I spotted some fresh, beautiful eggplants for sale at my local market and couldn’t resist picking some up. Large, firm, and vibrant with a deep, seductive hue, they were going for a song at 3 for a dollar.

I love eggplant but they’re quite tricky to deal with. I tried airfrying them on their own but because of no oil or moisture, the were not cooked enough and dried out. The thing about eggplants is that they have to be thoroughly cooked.. you just cannot undercook them. I also added them to fish curries, and although they’re quite awesome like that, I don’t think they’ve reached their full potential, flavour wise, when boiled, even if in curry. The best way to cook them, I feel, is by drizzling them with some olive oil, then pan-grilling over low heat on the stove top, til the flesh caramelises into a creamy, luxurious mash while still retaining some bite.

That day, I decided to make eggplant “pizza”. I pan-grilled the eggplant (steps below), topped them with tuna sponsored by the very generous Ayam Brand, sprinkled mozzarella + cheddar cheese, then airfried them for 3 minutes in my Phillips Airfryer, til the cheese had melted and became bubbling hot. For the tuna, I used Ayam Brand’s Spicy Tuna Flakes in Olive Oil:

I added some chilli sauce, chilli paste and chopped shallots and garlic to make it “spreadable” and for extra flavour. I hear they also have “Chilli Tuna Light” so the next time I make this dish, I can just reach straight for the can.

Makes 4 servings (2 pieces each)

What I used:

2 eggplants (= 8 pieces. see preparation notes below)
1 can Ayam Brand Spicy Tuna Flakes in Olive Oil
1 teaspoon chilli sauce
Half teaspoon chilli paste (you can use any sambal-type paste)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 clove shallot, chopped
Shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese, or you can use a combination of both
Olive oil for brushing

1. To prepare eggplant, wash them, slice off the top and bottom, peel in intervals and slice into half length wise, then half again to make 4 pieces per eggplant. Make some deep cuts diagonally across and sprinkle some salt all over. Let them sit for 15 minutes. The salt will draw out the excessive water and the eggplant will absorb less oil when cooking.
2. In the meantime, combine the tuna, chilli sauce, chilli paste, garlic and shallots and set aside.
3. When the 15 minutes are up, pat the eggplants dry with paper towels and brush with olive oil all over.
4. Heat up a flat frying pan using medium heat, then place eggplant face-down to grill. Drizzle a few drops of olive oil if the pan gets too hot. Remove from pan after about 10 minutes but watch the fire. When you notice the purple skin turning light purple and a bit see-through, it’s almost done.
5. Remove eggplant and spoon prepared tuna over. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and airfry for 3 minutes at 180 degrees. Alternatively, bake in oven til cheese melts.
6. Enjoy your piece of heaven!

How much I spent:

$0.65 for eggplant
$0 for tuna as they’re sponsored (retails $2.45 regular price)
$1.50 for cheese
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $1.12
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Some photos to help you:

I prefer to peel in intervals instead of removing all the skin. This way, the eggplant maintains its shape and holds together better.

Make deep cuts before sprinkling salt. Be careful not to cut all the way through.

Some photos to tempt you:

These are really good.

See the beautiful layers and how the eggplant is sooo soft and creamy. (I combined sliced cheese with shredded cheese for this piece. I ran out!)

I really, really hope you try this recipe. They taste sooo good and are a much better option than pizza!

The post Pan-grilled Eggplant with Chilli Tuna and Cheese appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

When I don’t feel like cooking too many dishes (you know, 三菜一汤- 3 dishes and a soup- like in Chinese cooking), I take the easy way out by preparing a one-dish noodle, bee hoon, or rice meal. I try to cut down on stuff like that because there’s usually alot of simple carbs involved, but when I do cook them, I include ingredients like fish, meat, and lots of vegetables. When fixing lunch a few days ago, I chose to add in some Ayam Brand’s canned tuna CHUNKS. I used the Light version because it contains lower salt and fat as compared to regular tuna. Talking about “fixing lunch”, I was talking to Aegon about having to fix lunch before bringing him to the playground, and the cheeky boy said, “Fix lunch? You mean, with the tools?”

Aegon’s my nephew. He’s 7 this year and has a wider vocabulary than I ever will have. He also sings birthday songs in French and Spanish and draws in 3D. I know, he amazes us all the time. Now I just wish he will eat my cooking.

Makes 4 servings

What I used:

4 servings ramen or any noodles of your choice, soaked and drained (not too soft)
1 can chunky tuna in olive oil (I used Ayam Brand Tuna Chunks in Olive Oil- Light)
6 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked til plump, then sliced
A handful of sliced cabbage
6 cloves garlic (about 1 large garlic bulb), peeled and sliced
6 cloves shallots (about 2 shallot bulbs), peeled and sliced
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced into strips
Seasoning (Combine together):
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 tablespoon fish sauce
A dash of white pepper
300ml water

1. Drain the oil from tuna and heat up in a frying pan. Fry garlic and shallots til fragrant, then add carrots and mushrooms and fry for 3 minutes.
2. Add tuna chunks and cabbage and fry for 2 minutes. Don’t break up the chunks too much. Pour in the seasoning and bring to boil. Add the noodles and cover to simmer for 3-4 minutes.
3. Remove cover and stir fry til most of the liquid has dried up. Garnish with some red chillies and serve immediately.

How much I spent:

$1 for noodles
$0.20 for carrot
$2.45 for tuna
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $0.92

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I chose to use ramen because I was in the mood for some fat, savoury noodles that day. You can most definitely use bee hoon, but I thought some noodles with bite would go very well with the chunky tuna. Ah-mm said this was quite delicious, and I suspect the shallots and garlic had a lot to do with it. Whenever I stir-fry noodles, I’ll be sure to add lots and lots and lots and lots of shallots.. ok maybe just enough for me to overdose on. Don’t forget them the next time you do a noodle stir-fry!

The post Tuna Ramen with Mushrooms and Sliced Garlic appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

After doing a taste test of these noodles this afternoon, my only regret is that I can’t eat an entire bowl of this myself! I know, I know, I am constantly on a diet and have not had an entire bowl of carbs to myself for the longest time. But this time really cannot ok? In case I forget, I have a wedding coming up next month. Yes, mine.

I love cooking with yi mein, or ee-fu noodles, or yi mian because there’s really a whole lot of variety that you can have with them. Make crispy “Sang-Mein” by ladling boiling hot gravy over them, along with ingredients like carrots, mushrooms, chicken or pork, shrimps, squid, veggies and a beaten egg. Make claypot noodles by simmering them for a short while in a prepared sauce the above ingredients but with whole cracked egg. Or, like in this recipe, braise them for a longer time along with beansprouts, chives, mushrooms, shrimp and chicken pieces, until all the sauce is about soaked up. No matter which method you choose, they’re a definite crowd pleaser BECAUSE EE-FU NOODLES ARE ESSENTIALLY DEEP FRIED CARBS.

How do they get their crispy texture otherwise and how in the world can deep fried ANYTHING not taste good?!

So today, just pretend noodles are good for you (they’re made of wheat okayyy?!) and cook this delicious dish already.

Makes 1-2 servings (1 cake of noodle = 2 rice-bowl portions)

What I used:

1 round cake crispy ee-mein
A handful of shrimps
1 chicken fillet, sliced
2 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked til plumped up and sliced (I soak overnight, then reserve soaking water)
A handful of beansprouts, more if want!
2 stalks chives, cut into 1-inch lengths
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
Cornstarch solution (1 flat teaspoon corn starch mixed in 2 tablespoons tap water)

Seasoning sauce (mix together)
1.5 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon  dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon mushroom powder seasoning (my Mom introduced this to me last week and I love it)
1 teaspoon chinese wine (hua diao jiu)
Dash of white pepper
Half cup water
Half cup reserved mushroom soaking water

1. Heat up the olive oil in a pan. When oil is hot, saute garlic for 30 seconds then add mushrooms, chicken and shrimps. When the chicken is no longer pink and the shrimps are about pink (identity crisis, these two), add the beansprouts and chives and stir fry on high heat for another minute.
2. Add the seasoning sauce. Bring to boil and add the noodle cake. Lower the flame to medium.
3. Ladle the sauce on top of the noodle as much as you can, add the cornstarch solution, then cover with lid for 3-4 minutes. Check to see that the braising sauce is almost all absorbed by the noodles, switch off the flame, garnish with some more chives and serve.

How much I spent:

$0.27 for noodles
$1 for shrimps and chicken
$0.10 for bean sprouts
$0.20 for chives
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $1.57 or $0.79 if you’re a small eater

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I really wanted to describe these noodles as “creamy”, thanks to the braising gravy and corn starch, and because they’re almost really that! The savoury oyster sauce, wine, and seasonings just melted into these noodles. Don’t worry about them being too heavy, they’re honestly not as we did not overdo the corn starch. Instead of chicken or shrimp, you can go all vegetarian and use straw or button mushrooms and carrots instead, or substitute chicken for pork if that’s more your thing. A delicious and versatile dish for the new week?

The post Cantonese Braised Ee-Fu Noodles appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

If you can assemble things, anything, you can put this recipe together! You get to choose the vegetables you like on top of the mandatory potatoes and carrots. I normally choose broccoli and peas, and if you have some leftover roast chicken, add them to your pyrex dish, along with some cheddar or mozzarella. Then bake til vegetables are done, top with crushed Ritz or Julie’s butter crackers (or breadcrumbs drizzled with butter) and pop it back into the oven for just a bit, til golden, for a great meal!

Makes 8 servings

What I used:

2 potatoes, peeled, cubed
1 carrot, peeled, cubed
A handful of broccoli
A handful of peas
Some green, red and yellow peppers, cut into small chunks and coated in some olive oil
2 slices cheddar cheese (you can use shredded mozzarella)
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup
200 ml milk
Black pepper
Half teaspoon salt
2 packets Julie’s crackers, crushed
Roast chicken, optional, shredded (don’t over do it) those bbq spring chickens from Cold Storage will be great for this dish!

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius.
2. Combine the soup, milk and black pepper in a soup pot. Simmer for a bit on your stove and set aside.
3. Lay out all the vegetables and sprinkle salt over. Add roast chicken if using. Spoon soup mixture on top and add the sliced cheese.
4. Bake for 35 minutes until the vegetables are tender, then take out the dish from the oven and sprinkle the crushed crackers. Add mozzarella cheese if you have some. Bake for 5 minutes til cheese is melted. Keep watching because the crackers burn easily! Alternatively, combined mozzarella and breadcrumbs and drizzle melted butter over. Bake for 10-15 minutes until breadcrumbs are crispy.
5. Enjoy!

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I didn’t have mozzarella on hand so I just baked this simply. You can also do a cheat version by boiling all the vegetables (except the bell peppers) beforehand. Fry the bell peppers in some olive oil. Separately, heat up the soup and milk in a pot before adding the black pepper. Spoon the soup over the vegetables (sprinkle salt!), top with cheese, and sprinkle the crushed crackers over. Bake for 5 minutes til crackers are golden. If you choose this method, you’re basically just heating up the vegetables and melting the cheese since everything’s already cooked. It saves much more time, but be warned that the taste is not gonna be as good as when you allow the sweetness of the vegetables to come together in a slow, bubbly bake. The choice is yours!

The post Vegetable Bake in Cream of Chicken Soup appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

So I was at the supermarket the other day and saw this Hainanese Chicken Rice mix from Prima Taste which says “GOOD FOR CLAYPOT RICE” at the side. I had to try it out!

I love Prima Taste mixes.. I have been using their Laksa Fried Rice mix religiously to cook (duh) fried rice, bee tai mak, dry laksa, and one Chinese New Year, I even baked a Laksa shepard’s pie with it. It was not a surprise that the taste of the claypot rice turned out great.. but my rice cooker did not do this dish justice because the rice is not as fluffy and firm as I would like.. by the way since I’m at it, when shopping for a rice cooker, do not buy “Mistral” brand. The electrical cord became loose after just 2-3 months of usage and sometimes when we’re not alert, the light goes off and our rice doesn’t get cooked properly.

I used tender chicken fillet this time but would have used boneless chicken thigh for that bit of fat. I also added Chinese sausages and dried shitake mushrooms. To remove the wax from the Chinese sausages, soak the whole sausage in hot water for 5-10 minutes, then using your knife, make a small cut through the wax covering, then peel off with your hands. The wax just falls off easily and you don’t have to give your teeth a workout. Try it!

Makes 3 servings

What I used:

1 packet Prima Taste Fragrant Hainanese Chicken Rice mix
1 and a half cup rice + water to cook rice
4 chicken fillets, chopped into bite size pieces and marinated with 1 tablespoon oyster sauce and 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 Chinese sausages, wax removed and sliced diagonally
4 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked til soft then quartered or halved, depending on size

1. Wash rice and fill rice cooker with enough water for 1 and a half cups of rice. Use the inner markings of your rice cooker to gauge. (–> this was NEW to me cos I never paid any attention to the inner markings and never knew what they were for! Ah-mm has always taught me to gauge the water level with my fingers!)
2. Empty the Prima Taste rice mix into the rice cooker, yes, with the uncooked rice and water.
3. Cook til the rice is about 3/4 cooked and there’s just a bit of water left on top of the rice– my small rice cooker took about 10 minutes– yours could take longer. Place the chicken fillets, sausages and mushrooms on top and cover to cook til the rice is done.
4. Continue to “Keep Warm” for another 15-20 minutes to be sure that the chicken is cooked. It is something like steaming chicken in the rice cooker.
5. Open up the lid and drizzle some dark soy sauce over, mix well, and tuck in!

How much I spent: 

$1.70 for Prima Taste rice mix
$2.50 for Chinese sausages
$1.50 for chicken fillets
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $1.90

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Honestly, I thought I scr*wed this dish up because the rice was pretty soggy at first (my rice cooker turned off by itself mid-way!). But after 20 minutes of “Keep Warm” time, much of the water evaporated and the rice turned out acceptable. As you can see in the picture below, the rice grains are not that firm but great for those who like to “吃软饭” and I have two of “those” at home! My family loved this dish.. the rice was flavourful because of the easy rice mix and yes, I would cook with it again!

The post Rice Cooker Claypot Rice (with Prima Taste chicken rice mix!) appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.