I had SUCH a craving for prawns over the weekend that I decided on a whim to go to Sheng Siong at 8.30pm to get us some!

Prawn dishes are so expensive in Singapore, and we can save a lot by cooking at home. This dish cost us all of $15 for 15-16 large prawns and we’d expect to pay maybe $40+ outside? The prawns are large, about the length of my palm and they’re fat and juicy too. “Lip-smackingly good!” the husband said.

I like to cook prawns in a light-tasting sauce, especially when it comes to fresh prawns like these. I knew exactly what style I wanted: lots of garlic and lemon, and a little butter and white wine, PLUS parsley really brought out the flavour of the sweet prawns. Don’t leave out the parsley. It really rounded up this dish for us!

Remember to de-vein the prawns. I always do!

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The post Prawns in garlic white wine lemon butter appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I’m sorry I don’t have a picture with better table styling, because this was cooked over the stove without any planning and that evening, I was quite frustrated! Having cooked the awesome-nest risotto I’ve ever cooked (I’ve only cooked it once) last year, I was dying to go at it again but wasn’t quite prepared to ladle boiling stock over rice every few minutes until they were cooked.

And so I set out to do what I thought was a clever thing. MAKE RICECOOKER RISOTTO. I had everything planned. The amount of rice, the stock, the asparagus, the mushrooms, the timing. Everything. Except the ricecooker.

I have an old-school ricecooker that has none of the other functions of a 2014 ricecooker. My old school ricecooker dictates that rice should cook in 13 minutes. When 13 minutes are up, you can’t cook them anymore no matter how hard you depress the button. It just won’t stay down. There was just no way.

I started my “adventure” merrily. I even have pictures to prove:

I switched on the ancient thing to preheat it, and started frying the onions, garlic and butter after a few minutes. And then when it was time to coat the rice in the butter, disaster struck! The “Cook” button automatically changed to “Keep Warm” and there was no way I could continue my time-saving (the irony!) rice cooker risotto. Why didn’t I stop to think that not all rice cookers were created equal?

So how, like that? The hubby needed to eat! Being a very adaptive woman (ehem), I did the next thing I knew. Transfer the rice to the frying pan and google for “budgetpantry risotto”. Yes, I google my own recipe. What? I can’t remember everything ok? What I did differently this time was blanch some asparagus, leave out the shrimp and use seafood stock instead of pork bone stock.

Thankfully. Still good. Oh, and one tip: you would never have guessed, but my secret weapon in making really flavourful seafood risotto is this:

Try making it, you might surprise yourself!

The post Easy Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto in Seafood Stock appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I decided to include this not-that-budget Shrimp & Mushroom Risotto recipe because it’ll still cost you less than what you’d pay for risotto outside! :) Plus, the extreme satisfaction you get after the meal is completed? It’s priceless!

Makes 2-3 servings

What I used:

4 tablespoons butter
2 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
8 shrimps or prawns, medium sized
1 cup white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
200ml President light cooking cream
1 packet Lee Kum Kee pork bone hotpot soup base
2 medium red onions, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup Carnaroli rice, uncooked (I got mine from Fairprice Finest)
Some grated Parmesan cheese
A sprinkle of dried Italian herbs (optional)

You’ll need: 1 small/ medium pan, 1 instant-noodle pot, 1 large pan

1. Heat 2 tbsp butter in medium pan, add sliced mushrooms and fry for 5 mins at medium-high flame. Add prawns.
2. Add white wine, bring to a boil, then cook for 3 mins. Remove only the prawns and set them aside.
3. Add cooking cream, reduce flame to medium then simmer for 5 mins. Set mushroom mixture aside.
4. In a separate pot, simmer 6 cups water (1.25 litres) and add the Lee Kum Kee hotpot soup base. Let it continue to simmer as you cook the rice in the coming steps.
5. Using a large pan, melt 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Sauté chopped onions til soft, about 3 mins. Add 1 rice-cup of uncooked Carnaroli rice, swirl to coat with the butter and oil.
6. Add simmering stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring enough to keep the rice from sticking to the edges of the pan. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. Rice should be ready in about 1/2 hour. The rice should be soft and just a little chewy. Don’t mush it or break the grains on purpose. Keep tasting! 
7. Stir in the mushroom mixture and some grated Parmesan cheese. Arrange the prawns on top, sprinkle some Italian herbs, then enjoy!

How much I spent: 

More than usual :P

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I read somewhere that Italians don’t use cooking cream in their risotto but this is the only way I know how to make it. And it tastes good! So although this may not be traditionally Italian, please try not to leave out or substitute any ingredient for this dish. The ingredients are quite easy to prepare.. just some butter, packaged cream, bottled wine, and rice out of a box. The only thing you really need to do is slice up those mushrooms and chop those onions. But believe me when I say you won’t regret it!  Cook this on a Saturday night for your candlelight dinner. Just be sure to give yourself ample time to wash up before eating. Cooking rice on a stove-top, is after all, quite labour-intensive!

The post Shrimp and Mushroom Risotto with Italian Herbs and White Wine Sauce appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I always have pasta in my pantry, for my carb days and when I just want to whip up something quick and easy. I have a problem though. There are picky pasta eaters in the house. Ah-mm loves pasta and will eat any kind that I cook- spaghetti, penne, fettuccine, macaroni, anything, in whatever sauce- cream sauce, tomato-based, pesto. 88 has a weak stomach and is convinced that eating pasta will give her gastric pains, so I try not to cook pasta for her if I can help it, unless if it is macaroni soup. Jason is quite picky about his pasta sauces- he hates pesto, doesnt quite like aglio olio (I love both! Pesto is delicious and nutty and not quite as plain as aglio olio which I like very much too), loves cream and bolognese, which I don’t always eat because #1 this is pasta we’re talking about and #2 I’m not gonna drown my pasta in sauces, the way he kinda prefers.

So when the chance came on Monday, when 88 said her tummy’s upset and will buy porridge from the coffeeshop, I sprang at the chance to cook a pasta dish. I cooked a white wine cream sauce but only just enough to coat the penne pasta with (so that it is not against my principles). I didnt go out especially to buy any ingredient for this dish- the only reason why I wanted to cook this was I had to use up the evaporated milk that I used last week in the Mongolia Chicken and Fried Fish Bee Hoon. When planning your weekly menu, think of how you can use an excess ingredient in another dish, so that you don’t waste any food or money. To ensure I used my $1.85 can of low-fat evaporated milk wisely, I cooked Mongolia Chicken on Tuesday, Fried Fish Soup on Friday, and this white wine cream pasta the following Monday. No wastage!

Makes 3 servings

What I used:

Half a packet of Penne, about 250g
120ml of low-fat evaporated milk, about 12 tbsp
120ml white wine (if you don’t have white wine, you can substitute with chicken broth but then we’ve gotta change the title of this post)
1 medium onion
2 tbsp Spring onions, chopped
3 tbsp cooked green peas
1 tbsp flour
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 chicken fillets (I buy mine in a large packet. If you don’t cook as often, you can buy those that are sold in trays)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp minced garlic

1.Marinate the chicken fillets in 1 tsp garlic, soy sauce and oyster sauce for 20 mins then airfry, bake, or panfry (if you must) til cooked. Set aside.
2. Cook the pasta according to package instructions, drain, and KEEP pasta water. DO NOT RINSE IN COLD WATER!
3. Heat oil then add onions. Cook for 4 mins til tender. Add white wine, 5 tbsp of reserved pasta water and remaining garlic, bring to boil and cook for 3 mins.
4. Combine flour and 8 tbsp reserved pasta water til smooth, then add to pan. Wait til it boils, reduce heat and cook for 2 mins.
5. Add evaporated milk then simmer, uncovered for 4 mins. If the sauce is too thick at this time, add a bit more pasta water.
6. Switch off the flame and add the chopped spring onions.
7. Arrange pasta on plate, add the peas, ladle sauce over and top with chicken fillet.

How much I spent:

$1.25 for pasta
$1.50 for chicken fillets
$0.30 for onion
$0.65 for 1/3 can of low-fat evaporated milk
All other seasonings from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $1.23

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This was the first time that I’ve cooked a white wine cream sauce with evaporated milk! A regular package of President cream costs more than $4, and when we can substitute, why not? I was thinking what I was going to do with the leftover 1/3  evaporated milk in my fridge and this was the perfect recipe. By the way, did you know that you should never refrigerate an opened can of anything? Unused canned stuff should be transferred to a bottle or dish for storage. Please also do not rinse the cooked pasta in cold water unless you’re making a cold pasta salad. The pasta water helps bind the sauces and ingredients to the pasta and results in better flavour. Pasta, when cooked well, will not turn soggy and will remain al dente!

Seems like Jason is a convert. Yay to no more pasta drowned in unhealthy sauces!

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