It’s gonna be a busy, busy November for me. Indeed, with the wedding date inching nearer, I am busy going on a diet! I am a last minute bride, I swear. I had months to lose weight but was busy eating potato chips during our home movie sessions! But those potato chips tasted so good. #YOLO is all I can say. And I’ve been using it wayy too many times this year :)

Looks like lunch and dinner this few weeks have gotta be quickfixes without much prep work (no braised pork belly, me thinks), but this doesn’t mean that they can’t be delicious! Take this recipe for example. It is so simple but so presentable (I suggest adding red and green peppers!), you could serve a portion with rice and make it a one-dish meal like how they do it at zi-char stalls.

As you might know by now, I do a lot of Chinese stir-fry because it is quick and easy, and most importantly, it is what my two aunts are used to eating. I don’t know if this has anything to do with us being Teochew, but they sure love anything cooked in black bean sauce. I made slow cooker bittergourd for them a few days back and they even compared it to my grandmother’s version.

I’ve never met my grandmother, and no.. as much as I love to cook, I don’t believe that anything that I cook can even come close to my grandma’s cooking. I’m sure she made everything “from scratch” though (chuckles), and I take what some would say the “easy way out” by not fermenting my own black beans. Good for you la, if you do that or grow your own bean sprouts. I know of a lady who did.. and she’s none other than Lily Ng from Lily’s Wai Sek Hong. She probably doesn’t even know that I exist but she’s kitchen God in my eyes and I truly admire and respect her! Hop on over to her blog. You might never come back! LOL.

Makes 2 servings

What I used:

1 piece good quality sutchi fish (or you can use any chunky white fish)
3 slices ginger
1 yellow onion, chopped into small wedges (quartered, then half each piece. I don’t know how you call it, eighth-ed? haha)
1 red chilli or chilli padi, sliced
2 tablespoon cornstarch solution (half tablespoon cornstartch mixed with 2 tablespoons water)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Seasonings:
1 tablespoon Lee Kum Kee black bean garlic sauce
1 sachet sugar
1 tablespoon chinese cooking wine (hua diao jiu)
A dash of white pepper
A dash of fish sauce

1. Clean and pat dry the sutchi fish, then chop into chunks (about 2 inches across).
2. Heat up the oil in a frying pan, fry the onions and ginger til fragrant. Add the fish and seasonings and fry for 3-4 minutes, then add water. Stir gently to combine as you don’t want to break up the fish.
3. Cook til water is bubbling. Add cornstarch solution and cook til thickened. Garnish with sliced chilli and serve with warm rice or noodles.

How much I spent:

$1.40 for sutchi fish
$0.30 for onion
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $0.85
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This is a super easy stir-fry which took all of ten minutes in the frying pan. I would have added chopped bell peppers (green and red!) but I didn’t have them on hand. Looks like I gotta cook them again next time!

The post Chinese Stir-Fry: Black Bean Fish Fillet appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Check out the picture below. Can you believe I actually used sutchi fish? Price really does make a difference when it comes to fish texture, even for sutchi fish. Although these were not particularly expensive ($6.90 for a pack of 4), they’re considered quite gourmet when you compare them to some versions selling for $3.25 for a packet of 5.  I once bought a packet of 4 fillets for $2.10 from NTUC (they were on promotion) and I’ll never buy them again, I swear.

Don’t they look firm and quite decent? You can even see the ridges and circle patterns on the fish. They also had no muddy or frozen taste, and most importantly, did not turn mushy after cooking. I’ll share a picture of the packaging next time because I used up my last two pieces for this dish. Of course, you can use other types of white fish. I’ve cooked this with halibut before but personally I don’t really like its texture. Too soft and flaky to be cooked in soup.

This recipe uses saffron. I can’t really remember why I got some in my fridge but I think I tried to cook risotto with it and hated the taste. I couldn’t understand why people would ruin a dish with an expensive spice that tasted like plastic, but strangely, the “plasticky” taste was nowhere to be detected in this soup. I added it just because the original recipe called for it and I had some in the fridge. I’m not sure if the saffron really made a huge difference. I’m sure that if you left it out, the soup would just be as delicious.. just look at all the other ingredients that go into this dish! Try this, and use snapper, sea bass, or cod in place of sutchi if you’re not a fan.

The post Low-carb meal idea: Mediterranean Fish Soup appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Sutchi is much easier to handle but low quality ones tend to be soggy when cooked. I have bought different versions before, ranging from $2.30 a packet from NTUC (there are 3-4 pieces in there) to $8.95 a packet (also 3-4 pieces). The more expensive ones are larger, more firm and still have some bite, while the cheapest versions normally don’t hold together quite well after baking or airfrying – the two ways I usually cook fish. Apart from sutchi, there are also different type of white fish like halibut and pollock “cod”. I just bought two packets on promotion from Giant and can’t wait to try them. Hopefully the texture is better and more acceptable to Jason, who (justifiably) came up with a nickname for sutchi fish, calling them “the fish version of luncheon meat”, not in terms of preservatives and such but more on meat quality.  I’m going to steer clear of scarily cheap sutchi fish from now on!

This is my favourite recipe for sutchi fish, until I discovered a (super cheaterbug) sambal version with sliced onions and lime ala bbq stingray. I’ll blog about that next week. This baked version is crispy but not greasy, and the blending of parsley together with the bread crumbs gives the dish such a fragrant lift that you cannot (and will not!) believe it is parsley. I was skeptical at first too. I mean, parsley? That yucky garnish which should remain as garnish forever and ever and ever and ever…..? But you won’t regret it. I ran out of parsley once when making this and the dish fell flat. Serious. Try baking this crispy fish.. it’ll only take 15 minutes of your time. Promise.

Makes 2 servings
(recipe adapted from atkokken.com)

What I used:

2 sutchi fish (or any 2 portions of white fish fillet)
1 handful parsley
25g melted salted butter
2 slices bread, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Clean fish, pat dry and lay on aluminium baking pan.
3. Pulse bread, parsley in food processor, combine with butter.
4. Pack breadcrumb mixture on top of fish, bake at 200 degrees for 18 mins.
5. Serve with salad and a wedge of lemon.

Tip: Great with mustard!

How much I spent:

$2.95 for fish
$0.25 for butter (I buy Greensfield butter from Phoon Huat)
$0.30 for bread
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $1.75

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I like eating this with an apple salad with hard boiled egg. This is very good with sutchi fillets.. the crispiness of the buttery crust compensates for the softness of the fish. I would imagine it being fantastic with flaky fish.. like a crumbed version of fish and chips without the grease. I have a good mind to try halving the fish and airfry it in my Philips Airfryer!

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