S$20 Budget Meal - 2 Dishes Plus 1 Soup Blog Event

Another interesting Blog Event that I do not wish to miss which is hosted by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise, S$20 budget meal - 2 Dishes plus 1 Soup. With Aunt around, I will get at least 2 - 3 homecooking meal a week which usually make up of 2 dishes and sometimes a soup. This was one of our dinner last week... I told her about this event and she recorded the cost for me. Thank you Aunt! You are the best!

While preparing this post, I'm quite impressed that with less than S$20 you can actually prepare a good meal for a family of 4 easily! Usually we will buy fish from the market and the rest will be at NTUC or Shop n Save. Sometimes you can get pretty good buy for fish at NTUC too which are very fresh too. Let's take a look at the dinner menu...

S$20 Budget Meal Summary (Serves 4):Jacket Fish in Miso Sauce - S$7.40
Stir Fry Zucchini with Capscium & Shimeji Mushroom - S$5.60
Egg & Tomato soup - $1.00
Total spending: S$14.00

Jacket Fish in Miso Sauce

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
700g Jacket fish (cut into 4 pcs)
1 knob Ginger (Shredded)
2 stalks Spring Onion (cut lengthwise)
1 no Red chilli (sliced)
2 cloves Garlic (smashed)

Seasoning for Fish (Season for 1/2hr):
2tsp light sauce
1/2tsp sesame oil

Sauce (mix together):
200ml stock/water (if using water, add 1tsp Maggi concentrated chicken stock)
1tbsp miso paste
1/2tsp sugar
1tsp honey
1tsp light sauce
1tsp sesame oil
1tsp wine
Pepper
Thickening: 1 1/2tsp Cornflour mix w/1tbsp water

Method:
1. Use a non stick pan, lightly pan-fried the fish and set aside.
2. Heat oil & fry the shredded ginger till golden brown, dish out.
3. Use the balance oil in the wok to fry garlic and chilli till fragrant.
4. Add in sauce, stir well & add back the fried fish.
5. Simmer for 2 mins till sauce start boiling & add thickening.
6. Serve & garnish with fried ginger & spring onion.

Cost of Ingredients:
Jacket fish (approx 700g) - S$6.40
Ginger/Spring Onion/Red chilli/Garlic - S$1.00

Stir Fry Zucchini with Capscium & Shimeji Mushroom

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
2 nos Green Zucchini
1 no Yellow Capsicum
1 box Shimeji Mushroom
1 no Chilli
2 cloves Garlic (chopped finely)

Seasoning Sauce:
3 tbsp Stock/Water (if using water add 1/2 tsp of Maggi Concentrated Chicken stock)
1 tsp Sugar
2 tsp Light Sauce
2 tsp Fish Sauce
2 tsp Oyster Sauce
2 tsp Sesame Oil
2 tsp Huatiao Wine
1 tsp Cornflour
Pepper

Method:
1. Cut zucchini, capsicum & chilli into cubes.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil to fry garlic till fragrant. Add Zucchini & mushroom to fry for 1min, then add in capscium & chilli to stir fry for awhile.
3. Add in the seasoning sauce and stir fry for another min till the sauce heat through. (do not overcook as the vegetables will lose it's crisp)
4. Dish out and serve.

Cost of Ingredients:
2 nos Green Zucchini - S$3.00
1 no Yellow Capsicum - S$0.90
1 box Shimeji Mushroom - S$1.50
Chilli/Garlic - S$0.20

Egg & Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
500ml Stock/Water (if using water, add 2 tsp Maggi Concentrated Chicken Stock)
2 nos Egg (Beaten)
1 medium size Tomato (cut into wedges)
Spring onion
Fried onion oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:
1. Bring stock/water to boil in pot.
2. Whisk in beaten egg & tomato, heat through. Season with salt & pepper.
3. Dish out & garnish with spring onions and fried onion oil.

Cost of Ingredients:
2 nos Egg - S$0.50
1 medium size Tomato - S$0.30
Spring onion/Fried onion oil - S$0.20

Start cooking at home for a healthier yet economical meal!