[Easter April $20 Budget Meal] Round-Up!

Thanks everyone for supporting the Easter April - $20 Budget Meal event with a Easter theme of using Egg in one of the prepared dish. Thanks everyone whom take the effort to note down the pricing of ingredients and spending on each ingredient to support this event. Here we have a total of 21 fabulous sets of "2 Dishes 1 Soup" menu from blogger and facebook friends of different countries such as USA, Australia and Singapore.

Here are all the entries for the [Easter April - $20 Budget Meal], listed in the order of the date submitted.

Watercress Pork Ribs Soup (西洋菜排骨汤), Braised Fish Head (红烧鱼头), Steamed Egg with Chinese Yam and Mushrooms (淮山蒸蛋烩双菇)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$19.20; Serves 6



Luo Han Guo and Watercress Soup plus Hainanese Pork Chop Rice and Pork Katsudon

by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$11.50; Serves 3



Sausage, Bacon and Egg Pie, Roasted Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup, Salad Green

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$19.70; Serves 3 - 6



Chinese Yam and White Fungus Soup (淮山雪耳瘦肉汤), Seaweed Egg Roll (紫菜腐竹鸡蛋卷), Steamed Fish with Tomato and Salted Vegetables (蕃茄咸菜蒸鱼尾)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$13.00; Serves 3



Garlic Kale, Daikon Fried Egg, Stir-Fry Combination Veggies

by Tigerfish of An Escape to Food (Sunnyvale, California - United States)
Total Spending: USD 8.00 (S$10.00) ; Serves 4



Stewed Pork Rice (卤肉饭), Stewed Eggs with Bean Curd (卤蛋/ 卤豆干) and Cabbage and King Mushroom Soup (白菜鸡腿菇汤)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$13.50; Serves 6



Pork Shabu Salad with Ponzu Dressing and Egg Drop Soup

by Namiko of Just One Cookbook (United States)
Total Spending: USD 8.00 (S$10.00) ; Serves 2-3



Spicy Kangkong, Chicken in Rice Wine and Dried Laver Anchovies Soup

by Ching of Little Corner of Mine (United State)
Total Spending: USD 5.04 (S$6.20); Serves 4



Cream of Cauliflower Soup and Ham and Egg Pizza Tart

by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$8.60; Serves 3



ABC Soup (马铃薯蕃茄红萝卜煲鸡汤), Corn Fritters with Avocado Dip (黄金玉米片) , Broccoli with Egg Whites in Milk Broth (奶汁蛋白西兰花)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$9.00; Serves 3-4



Seaweed and Minced Pork Soup, Fried Bitter Gourd Omelette and Ma Po Tofu

by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$6.60; Serves 3



Honey Marinated Chicken Wings, Ham and Onion omelette and Cream of Mushroom

by Jacqualine of TheSuper Girl (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$9.40; Serves 2



Corn, Carrot and Radish Soup, Stir Fry Long Beans and Mushrooms and Chili Prawns with Century Eggs

by Daphne of More Than Words (Australia)
Total Spending: AU$13.10; Serves 4



Steamed Fried Fish with Miso Sauce, Stir Fry Marrow Green and Egg with Crispy Silver Fish and Radish Pork Ribs Soup

by Wendy of Wen's Delight (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$18.50; Serves 4



Eggy Pepperoni Pizza and Eggy Turkey wrap

by Lobster of Lobsterpaints (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$19.95; Serves 2



Minced Pork Omelette, Steamed Tilapia and Fish Ball Soup with Spinach

by Anncoo of Anncoo Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$14.65; Serves 4



Crabstick Steamed Egg, Stir-fried Cucumber with Prawns and Lotus Root Soup

by Jacqualine of TheSuper Girl (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$14.20; Serves 6



Seah’s Chicken Curry, Sambal Fried Egg and Stir Fry Bittergourd with Clam in Miso Sauce

by Wendy of Wen's Delight (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$17.75; Serves 4



Spicy Bulgogi Pork, Shanghai green with Shitake Mushroom and Korean style mussel, pork and egg soup

by Wendy of Wen's Delight (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$16.65; Serves 4



Steamed Tilapia Fillets, Eggs with Napa Cabbage and Seaweed Tofu Gochujang Soup

by Ching of Little Corner of Mine (United State)
Total Spending: USD 6.87(S$8.50); Serves 4

Entry From @ahpoohbear

 

Japanese Oyakodon and Miso Soup

by Joyce of @ahpoohbear (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$3.60 ; Serves 2 - 3

JAPANESE OYAKODON RECIPE

Ingredients: (serves 3)
1.5 cup of steamed rice
1 Chicken Breast Meat, about 200g
1 onion, thinly sliced
Chicken stock (I used concentrated chicken stock and mix with water)
Mirin
3 eggs
Soy sauce to taste

Preparation:

1. Cooked steamed rice and set aside.

2. Fry the sliced onion till fragrant and add in the chicken pieces.

3. Add in the chicken stock, mirin and soy sauce to taste.

4. Simmer over medium heat for a few minutes.

5. Crack the eggs into a bowl but do not beat the eggs. Instead, use a knife to slightly cut the egg yolk.

6. Once the chicken is cook, pour the egg over.

7. Let the egg cook for about 3 minutes, till the egg yolk is slightly hardened.

8. Turn off the heat.

9. Put the steamed rice into deep serving bowls and serve the simmered chicken and egg on top.


MISO SOUP

Ingredients:

Instant miso soup paste from supermarket

Preparation:

1. Get a packet of instant miso soup paste from the supermarket.

2. Pour hot water and serve.


Toal Cost: S$3.60
Chicken = $2.00
Eggs = $0.60
Onion = $0.20
Instant Miso paste $0.80 per packet


Once again, thanks everyone for taking your time to come out of these wonderful budget meals, ideas and kitchen tips. Do stay tune for our May event announcement on the specified "ingredient" upon voting from the readers. All you dishes are feature at Cuisine Paradise Facebook Page HERE and the dish who earns the most number of "LIKE(s)" will received a mystery gift.

[Cupcake Pop Mold Giveaway] Assorted Cream Cheese Cake Pops

Ever since I saw and bought these cute cupcake pop molds, I have always wanted to try making some Cake Pops which is one of the latest trend among online bakers other than cupcakes and macarons. And recently I also saw Starbucks having some cute Cake Pops featuring in their food menu too.

What is Cake Pops? Cake Pops can be defined as little/mini cakes on a stick that is coated with chocolate/icing and decorated with all sort of sprinkles or toppings which made famous by Bakerella( read more on the link HERE).

There are a few ways of making these cake pops from either using crashed Oreo or graham biscuits to vanilla or chocolate cake crumbs. But no matter which method(s) you prefer I am sure both Adults and Kids will enjoy the fun process of rolling, molding and decorating these cute Cake Pops.

Ingredients: (make 10 mini cake pops)
200g Butter/Marble Cake, break into pieces
150g Cream Cheese, soften
*1/2 Tablespoon of Grand Marnier/RUM/Kahlua, optional

Decorations:
Assorted Chocolate of Your Choice, melted
Assorted Toppings

*Note:
~ You can either add more cream cheese or a bit cold milk to bind the crumbs if it is too dry.

Method:-

1. Break the ready bought marble cake into smaller pieces and place it in a large mixing bowl.

2. Beat the cake pieces at low speed until it resemble find crumbled (refer to the photo above), drizzle Grand Marnier evenly over the cake and beat for another few second till combined.

3. Next using a spatula or hand mix and knead the soft cream cheese mixture with the crumbs till it forms a smooth dough.

4. Roll the mixture into a 1” round balls and place on a tray lined with foil/baking paper.

5. When done, place them in the freezer for about 5 minutes before molding them using the cupcake mold.

To Assemble:

1. Place one of the chilled dough in the cupcake mold, gently press down to fix the mould and closed it tight to remove any excess dough that are being cut off.

2. You have to work fast and mold all the prepared dough into cupcake shape then freeze them for another 5 minutes to firm it up before dipping with melted chocolate.

3. Melt your choice of chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 30 seconds intervals on high heat, stirring in between until chocolate melts and become smooth.

4. Slowly lower the cake into the melted chocolate to coat the bottom half portion by holding the tip of the cake. When done carefully insert a lolliop stick from the bottom base of the cake to secure it. (after coating the base, I leave it on the baking paper and freeze for another 3 minutes before doing the top)

5. After the chocolate coating, rest the sticks of cake pop on styrofoam block(can get from daiso) or in a tall cup to dry while decorating the pops with sprinkles or toppings.

6. You can refer to the related VIDEO(click HERE) on making these cake pops by using this cupcake mold.

Remeber the monthly Aspiring Bakers(founder, small small baker) events that I always participate, for this month of April, the key ingredients will be cheese. Jean suggest that it should be something cheese related on either bakes/frozen desserts. So I will be submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April 2011) hosted by Jean from Noms I Must.

Secondly I would like to thanks those of you who had participated in the "Gyoza Mold Giveaway" and "Sandwich Sealer plus Heart Shaped Food Picks" events which ended last week. Here is the 3rd “Giveaway” for the month of April to celebrate Cuisine Paradise's 6th Anniversary which falls on 30th April 2011. And I hope with this handy "Cupcake Pop Mold" you can make use of it to shape into different design of Cake Pops where you can refer to their official website HERE.

If you are interested to win this set of "Cupcake Pop Mold", just leave your Name and your favourite Cake Pop and topping (strawberries, Oreo, dark chocolate, mint), example "I Love Chocolate Cake  Pop With Oreo Toppings" in the comment box and I will pick ONE Lucky winner on Sunday, 01 May 2011. Result will be announce on 02 May 2011.


[Updated on 02 May 2011 09 May 20111]

GIVEAWAY RESULTS!!!!!

GIVEAWAY RESULTS ARE OUT! Are you the Lucky One!!!!!

SOFT! Softserve IceCream

Soft!, a silky smooth Japanese soft-serve ice cream store which is barely a year old in Singapore. I personal loves their slogan, "Life is hard, enjoy SOFT!". According to Trixie, SOFT! use only premium Japanese cream that is low in fat content to make their softserve ice cream which pairs with their premium ingredients which imported from overseas such as Australia.

Using a wide variety of quality toppings, Soft! has came out with 40 special concoctions to date through rigorous research and tests to satisfy your weary souls. Besides soft-serve ice-cream, they do offer drinks such as Root Beer Float, Fizzy Cherry Float, Ice Milo Float, Pokka Coffee Float  and etc.

Can you make a guess on which flavour she is preparing for us? Hint: With Butter Scoth concoction on it :)

Yes! You are right, this is their NEW Maldon Seasalt Special using organic seasalt as one of the toppings together with butter scotch sauce. You will be definitely blown away with either "Like(s)" or "Hate(s)" for this special flavour. Some of us finds it blend well with that touch of salty from the seasalt whereas one/two might just dislike that taste and find it too salty to have savory ice-cream.
Price: Maldon Seasalt Special @ S$3.90 per cup

Nothing beats a cup of freshly made Softserve Ice-Cream with dried cranberry chunk and honey pearls serves with Fresh Mango Puree and Mango Pudding. The sweet and fragrant mango plup make this a refreshing dessert with a "thumb" up combination.
Price: Zara Mango @ S$3.90 per cup

When I first pop a teaspoon of this Sesame Way into my mouth, I was delighted by it's combination of black sesame sauce with vanilla softserve.The hint of nutty and bittersweet taste from the sesame sauce blends well the ice cream and azuki bean paste. When you sunk your spoon further down, you can find some sponge cake which goes well with the overall combination of texture from the spongy cake to crunchy sunflower seeds and etc. And don't worry, this is not a choice just for folks only I am sure most of the youngest would this combo too.
Price: Sesame Way @ S$3.50 per cup

The best selling flavor at SOFT! is their Godzilla Max which has a mixture of Hershey’s chocolate fudge, Oreo crumbs, Milo power and Post’s fruity pebbles! If you are a chocolate lover this is sure to be in one of your must have list in Soft!
Price: Godzilla Max @ S$3.50 per cup

Compare to Sesame Way above, some of us find this Straits Chendol a bit out of way in their concoctions combination. Perhaps the fruity pebbles should be removed and replaced by something else as the fruity taste from the pebbles seems a bit strong and cover the nice aroma and taste of the Gula Melaka.
Price: Straits Chendol @ S$3.50 per cup

This Lic Kat is a popular choice among couples where the softserve is based on top of some crunchy cereal and top with Horlicks, nestum cereal and butter scotch sauce. In addition, this cup also comes with a slice of kit kat which makes it perfect for those with sweet tooth.
Price: Lic Kat @ S$3.90 per cup

If you are interested to try some of these softserve ice cream, SOFT!’s flagship store is located at Downtown East(beside Wild Wild Wet), #01-23 with another recently launched outlet at Hougang Mall(beside Ya Kun), #B1-K17.

Lastly I would like to thanks Trixie Khong and SOFT! for the warm invitation and hosting for this tasting event.

SOFT! Softserve Ice Cream
Website: www.enjoysoft.com.sg
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/enjoysoft

[April $20 Budget Meal] Seaweed and Minced Pork Soup, Fried Bitter Gourd Omelette and Ma Po Tofu

I have being craving for those Cze Char style Seaweed Soup recently and after asking around for a quick and easy recipe. I managed to settle on Alice's version where she is very patience to guide me through  the steps during one of our chat on MSN. Her method was pretty good with boiling of  fresh ikan bilis stock and she also share on how to "clean" the seaweed by frying it dry in a non-stick pan which will enhance it's fragrance and at the same time removes any dirt that is trapped in between the seaweed.

This set of Budget Meal cost about S$6.60 which is good enough for 2 - 3 servings.

SEAWEED SOUP

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
1/4 Portion of Dried Seaweed, cut from a 20cm round
60g Minced Pork
2 Garlic Cloves, lightly pound
1 - 2 Slices of Ginger
1 Stalk of Spring Onion, cut into sections
1 Medium Tomato, cut into wedges
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1 Litre Hot Water
1/2 Cube or Knorr Ikan Bilis Stock

Method:-

1. Marinate minced pork with light soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and corn starch for about 5 minutes.

2. Heat up 1/2 Tablespoon of oil in a soup pot, saute ginger, garlic and spring onion till fragrant then add in minced pork and continue to stir-fry for a few minutes till cooked through.

3. Pour in hot water and bring to boil, add stock cube, let it simmer for 2 - 3 minutes. Remove the garlic, ginger and spring onion before adding in the tomato and seaweed.

4. Turn off the heat, slowly swirl in the beaten egg and serve.


Total cost for this dish is about S$1.80 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Seaweed = S$0.40
~ Egg = S$0.20
~ Tomato = $0.20
~ Minced Pork = S$1.00

Whenever we visit any Cze Char(煮炒) stalls, we will always order either their "Bitter Gourd Omelette" or "Egg Foo Yong(芙蓉蛋)". Here we can also prepare a simple version of this delicious omelette dish at home according to personal preference. If you are not sure on how to choose the bitter gourd, you can always ask the stall owner for help. But if you are getting it from supermarket, just try to get those with bright jade green colour and wider pattern lines so that they are not on the extreme bitter taste.

BITTER GOURD OMELETTE

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
2 Large Eggs
100g (1/3 Portion of a Medium) Bitter Gourd, thinly sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
1 Teaspoon of Light Soy Sauce
Dash of Pepper and Sesame Oil
1.5 Tablespoon Oil for frying Omelette

Method:-

1. Before cooking the bitter gourd, add 1 teaspoon of salt and marinate for 5 minutes, wash and squeeze dry to reduce the bitter taste.

2. Heat up oil in frying pan, saute garlic until fragrant. Add in bitter gourd and mix well.

3. Stir-fry the bitter gourd until soft, slowly swirl in the beaten egg (beat egg, light soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper together till combined) .

4. Pan-fry at medium heat until set, turn it over and continue to fry until golden brown.

5. Dish up and serve.


Total cost for this dish is about S$0.90 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Bitter Gourd = S$0.50
~ 2 Eggs = S$0.40

It has being long since I last set my wok with this popular Chinese dish which is known as Mo Po Tofu(麻婆豆腐). It has a combination of tofu (beancurd) and minced meat that cooks in a spicy chili and bean based sauce. For this home version of Mo Po Tofu, I used the instant Lee Kum Kee Mo Po Tofu sauce which is slightly mild compare to the original "spicy" taste that we ate from Chinese Restaurants.

MA PO TOFU

Ingredients: (Serves 2 - 4)
90g Minced Pork
250g Soft Tofu, dice in 1" cubes
2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar, optional
1 Packet of Lee Kum Kee's Ma Po Tofu Sauce

Method:-

1. Preheat frying pan with 1.5 tablespoon of oil and saute minced garlic till fragrance before adding in the minced pork.

2. Stir-fry minced pork till cook through, pour in Lee Kum Kee Sauce For Ma Po Tofu and simmer for 10 seconds.

3. Slowly add in the drained tofu and give it a quick stir to absorb the flavour from the Ma Po sauce and slightly thickened. (You can add in some sugar to balance the spicy and salty taste from the sauce)

4. Dish up on serving plate, sprinkle with some chopped spring onion and serve immediately with warm steamed rice.


Total cost for this dish is about S$3.90 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Silken Tofu = S$1.50
~ Lee Kum Kee Sauce = S$1.40
~ Minced Pork = S$1.00

Using simple ingredients like EGG and TOFU you can also whipped up something delicious like what we had for dinner. And I am sure most of you can also come out with some other delicious dishes using these simple ingredients too. Most important you know what is good for your family and  I am sure you will try to incorporate as many healthy ingredients as you can in your daily cooking.

[30 Minutes]Tau Suan With You Tiao(豆爽油条)

Whenever you walk into a local hawker center or foodcourt in Singapore, you can easier spot a stall or two selling variety of desserts such as Red Bean Soup, Green Bean Soup, Black Sticky Rice, Ginkgo Barley with Beancurd Sheet, Ice Kachang and etc. Tau suan(豆爽) is also one of the popular item on the list which is a sweet Chinese dessert made of split mung beans which are steamed till soften before being stirred into a pandan infused water then thickened with either potato or water chestnut flour.

Last two weeks so coincidentally I have received about 4 request on this Tau Suan recipe which I thought perhaps I could prepare with some step-by-step photos to share this all time favourite hawker dessert with more readers who is interested in preparing this at home.

This dessert is served warm with crispy sliced fried fritter (you tiao - 油条) and the texture is kind of like porridge consistency where the bean appears in clear thick liquid. Whereas mine was a bit overcooked because I left it in the thermal pot while running some errands before having it a few hours later.

[STEAMING METHOD]
Ingredients: (serves 2 - 4)
100g Spilt Green Bean (hulled mung bean, 去壳绿豆)
2 Knots of Pandan Leaves
1 Litre of Water
Cane Sugar To Taste
1 Pair of Fried Fritter (You Tiao, 油条)

For Thickening:
1/2 - 3/4 Tablespoon Potato/Water Chestnut Flour
100ml Drinking Water

Method:-

1. Soak mung beans for at least 30 minutes in lukewarm water till the bean slightly expand.

2. Drain well, steam mung beans with a knot or small pieces of pandan leaves for about 20 - 30 minutes on medium heat till soft.

3. While waiting for the mung beans to be cooked, in another pot bring about 1 litres of water to boil, add in a knot of pandan leaves together with cane sugar to taste.

3. When the bean is cooked and soften, add it into the prepared syrup water and slowly stir in the flour mixture (mix potato/water chestnut flour with water and give it a stir before adding to the soup) to thicken the water.

4. Turn off the heat and ladle into serving bowls and top with fried fritter/you tiao.

Other than the common way of steaming the mung beans I have learnt another new way from a video on YouTube by Mr KF Seetoh from Makansutra Cooking. He actually fried the mung bean(soaked and drained) with some caster sugar till caramelised before adding it into the pre-cooked pandan water. Then he sweeten the mixture with sugar and thickened it with water chestnut flour mixture before serving.  According to his method the whole process of cooking takes less than 30 minutes so if you are interested you can take a look at the video HERE with cooking instructions and recipe too.

[STIR-FRIED METHOD]
Ingredients: (serves 2 - 4)
100g Spilt Green Bean (hulled mung bean, 去壳绿豆)
2 Knots of Pandan Leaves
1 Litre of Water
1 Tablespoon Caster Sugar
Cane Sugar To Taste
1 Pair of Fried Fritter (You Tiao, 油条)

For Thickening:
1/2 - 3/4 Tablespoon Potato/Water Chestnut Flour
100ml Drinking Water

Method:-

1. Soak mung beans for 10 minutes in lukewarm water till the bean slightly expand. Drain well and set aside.

2. While soaking the mung bean, in another pot bring about 1 litres of water to boil, add in pandan leaves together and simmer for about 5 - 7 minutes till the water change colour. (refer to the photo above)

3. In a non-stick pan or pot, add in drained mung bean together with about 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and fry over medium low heat till the beans are fragrance and caramelised. (according to Mr Seetoh this process will held to firm up the beans while cooking) Turn off the heat and set aside.

4. Remove the pandan leaves from the water, add in the cooked beans and simmer on medium low for about 5 minutes then season it with cane sugar/caster sugar to taste.

5. Lastly lower the heat and quickly stir in the potato/water chestnut flour mixture to thickened it.

6. Turn off the heat and ladle tau suan into serving bowls, top with fried fritter/you tiao and serve.


Overall I preferred the second method where you stir-fried the mung beans with caster sugar to caramelise it for that extra fragrance and colour. And it also speed up the cooking process without the need to pre-soak and steam the beans for at least an hour or so. And in this way, you can easily cook your favourite Tau Suan at anytime of the day in just less than 30 minutes time. If you can't find fried fritter/you tiao in the middle of the night you can always replace it with some ready to eat frozen prata sheet which can be reheat in a couple of minutes. So which method do you prefer, Steaming or Stir-fry?

Once again, thanks for all your "BUZZ(s)" and support friends. Tau Suan With You Tiao(豆爽油条) post has make it to FoodBuzz Today's Top 9, 20th April 2011.(Here)

Featured On: FoodBuzz Today's Top 9, 20th April 2011.(Here)