Hello, foodies! Recently, our Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin declared that Malaysia is to implement Movement Control Order starting from the 18th of March until 31st of March 2020. We will be limited to go out and about the city (unless to get our groceries or daily essentials) which leads us to being stuck at home.
Now, why not use your quarantine time at home to whip up some home-cooked meals for yourself! I came up with a list of recipes for you guys to try if you’re sick of having takeaway (tapau) or delivery food for the past few days.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional chef neither an experienced cook. I am an amateur home cook just like everyone else who wants to prepare a decent meal at home. In other words, I am just lazy to go out and buy food. Haha!
Here are my 8 simple recipes for you to attempt:
1. Pancakes with Honey
There are mornings where I wake up and crave for something warm, light and fluffy. Pancakes came into my mind! It isn’t much of a hard breakfast to whip up, as long as you have the heart to do so.
Ingredients:
– 1 cup of all-purpose flour
– 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
– 2 teaspoons of baking powder
– 1 teaspoon of salt
– 1 egg
– 1 cup of full cream milk
– 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
– Butter
– Honey
I started with mixing all the dry ingredients together which are the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Then, I add in the egg, milk and oil. Whisk it all together until it forms a smooth batter. Before pouring it into a non-stick pan, melt some butter onto the pan to prevent the batter from sticking onto it and also to add some butteriness!
After making 4 layers of pancakes, I stacked them up on a plate and drizzled it off with some pure honey. If you have bananas to add or Nutella to spread, go ahead! Give it a touch of extra sweetness!
2. Baked Beans, Scrambled Eggs and Potatoes
If pancakes aren’t your thing, perhaps try out this hearty western-inspired breakfast consisting of Baked Beans, Scrambled Eggs with Onions and crisp Pan-Fried Potatoes!
Ingredients:
– 1 can of baked beans
– 1 potato
– ½ an onion
– 2 eggs
– Salt & Pepper to taste
– Cooking oil
– 1 tablespoon of Full cream milk
Firstly, cut the potatoes into cubes and placed them into a pot of boiling water to soften them up alittle. Make sure not to overcook them or else it turns mushy like mashed potato. After that, I drained them off and pan-fried them with oil. While waiting for that to sear, I cracked both the eggs, mix it with a tablespoon of full cream milk and then cut ½ an onion and got both of it frying.
Scrabble it up while it’s cooking and season it with salt and pepper to your liking. Scoop the eggs up onto your plate, and get those beans onto the fire. Once everything is ready, plate every single element and there you go! One serving of a hearty breakfast. Feel free to add hotdogs if you may.
3. Chicken Soup with Mee Sua
Staying indoors too long may not be the best for your health. Why not cook some chicken soup to boost your immune system as it also helps improve your digestion. This recipe is inspired by my grandma back home, so shout-out to her for teaching me how to prep this!
Ingredients:
– Ginger
– Shiitake Mushrooms
– Red dates
– Dry Beancurd
– 1 Maggi Chicken Stock Cube
– Mee Sua (or any noodles of your choice)
– Chicken
– Water
– Salt & Pepper to taste
– Cooking Oil
Before cooking, you will need to soak your mushrooms and dry beancurd in water few hours beforehand to soften them up. After cutting the ginger into slices, cleaning the mushrooms properly and cutting the beancurd into portions, you may begin cooking!
Boil the chicken in a pot of hot water to remove the impurities which are those little white foams that floats on top of the broth as you cook meat. After blanching them for a good few minutes, take out them and rinse them through running water.
Now, fry the ginger in a pan with oil until it smells aromatic. Then, add in the chicken and stir fry it, followed by the beancurd, red dates and mushrooms. Pour in perhaps 1 litre of water and let it simmer. Don’t forget to add in the chicken stock cube somewhere in between.
I like to place my broth into a slow cooker, and let it do its magic. When it’s time to eat, cook the Mee Sua and remove it from the boiling water, place it into a bowl and pour in some of the chicken soup we made earlier. And there you go! A bowl of Chicken Soup to feed your hungry soul.
4. Spaghetti Bolognese
Wanna try making some pasta? Here’s my take on a plate of Spaghetti Bolognese with minced beef and meat balls. You may substitute the beef with chicken or seafood, anything of your preference basically.
Ingredients:
– Spaghetti
– ½ a tomato
– ½ an onion
– 1 can of Prego Tomato Sauce
– 2 cloves of Garlic
– Minced Beef
– Meat Balls
– 1 hotdog
– Salt & Pepper to taste
– Cooking oil
– Water
Dice the garlic and onion into small chunks and then fry them together with the minced beef in a pan with oil. Add in the sliced-up hotdog followed by the tomato. Once that’s cooked, pour in the can of tomato sauce and add some water. Be careful not to add too much water, because I accidentally did. Opps! You may start seasoning with salt and pepper to your liking.
While letting that simmer, boil the meat balls and spaghetti in another pot. It’s time to plate things up! There it is, Spaghetti Bolognese with beef and meat ball. Bon Appétit everyone!
5. Luncheon Meat, Cabbage and Egg Omelette served with White Rice
Do you feel like having some plain rice after those heavy meals? On most of my lazy days, I prepare myself some slices of Luncheon Meat, stir-fry cabbage with garlic and an egg omelette to be eaten with white rice.
Ingredients:
– Cabbage
– Luncheon Meat
– 2 cloves of garlic
– 1 egg
– a serving of cooked white rice
– Salt & Pepper to taste
– Cooking oil
First, cut up slices of the canned luncheon meat and start deep-frying them in a pan. While that is cooking, I prep the cabbage and garlic to be stir-fried together. Lastly, all I need to do is cook up an egg omelette. Feel free to add anything to your omelette such as spring onions, capsicum, mushrooms or even cheese! A simple meal to have for dinner. Not that hard to make right?
6. Fried Rice
If you favour something alittle more than just plain rice, perhaps you can go for Fried Rice. I really didn’t have much ingredients at home to switch things up so I make do with what I have.
Ingredients:
– a serving of cooked white rice
– ½ an onion
– Small bits of salted fish (optional)
– Cabbage
– 1 egg
– Several chunks of chicken / pork
– Salt & Pepper to taste
– Light soy sauce
– Cooking oil
Firstly, cut the chicken and salted fish into small chunks. Slice the onions and cabbage, then crack the egg in a bowl. I began with frying up the onions and salted fish with oil, then I add in the chicken followed by the egg.
Once everything is cooked, I placed in the cabbage and stir-fry everything together. Lastly, the white rice goes in. I season the dish with salt, pepper and a tablespoon of light soy sauce to enhance the flavours. The final product, a simple plate of Fried Rice ready to be served!
7. Beef Patty Sandwich
Are you seeking for supper? Maybe a Big Mac from McD? Why not make yourself a Beef Patty Sandwich paired with some runny egg yolks?
Ingredients:
– White Bread (or Burger Buns)
– 1 egg
– Mayonnaise
– Butter
– Ramly Beef Patties
– Tomato
– Slices of Cheese
– Garlic
– Salt & Pepper to taste
– Cooking Oil
First of all, have a beef patty frying on your pan to get things going. Then, slice up the tomato and put that aside. I have a personal preference to toast my white bread with garlic and butter, to enrich flavours and aroma of my sandwich. You may wish not to do so, but if you’re interested in knowing how that taste like give it a go!
It’s super easy, just take a spoonful of butter and let it melt in your frying pan filled with some diced up garlic. Toast your bread with that garlic infused butter until each side turns slightly charred. Once that is done, put that aside and start cooking up your egg. I like my eggs not fully-cooked through so I can burst that oozy and creamy egg yolk when eating.
Now, it’s time to plate things up! Plate your first bread, spread some mayo and add your beef patty. On top of that would be the cheese, tomato and egg. Lastly, top off with the last piece of bread. Enjoy this very sinful buttery sandwich to have for supper! Pair it with some diet Coke if that makes you feel better.
8. Chicken Popcorn
Sometimes, I would have Chicken Popcorn when I’m binge watching my favourite TV shows. It could get very addictive thus I make sure to portion out half of my chicken breast.
Ingredients to Marinate Chicken:
– ½ a chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
– 1 egg
– Corn flour
– Black Vinegar
– Light Soy Sauce
– 1 tablespoon of full cream milk (optional)
– Salt & Pepper to taste
– Mixed herbs (optional)
– Sesame Oil
Coating Mix for Marinated Chicken:
– 1 cup of all-purpose flour
– 1 tablespoon of chili powder or garlic powder
I didn’t have any chili or garlic powder when prepping this meal, but I had this ready-packaged Chicken Coating Mix to substitute it.
First, mix the bite-sized chicken pieces with the marinating ingredients. I let the chicken rest for half an hour to let the magic happen. Soon, I proceed with preparing another plate for the coating mixture.
Piece by piece I transferred the chicken from the wet mixture onto the dry coating mixture. Once every piece is coated, I heat up the pan with some oil. Batch by batch I let the chicken deep-fry until it turns crispy golden brown. It’s time to plate these babies up! I served them alongside with tomato sauce and mayonnaise. Perfect combination! Have fun snacking on them!
Hope you will have fun trying to make any of these at home. Do tag us @borneofoodie_official or hashtag #borneofoodie on Instagram if you happen to use the recipes!
Good Luck and Happy Cooking! Take care and love you lots! <3 #staysafe #stayclean #stayhome
