress, how to “choose” a good husband (I don’t think this is teachable), how to be a good wife, how to live. From my mother, I learnt how to make soup.

I don’t know my mother very well and mostly see her once a year during Chinese New Year. This year I will see her more than once because of my wedding in November. I am not close to her but we do have conversations going when we do meet. We talk about cooking most of the time. She is a brilliant cook and baker.. her roast leg of lamb, roast pork with crackling skin, mixed vegetables (yes, even that!), steamed fish in HK style, sambal prawns and scallops, and her BUTTER CAKE, ohhh that butter cake, as Gary would say (hi!), is da bomb.

She taught me how to make a basic veggie soup with four core ingredients: onion, ginger, garlic and ikan bilis stock cube. From there you can add some noodles (I love spaghetti in soup. it is good, promise!) and turn the soup into a simple lunch, add some veggie variations and some fishballs/ crab sticks/ cheese tofu (like I have done above) and eat it just like that or with rice. This soup played a huge part in my life when I was on my no-carb diet. I looked forward to eating it everyday because it is so good and comforting.

Makes 3 servings

What I used:

One red onion, wedged
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed/pressed with the back of your knife
A piece of ginger, about 2 cm thick and an inch across
1 ikan bilis stock cube (I used Knorr’s)
1 carrot, cut into chucks
1/3 of a cabbage
1/2 a tomato, wedged
Green leafy vegetables
Cheese tofu or what you like!

1. Place carrot, onion, garlic, and ginger in pot and fill with water. Bring to boil then reduce fire. Simmer 15 mins then add tomato.
2. Cook 10 mins then add cabbage, cheese tofu or other yong tau foo pieces, and stock cube. Bring to the boil (I usually add broccoli at this point. I ran out of them that day), turn off fire and you’re done.

How much I spent:

$0.20 for onion
$0.40 for cabbage
$0.15 for tomato
$0.30 for carrot
$0.50 for cheese tofu
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $0.52

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If this isn’t easy I don’t know what is. There is no need to add any oil, salt, sauce, as the vegetables become really sweet after simmering and the onions, garlic, ginger and stock cube really do their job very well. This is also a great way to add more lovely vegetables to your family’s diet. You must use ikan bilis stock cube though. I have tried using chicken stock cube but it just doesn’t bring out the flavour of this soup.

I usually cook this with cabbage, carrots and broccoli (and crab sticks!) and leave out the tomato because it adulterates the soup. But that day, I decided a hint of tangy tomato flavour would be great for a change. I break the rules of this soup (and of life) sometimes, and why not? You probably should too.

Thanks mom!

The post How to cook a basic soup appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

This is a very simple garlic vegetable stir fry which has all the goodness of anchovy stock. The Shanghai Green is cooked til still crunchy and this is a very easy way to add some green leafy vegetables to your family’s diet. I hate cooking leafy vegetables.. I never know what to do with them. I can do a mean vegetable stew with carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, and mushrooms.. I can do a delicious curry vegetable.. I can cook broccoli and cauliflower in X.O Sauce, or sambal french beans with dried shrimp.. but put leaves in front of me (except spinach- I’ll cook it in sambal, or garlic dried shrimp), and I am lost. I usually add leafy greens to my one-dish meals like fried noodles or soup, and sometimes in a stir-fry like this which I don’t particularly love to do. I couldnt resist getting these beautiful Shanghai Greens though- 3 huge packets for $1 from the market opposite my place. I thought they tasted quite good!

Serves 2

What I used:

1 packet Shanghai Green
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp dried Ikan Bilis
1 tsp oyster sauce
1/3 cup water
A dash of sesame oil
A dash of white pepper
Cornstarch mixed with a bit of water

1. Soak ikan bilis in hot water for 15 mins, then drain. Reserve water.
2. Add oyster sauce, sesame oil and pepper to the reserved water.
3. Fry garlic in oil til fragrant, add the ikan bilis and fry for 2 mins.
4. Add the vegetables, cook for 1 min then add the water mixture.
5. Cook for another 2 mins then add cornstarch solution.
6. Let it simmer for 1 min then serve.

How much I spent:

$0.33 for vegetables
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $0.16

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I served this with curry pork in potatoes and ABC Soup (carrot, potato, onion, corn) for tonight’s dinner, and the cost per person is about $1.40. Pretty amazing for a nutritious 1 meat, 1 vegetable and 1 soup dinner if you ask me. Look out for the recipes for the curry pork (I cheated!) and ABC Soup.

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