What is the one thing that you never fail to order at a Hong Kong cafe? For me, on cheat days, it is always Pork Chop Baked Rice. Think melted gooey cheese on top of pork chops in a creamy tomato sauce with fried rice underneath.. it is carb heaven right there! This dish is relatively easy to make, but the tomato sauce can sometimes be runny or not tasty enough. I experimented with quite a few versions before settling on this one. My must-have ingredient? Tomato puree (I use Ayam Brand) and Worcestershire sauce.

Some recipes only call for ketchup, but I find that combining tomato puree with ketchup, along with some Worcestershire results in a creamy (but not overly so) and tangy sauce that goes so well with the fried rice. I can’t quite put a finger to Worcestershire sauce. Growing up, I was never familiar with it because what Ah-mm mostly used in her kitchen were oyster sauce, light soy sauce and chinese cooking wine. It was only when I started cooking on my own that I was introduced to it, in western-type roasts, grills and marinades. It is now a staple in my kitchen as it enhances the taste of many gravies and meats. I love it.

For tomato puree, I used to always buy Hunt’s, but recently I decided to try out this one by Ayam Brand. The small size is just perfect for cooking one dish which means no wastage, and at $1, it fits right into my budget. I like its consistency- reasonably thick but not overpowering, and how it isn’t quite as sour as Hunt’s. I might get the larger can next time as I think I saw a “Healthier Choice” logo (lower sodium) on that- not sure if the lower sodium version is available for the smaller can.

For the pork chops, I used frozen shoulder butt chops (a little more fat than pork loin chops) from Giant. $4.20 on promotion for 5-6 slices. For a 3 person- serving, 2-3 slices are sufficient. And of course, I cooked it in my trusty airfryer for low fat cooking.

Makes 3 servings

What I used:

1 and a half cups rice grains, cooked the day before and refrigerated
3 slices pork shoulder butt,  marinated in 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon cornstarch and some pepper for at least an hour
Half yellow onion, chopped into small wedges
2 tomatoes, chopped into small wedges
3 eggs, beaten
Shredded Mozzarella/ cheddar cheese (I bought mine at cold storage for $2.99 a packet and used half)
2 frankfurters, sliced into cute circles (there is no other way to describe it)
A handful of frozen vegetables
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
Cornflour for dusting pork chops
1 tablespoon olive oil

For the gravy (Combine all and set aside):

8 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons tomato puree
125ml water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. From the bowl of beaten eggs, remove 2 tablespoons to coat pork shoulder chops. Dust in cornflour and airfry for 12 minutes at 180 degrees or pan fry til done. When cooled, cut into half-inch strips with a pair of scissors and set aside.
3. Now to fry the rice. Heat up half the oil and pour in the eggs. Scramble til almost cooked then add in the rice, frankfurters and light soy sauce. Mix everything together and set aside.
4. In the same pan, heat up the remaining oil. Add the onions and fry for a minute til slightly translucent. Add the tomatoes, frozen vegetables and sauce, and cook til the tomatoes are soft, about 3 minutes. Allow the sauce to simmer for a bit til it thickens slightly.
5. Now to assemble! In a clear baking/ pyrex dish, layer with all the rice, followed by cut pork chops, tomato gravy and finally top with shredded cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or til cheese melts.

How much I spent:

$2.10 for pork shoulder chops
$1 for tomato puree
$0.30 for frankfurters
$0.60 for tomatoes and onion
$0.75 for eggs
$1.50 for cheese
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $2.09

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This recipe is quite lengthy but it is because we have to cook all the components (rice, pork chops, sauce) separately. You don’t have to use separate pans! Just cook systematically. If you don’t have an airfryer, fry the pork chops first, then lightly clean off excess oil, then cook the fried rice. Cook the gravy last. This way, washing up will be less tedious and you can spend all your energy tucking in to your yummy creation! If you decide to cook this over the weekend, let me know if you enjoyed it!

The post HK Pork Chop Baked Rice 焗豬扒飯 appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Fried rice is always an easy but boring dish to prepare.. I mean, how interesting can fried rice be? Using essentially the same ingredients as regular fried rice (minus the ketchup), I made Omu Rice for lunch one afternoon. Ah-mm, 88 and Jason raved about how delicious this was, although I don’t think it differed too much from normal fried rice. Don’t tell me the ketchup has super power?! And suddenly I think of the way I used to write in Pink-Pink!!. I guess only “oldies” will understand what I mean.

Makes 4 servings

What I used:

For fried rice (4 servings)
3 rice bowls cooked rice (best if leftover from yesterday)
A handful of frozen vegetables (corn, peas, carrots), defrosted–> this ingredient is such an oxymoron
5 slices ham, sliced into 1-cm squares
100g minced meat
Some prawns, cut into 1-cm pieces (optional)
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Black pepper
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup and some to decorate

For omelette (per person)
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 slices cheddar/ normal cheese, cut into small pieces (or use mozzarella)

1. Use a non-stick pan!
2. Heat up the oil and fry onion til translucent. Add minced meat, ham, and prawns (if using) and fry til meat is cooked.
3. Add the vegetables, rice, light soy sauce, ketchup and black pepper. Mix well and remove from pan. Set aside.
4. Beat 2 tablespoons milk with one egg in a bowl. Clean the pan and oil it with olive oil using paper towels so that the omelette slides right off later. Once the pan is hot, pour the beaten egg and swirl it around the pan quickly. Lower the heat once the egg is half solid.
5. Layer the cheese in the middle of the egg, then put one portion of fried rice on top. Leave some space at both sides of the omelette as you need to fold in both sides quickly once the cheese and rice are added.
6. Fold in both sides of the egg to envelope the rice. Don’t worry, the egg won’t have to “meet” and it is ok for some of the rice to show. Remove the pan from the stove, then flip it onto a flat plate. Shape up the omu rice with paper towel to make it neat. Continue to make another omu rice until you’ve used up all the rice. Decorate with ketchup and tuck in!

For an extremely useful step-by-step guide, please go to this page from Just One Cookbook which I adapted this recipe from. The amount of time and effort Nami spends on each post makes my jaw drop.

How much I spent: 

$1.50 for breakfast ham
$1 for minced meat
$1.40 for cheddar cheese
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $0.98

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I’ve been wanting to make omu rice for some time now because I love tomato ketchup rice, but simply serving ketchup rice is uninteresting. The amount of rice in this one serving is less than your regular rice bowl. Initially I thought it wouldn’t be enough per person, but I guess they were too distracted by the novelty that they said they were extremely full. It was just a little bit of rice and one egg- the same ingredients you would use to cook fried rice. The only difference is, if I had served the fried rice with egg as it is, they would most probably eat double the amount. If a dish is familiar or boring, you’ll tend to eat more without thinking.

Presentation really does make a difference.. I’m going to experiment with more colours and more interesting ways to dress up my dishes! Who says you can’t play with your food?

The post Japanese Omu Rice ~ with cheese, ham and ketchup appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.