Recently we have come out a blog event on $20.00 Budget Meal with aim to encourage those who loves to prepare simple homecooked meal to share with us their meal planning and budget tips. We hope to take this opportunity to learn from each other on how to plan and prepare some quick and easy nutritious dishes even with minimum sum of budget given. So far I have a few responds and enquires from readers but I do hope to see more supporter(s) for this event if you/your helper do prepared a budget meal smilar to this post. For example below shows the 2 Dishes plus 1 Soup menu which I spent a total of S$19.20 to prepare and serves 4.
STIR-FRY BITTER GOURD WITH EGG
Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 Small Bitter Gourd(苦瓜), about 150g1/2 Tablespoon Dried Shrimps, soaked till soften
2 Eggs
3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
50ml Hot Water
Seasonings
1 Teaspoon Chicken Stock Powder
Dash of Light Soy Sauce
Methods:-
1. Remove seeds from the bitter gourd and slice it thinly before rubbing it with with 1 teaspoon of salt. Rinse well with water and set side to drain. 2. Preheat a frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, saute dried shrimp(pound lightly before use) until fragrant, add in garlic and continue to fry for another 10 seconds before adding in the drained bitter gourd.
3. Fry for a another 10 seconds, add in powder chicken stock, water and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Lastly crack in eggs, give it a quick stir and simmer till the mixture became thicken.
5. Add in dash of light soy sauce, stir, dish up and serve.
Bitter Gourd (苦瓜) being rich in all the essential vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin A, B1, B2, C and Iron. It can also be use to treat complications such as hypertension, eye complications if consume regularly. For this quick and nutritious dish it cost around S$2.10 with breakdown shown below:-Cost of Ingredients:
~ Bitter Gourd = S$1.00
~ Egg = S$0.40
~ Dried Shrimp and Garlic = S$0.70
STEAM KURAU FISH WITH SALTED VEGETABLES
Ingredients: (serves 4)
400g of Kurau Fish(马友鱼), tail portion150g of Preserved Salted Vegetable, cut into slices
2 Fresh Shittake Mushroom, thinly slice
1 - 2 Stalks of Spring Onion, cut into sections
3 Slices of Ginger, cut into thin strips
1 Chili, seed removed and cut into slices
Seasonings:
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine
Method:-
1. Clean and remove any scales from the fish, rinse and pat dry using kitchen paper towel. Set aside.2. Rinse salted vegetables under tap water, drain well and cut into slices. Put 1/3 portion of it on steaming plate together with some ginger and spring onion before placing the fish on top.
3. Top fish with the rest of the ingredients and drizzle with seasonings.
4. When the pot of water comes to boil, steamed fish over medium high heat for about 12 - 15 minute till the fish is cooked through.(you can test using a fork to flake the fish meat after 12 minutes to check)
5. To serve, drizzle some extra sesame oil and dash of pepper on it and spoon some sauce at the bottom of the fish to moist the fillet and enhance the taste.
Out of the 3 dishes, this steamed fish is consider to be the most expensive as the Kurau Fish cost around S$3.00per 100g. Total cost for this dish is about S$14.40 with breakdown shown below:-Cost of Ingredients:
~ Kurau Fish Tail = S$12.90
~ Salted Vegetable = S$0.60
~ Mushroom = S$0.40
~ Chili and Spring onion = S$0.50
BLACK MOSS TOFU SOUP
Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 Box of Silken Tofu, cut into small cubes50g Minced Pork
1 Tablespoon of Black Moss, soaked in water till soft
1 Shallot, finely chopped
2 Slices of Ginger, optional
1.2 Litres Hot Water
1/2 Chicken Stock Cube
1 Tablespoon Cornflour Solution
Some chopped Spring Onion
Method:-
1. Rinse the beancurd and cut into small cubes. Rinse the soften black moss and cut into shorter lengths.2. Marinate mince pork with 1.5 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1.5 teaspoon cornflour and dash of pepper. Stir well and set aside.
3. Heat up 1/2 tablespoon of oil in soup pot, add in chopped shallot, ginger and saute it till fragrant.
4. Add in minced pork, press and stir with a spatula to break the pork into bits.
5. Pour in water and let it simmer for about 5 minutes before adding the stock cube, beancurd and black moss.
6. When the mixture comes to boil again, stir in some cornflour solution(mix 1 tablespoon cornflour with 1/2 tablespoon water) to thicken the soup.
7. To serve, top with ground pepper and chopping spring onion or coriander.
This quick and easy soup is done in less than 15 minutes of cooking time which you can prepared while steaming the fish so that you do not need to reheat it before serving. Total cost for this dish is about S$2.70 with breakdown shown below:-Cost of Ingredients:
~ Silken Tofu = S$0.90
~ Minced Meat = S$1.00
~ Black Moss = S$0.50
~ Shallot and Spring onion = S$0.30
For more read up or ideas on how to submit your homecooked dish for this event, you can also refer to these 2 submission below:- or follow the link HERE. Hope to see your entry soon, closing date EXTEND to next Sunday, 27 March 2011, 2359 Hours.
SINGAPORE: with total costs of S$19.50
2 Dishes, 1 Soup (两菜一汤 ) by WaiFong of Fong's Kitchen Journal
BANGKOK: with total cost of THB 340 or S$14.30
2 Dishes plus 1 Soup by Amy of Mothering Corner
Closing Date: Sunday, 27 March 2011, 2359 Hours.
