Archive for the ‘* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving’ Category
Mushroom Soup II
This makes a lot of soup and uses fresh mushrooms, 1 kilo (2 pounds) of mushrooms. This can be made with just the clear broth or with cream. I made this on 9 Sep 2017 and served it both ways, clear broth and creamy, family actually prefers the clear broth version.
Ingredients
- 10 cups water
- 1-2 cubes mushroom stock
- 3-4 medium potatoes, skin on, diced
- 1 kilo fresh Straw mushrooms, sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, shredded
- olive oil, as needed
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the water, the mushroom stock cube or cubes. and the potatoes. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are near cooked through.
- While the potatoes are cooking, prep the onion, carrot, and mushrooms. When the mushrooms are sliced add them to the soup pot.
- The mushrooms are just rinsed and cut in half lengthwise. This is just the start, 1 kilo of Straw mushrooms is a lot!
- Mushrooms added to the soup pot.
- Heat a non stick pan on medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Saute the onion and carrot until soft and starting to brown, then add those to the soup pot. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, stir in the parsley. Continue to simmer.
- At this point you can serve for those who do not want any dairy in the soup.
- In a small bowl or large measuring cup, add the milk, cream and flour and whisk until smooth, stir that into the soup.
- Serve.
Notes
Low cost.
This recipe for Mushroom Soup is from Natasha's Kitchen.
Yang Chun Noodles (阳春面)
This is a common breakfast noodle in China. Normally thin noodles are used for this, here in Thailand, I will use standard Japanese egg noodles (ramen) which look very much like flat spaghetti. The packs I have seen in Tesco are 200 grams with 4 bundles of noodles, so about 50 grams of noodles per serving. I made this on 24 Oct 2017, absolutely wonderful for such a simple dish. The sesame oil is key with this.
Ingredients
- 50 grams dry Chinese egg noodles, 50 grams per serving
- 3 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat the stock to boiling then add the noodles and cook until tender.
- Place the cooked noodles in a serving bowl, ladle on about 2 cups of the broth, drizzle in the sesame oil, sprinkle the spring onion on the noodles. Serve. I added a tea egg.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: 1. Cut a plain hard boiled egg, tea egg, or soy sauce egg in half and place on the noodles.
This recipe for Yang Chun Noodles is from China Sichuan Food.
Scallion Oil Noodles
A scallion is a green onion or known here where I live as a spring onion. This is a basic recipe and this is a common, with many street kitchens in China offering this. Normally alkaline noodles are used for this dish, but I will go with the standard Chinese egg noodles.
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil, or lard
- 10 spring onions, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 400 grams dry Chinese egg noodles
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
Instructions
- Drain the spring onions completely after rinsing, you will be placing hot oil so eliminate the chance of hot oil splatter.
- In a large pan, heat the oil (you can use vegetable oil or lard for this recipe), when hot, add the spring onion segments in. Turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook until the spring onions are deep brown and almost but not burnt. Remove to a bowl to cool.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and then cook the noodles until tender, Chinese noodles are long! And I mean long! So either break the dried package in half or cut the noodles in half when cooked. Drain the noodles and place into a large bowl, add around 4 tablespoons of scallion oils and toss the noodles well to cool slightly.
- Mix together the sugar, dark and light soy sauces in a small bowl and then mix with the noodles before serving. Divide into two bowls, top with the browned scallions if desired, serve.
Notes
Low cost.
This recipe for Scallion Oil Noodles is from China Sichuan Food.
Sausage & Peppers Pasta
Peppers and Sausage, great meal, add macaroni and cheese, even better. This recipe screams of a shortcut to make the sausage and tomato sauce, both are so easy. I made this on 17 Dec 2018 and have updated it with my findings. This is an excellent dish and was well liked by the Thai family as well. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams bulk Italian sausage, (1 lb), (Shortcut)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2 red bell peppers, diced, 2 if small, 1 if large
- 280 grams pasta shells, or any bite site pasta, (10 oz)
- 2 cups pasta sauce, (Shortcut)
- 4 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder, (Shortcut)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, 200 grams is perfect
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- My homemade pasta sauce, stock made from powder, pasta (used maccheroni No. 32), diced onion, bell peppers, and garlic prepped and ready.
- In a large pot (I use my pressure cooker pot), add the sausage (I used homemade link sausage with casings removed), and cook until mostly no longer pink.
- Add in the onion, garlic, and bell pepper and cook until the onion is soft.
- Add in the pasta and mix until coated with the sausage fat.
- Add in the pasta sauce and chicken stock, season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Simmer until the pasta is just tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Stir in the cream and Mozzarella and mix until the cheese is melted in.
- Garnish with the fresh chopped parsley if desired, serve and enjoy.
Notes
If making the sausage from the shortcut, this is about 55 Baht/500 grams. The cheese will cost about 80 Baht. For 6 servings, this is about 69 cents per serving.
Shortcuts: Italian Sausage, Pasta Sauce, Chicken Stock (Pressure Cooker).
Variants: 1. Use pork stock in place of chicken stock. 2. For the sausage, use Spicy Italian, Cumberland, or even Jimmy Dean.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Boiled Potatoes with Butter
Basic recipe but sounds very good. On my to cook list, sounds like a perfect side dish, and I like boiled potatoes, this would be pretty flavorful. New potatoes would be the small round ones, I will just use good clean potatoes they stock at Tesco once in a while.
Ingredients
- 500 grams new potatoes, washed well, no need to peel
- 1 head garlic, halved crosswise, no need to peel!
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- kosher salt, generous amount
- 2-4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place the potatoes, garlic (no kidding, just cut the head in half and toss in), bay leaf, and peppercorns in a pot add water to cover by about an inch and season generously with salt,. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer and cook the potatoes until fork tender, about 5 to 8 minutes depending on their size, may be 10-15 minutes for local potatoes.
- Drain the potatoes and discard the bay leaf, garlic, and peppercorns. For large potatoes, cut in half. Toss with the butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve as a side dish.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: Cut the potatoes in half and soak in water with the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf, and salt for a few hours, then cook.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup
I like chicken noodle soup, and it is apparent that every culture has their own version. There is the Thai version, the US version, and now I have found the Chinese version, and this version is based on simplicity. I think we could learn a lot from the Chinese way of cooking. This is a modified version of the original recipe as I am going to state making the broth, and using dried Chinese egg noodles.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken legs, skin on, bone in
- 2 1/2 cups Chinese egg noodles, cooked, see Step 4
- 2 bunches bok choy, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon spring onion, finely sliced
Instructions
- First thing you need to make is the broth, which will give you broth and the chicken meat needed for the recipe. In a pot, add the chicken legs, and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the legs are cooked through. During the cooking, skim off any scum on the surface. Now you just made broth and cooked the chicken legs.
- Remove the legs to a plate and strain the broth, retain 4 cups for use in this recipe. And retain the rest of the broth to use for cooking the noodles.
- Using two forks, shred the chicken meat and discard the skin, bones and cartridge (good treat for your dog).
- After retaining 4 cups of broth, add the rest to a pot, add the dry noodles, add water as needed to about 2 inches above the noodles and bring to a boil and cook until the noodles are tender.
- In another pot heat the 4 cups of broth to a simmer, season with salt and white pepper powder (white pepper powder is important, it is strong and imparts a great flavor, mix that in well).
- When at a simmer, add the noodles and the Bok Choi, when the Bok Choi is wilted, spoon about a cup of noodles into two bowls, top with the shredded chicken, pour in extra broth to cover the noodles.
- Serve.
Notes
Low cost.
This recipe for Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup is from China Sichuan Food.
Chinese Tomato Fish
This sounds really good. This tailored version of a popular Sichuan water boiled fish soup dish and this is the non spicy version. Now unless you can get your hands on a 1 kilo Grass Carp (you have to clean yourself), go with any 750 grams of boneless and skinless whitefish fillets, which is my plan. On my to cook list.
Ingredients
For the Fish & Marinade
- 750 grams whitefish fillets, slice at an angle, about 1/4 inch thick
- 2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
- 2 spring onions, whites, sliced
- pinch salt and pepper
- 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
For the Soup
- 2 large tomatoes, or go with 5 plum tomatoes
- 100 grams fresh Shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 cup celery, cut into 1 inch sections
- 1/4 red onion, cut into pieces
- handful fresh coriander, chopped
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- 4 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
- 8 cups hot water
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In large bowl, whisk together the corn starch, cooking wine, spring onion, ginger, salt and pepper, and egg white. Add the fish slices and marinate for 1 hour.
- When the fish is ready, peel the tomatoes and dice. In a large pot on medium heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add the spring onion and garlic until aromatic, add the diced tomatoes and reduce the heat to low and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and lots of juice is released. Add 8 cups of hot water and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the celery, red onion, and mushrooms and cook for another 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Turn up the heat to medium and add the fish slices and marinade and stir, cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the fish slices turn white, remove from heat and carefully pour into a large serving bowl.
- Optional, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small pan or wok until slightly smoking and pour into the soup.
- Sprinkle coriander and and spring onion on the top and serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: For a spicy version, add 2-4 chopped red Thai Bird's Eye Chilies, stems removed, to the oil in Step 5, then mix into the soup after pouring on top.
This recipe for Chinese Tomato Fish is from China Sichuan Food.
Bottle Gourd Soup
This is a standard Thai soup, very inexpensive. This is a side dish to a Thai meal. Measurements are estimates based on the size of the gourd you are using, my wife made this today and used about a 5 inch diameter gourd.
Ingredients
- 1 bottle gourd, sliced into this pieces
- 1 small onion, chopped
- salt, to taste
- chicken stock powder, to taste
Instructions
- As you slice up the gourd, place in a large bowl of water. Add the chopped onion to a medium size pot.
- Drain the gourd slices and add to the pot. Add water to the pot and cover the gourd by about an inch, bring to a boil. Add chicken stock powder and salt to taste.
- Once boiling, reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes. Spoon into a large bowl, serve, just that easy.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: Boil some chicken when cooking to make the stock and to add a bit of meat to the soup.
Watched my wife, Rrayada Thayer make this.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Shrimp Egg Foo Young (鲜虾芙蓉蛋)
This is an adaption of the classic Cantonese dish, Egg Foo Young. On my to cook list.
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 2 fresh Shiitake mushrooms, stem removed, cut into shreds
- 100 grams bean sprouts, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup fresh shrimp, pealed, deviened, tail removed
- 2 spring onions, green and white, cut into 1 inch pieces
- pinch salt and pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice powder
- cooking oil, for frying
For the Gravy
- 1/2 cup chicken broth, fresh or from powder
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Cut the cleaned shrimp into 3/4 inch pieces and place in a small bowl, sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper over the shrimp and mix in, set aside.
- In a large bowl or large measuring cup, add the eggs, a pinch of salt, and the Chinese 5 Spice powder and whisk the eggs. Add the mushrooms, bean sprouts, spring onion, and shrimp. Mix well.
- In a small pot add the gravy mixture and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes until bubbly and thickened.
- In a small pan, 8-9 inches, heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. When the oil is hot, pour in 1/3 of the egg mixture. Cook for about 4-5 minutes or until the bottom is gold brown, flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes more or until golden brown. Remove to a plate. Repeat two more times.
- Spoon over the gravy and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: Replace the Chinese 5 Spice powder with White Pepper powder.
This recipe for Shrimp Egg Foo Young is from China Sichuan Food.
Egg Foo Young with Steamed Rice (芙蓉煎蛋饭)
This is a classic Cantonese dish not to be confused with Foo Young Egg (蒸芙蓉蛋) which is the basic Chinese Steamed Egg. This is a leftover recipe as the meat ingredient is Roast Red Pork to make it a more Thai style dish. If you have the desire, you can make Chinese Char Sui (which is basically Roast Red Pork). You can top this with either light soy sauce or the gravy as listed here.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 fresh Shiitake mushroom, stem removed, cut into shreds
- 1 piece Roast Red Pork, leftover piece, shredded, about a tablespoon or so
- 20 grams bean sprouts, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 spring onions, green and white, cut into 1 inch pieces
- pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil, for frying
- steamed rice, for serving
- 1 spring onion, sliced for garnish
For the Gravy
- 1/2 cup chicken broth, fresh or from powder
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the eggs and a pinch of salt and whisk, then add the pork, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and spring onion and mix well.
- In another small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the Gravy ingredients. set aside.
- Add some steamed rice to a plate.
- Heat the oil in a small non stick pan over medium low heat, when hot, slowly pour in the egg mixture and use the spatula to to keep the mixture into a round patty. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown, the egg over and cook until golden brown on the bottom. Flip the egg over again, fold in half, remove from the pan and place on top of the rice on the plate.
- In a small pot add the gravy mixture and heat over medium high heat bubbly and well thickened, about 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Sprinkle the Egg Foo Young with sliced spring onion and spoon on some gravy, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost as the Roast Red Pork is a leftover from another meal.
Variant: Omit the Gravy and simply top with light soy sauce.
This recipe for Egg Foo Young is from China Sichuan Food.