Meal under 10 dollars

Amid the financial turmoil, many are keeping an eye on their grocery budgets. Even Rachel Ray the queen of 30 minutes meals, stressed the budget friendliness of one of the recipes in her recent episode. I think it certainly reflect the concerns of many audiences these days.I also notice that a few bloggers are talking about budget planning lately, so I decided to try and make a meal under 10 dollars and see what we could get.

Here's the result. For under 10 dollars, this was what we had for dinner last night- Hainanese Chicken rice (rice not shown in picture + chicken), Stirfry Shanghai Bokchoy and a claypot tofu with shiitake mushroom. And it's good for 5 servings. I has a sudden craving for mum's hainanese chicken rice after reading the Wednesday Chef's homemade hainanese chicken rice. So naturally, that was on the menu of the night. Although a side of stirfry shanghai bokchoy would round up the meal nicely, I went on to make a claypot tofu. I just wanted to try out my newly acquired korean soup pot.Lately, We are obsessed with tofu soup, and have been visiting the same tofu house for the past 3 weekends. But more about that in another post. Meanwhile, I know what you are going to ask- How did I do that for under 10 dollars.

Here's the breakdown:
rice- $2.40
Tyson Split chicken breasts with bones - $3.00 (it's going on discount at Kroger this week, with only 0.99/pd)
tomato (0.89/pd)- $0.60
Shanghai Bokchoy- $1.60
Tofu- $1.00/block
dried shiitake mushroom- $0.50
miscellaneous condiments- $0.90 (it is actually lesser than this, but I want to round off the figure to make it 10 dollars. At this point, OCT rolls his eyes)

In case you are wondering how the plate of chicken is going to serve 5, there's one whole breast that was not shown in the picture. After the dinner, OCT packed the leftover for lunches, and he told me that they were enough for next 3 days. May I add that OCT is a big eater, despite his skinny frame?(life is unfair!)So take his words for it- 5 servings it is!

Authentic Southeast Asian meal for only 2 dollars per serving; and the smile on my satiated husband's face- Priceless.

No recipe for today, but we love the hainanese chicken rice so much that I think that I might make it again this weekend, (while the discount of chicken breasts last, of course). I will try to measure all the ingredients use next time.So, what's your meals stategy? Do you adhere to a budget? Let's share!

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Soba's what for dinner!

When you spend a lot of time reading the delicious food blogs out, many things can happen to you. Do you know that by simply staring at the food on the computer screen can make one gain weights? Ok, this may not sound scientific, and I don't have any concrete research work done on this yet. But that is certainly the case for me. Sadly, as of the last time I weighed, I have gained some more pounds from looking at food that I didn't eat! I am serious. Really.

Another thing, that may or may not happen to you, is an impulsive change of menu for dinner. Yes, this happens a lot of time around here... You know, the menu I planned sounds great, and the necessary ingredient has been taken out to thaw. But thing changes in a matter of one click. Like the time when I see the entry about soba here and here.

"Isn't it great?" I told myself. "I have soba in the pantry which I bought for a recipe I read somewhere. But couldn't find it anymore after soba comes on board." A change of menu is inevitable, lest I forget where I see the recipe again. So much on food blogs overloaded.

Speaking of soba, I wish I could tell you more than it's noodle made of buckwheat flour and I have seen it made fresh from the Japanese restaurant display window. Other than that, I know very little about soba. If you are interested to know more, check out here.If you are only interested in eating (like me), skip the link, and drag the cursor down because I want to tell you about my first soba experience.

You know how sometime you have never tasted a new thing and don't know what to expect? That was my case with soba. Would it taste like the Italian's spaghetti or Asian's instant noodle? The answer is none of the above. In fact, I tasted a mild nutty flavor in Soba. Since I have not tasted anything made with buckwheat before, I wouldn't know if that's the typical "buckwheat taste".

Anyhow, I sort of incorporated these two recipes into one, because I don't have some of the ingredients in the respective recipes.ha! The thing with cooking (at least Asian's cooking) is, it is very forgiving. You can safely incorportate more of certain condiments to suit your taste, or leave it altogether.(With some exceptions of course, but that's not the case here, at least)

While I am sure both recipes taste marvellous, I am happy to report that my modified version was pretty good too. With an auspicious beginning with soba, I have since optimistically bought a few more packs of soba (with different brands)from my local Asian's grocery store. They are now sitting neatly with their Italian and Chinese counterparts!

Does any food blog make you try something new lately?

Spicy Soba Noodles with Tofu, Shiitake mushroom and Red Pepper

Makes 4 servings

For sauce
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 to 3 teaspoons Korean hot-pepper paste (sometimes labeled “gochujang”)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

For noodles
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
10 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water to soften, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 block (12oz) of firm tofu, cubed.
6 scallions, thinly sliced
8 to 9 ounces soba
1 red pepper, cored and thinly sliced

Stir together all sauce ingredients until brown sugar is dissolved, then set aside.

Toast sesame seeds in a dry 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over medium heat, stirring, until pale golden, then transfer to a small bowl.

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers,add tofu and cook, stirring occasionally, until all sides are browned. Remove from skillet. In the same skillet,sauté ginger and garlic, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add shiitakes and red bell pepper and sauté, stirring frequently, until tender, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium,return tofu to the skillet and add most of scallions (reserve about a tablespoon for garnish. Add sauce and simmer 2 minutes.

While the tofu mixture is cooking, cook soba in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until noodles are just tender, about 6 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cool water to stop cooking and remove excess starch, then drain well again. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with sesame seeds and tofu mixture. Serve sprinkled with reserved scallions.

If you aren’t able to find Korean hot-pepper paste, substitute 3/4 teaspoon Chinese chile paste and reduce the amount of soy sauce to 1/4 cup.

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