Cheap Appetite &#187; cooking shortcuts

Filed under: asian cuisine, Cheap Appétit recipes, cheap lunch, cheap snack, cooking shortcuts, easy recipes Tagged: Cheap Appétit recipes, cooking shortcuts, easy recipes, Fried rice, jasmine green tea, leftover recipes, Microwave Recipes

Cheap Appétit Recipe No. 004: Mussaman Curry Turkey with Fries and/or Toasted Bagel

CheapAppetite — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 07:33:43 +0000

By Tana Kosiyabong

A couple of days ago, I went to T&T supermarket near Tinseltown around 8:30 pm. I strategically chose to go at the closing hour because the prices of various food items were deeply marked down. As I scanned through the display fridges, I stumbled upon a pack of smoked turkey meat on sale for $1.99.

Before I knew it, my brain cells had already form a committee in my cranium, and unanimously voted to purchase that cold tray of meat. Shortly after, I was also informed that they had decided that I must cook a strange Cheap Appétit concoction named Massaman Curry Turkey with fries.

“What, are you guys nuts? Curry and Fries? How did you come up with that?” I complaint to the committee.

“We have leftover fries from lunch, turkey meat, and a can of Massamun curry at home.” the spokesperson sternly replied.

“And it’s perfect for the Thanksgivings leftover turkey recipe too,” Mr. President added with his squeaky voice.

“And I need to see a shrink,” I mumbled to myself.

If you have ever dealt with the mighty bureaucrats before, you would know how useless it was to protest the committee’s decision. All I can do was to buy a multi-grain bagel just in case the fries wouldn’t work out with the curry, then headed home. The next day, I found myself cooking the Mussaman Turkey with fries for lunch as I was told.

INGREDIENTS:

1 can of 386 ml Aroy-D Mussaman Curry ($1.99 at Nester Market at Abbot and Cordova Streets)
250 grams of Turkey meat ($1.99 on sale at T&T—If you use leftover turkey, it is technically free)
1 handful of leftover fries (technically free)
5-6 baby carrots (optional-I already have them at home)
5-6 Thai basil leaves (optional-I already have them at home)
¼ cup of water or chicken stock
10 roasted peanuts (optional–I don’t have them at home, so I skipped them.)

HOW TO MAKE MASSAMAN TURKEY CURRY

1. Open a can of Aroy-D Massaman Curry and pour into a small pot. (For a one-handed can-opening method, click here.)

2. Throw in the leftover turkey meat, baby carrots and ¼ cup of water/stock into the pot. If you have roasted peanuts, throw them in as well.

3. Bring the curry to a boil; then turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.

4. Turn the heat off. Serve with fries or toasted bagel. (Read the serving suggestion below before serve.)

HOW TO REHEAT THE LEFTOVER FRIES

1. Preheat the oven at 375 °F for 10 minutes
2. While waiting for the oven, line an oven-safe pan with a sheet of aluminum foil. Place basil leaves on top of the foil (optional).

3. Add the leftover fries to the pan; spread them out into a thin layer.

4. Once the oven is ready, pop the pan in; then bake the fries for 15 minutes or until crispy.

5. Take the fries out of the oven. Let them sit for a couple of minutes. Then serve with the curry. (Read the serving suggestion below before serve)

THE TASTE TEST

The first bite was a happy surprise. The crispy fries did go well with the mussamun curry. Thanks to the simmered time, the turkey meats had absorbed the lovely curry flavor. I was impressed by the brain cell committee’s decision. However, a few spoonfuls later, it became clear that the dish was too oily due to the grease from both the curry and the fries. I had a hard time finishing it. But no worries, I can fix this. Please read the serving suggestion below to see how.

SERVING SUGGESTION:

If you were to try this recipe, use a small amount of the mussaman curry as a sauce on top of the fries, instead of dumping the fries in a bowl full of massaman curry like I did on this post. In this way, it wouldn’t become overly greasy after a few bites. You can also eat the curry with other non-greasy carbs such as toasted bagel, toasts, or steamed rice.

NOTE:
Later that night, I had Mussamun Curry Turkey with toasted bagel. It was way better than the greasy lunch. Tana:1, the brain cell committee:0. Happy Thanksgivings everyone!

BUDGET BREAKDOWN:

Remaining Budget: $94.77

Budget Spent: -$5 ($1.99 (curry) + $1.99 (turkey) +$0.69 (bagel) +$0.43 (misc. ingredients))

Budget Available: $89.77

Filed under: asian cuisine, Cheap Appétit recipes, cooking shortcuts, easy recipes, north american cuisine Tagged: Cheap Appétit recipes, Leftover French Fries Recipe, Leftover Turkey Recipe, Mussamun Curry Turkey, Thai Food under $5, Thanksgiving

The Real Chicken Noodle Soup (RCNS) at Stock Market—Buy, Sell, or Hold?

CheapAppetite — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:59:01 +0000

By Tana Kosiyabong

I meant to write a story about Stock Market at Granville Island’s Public Market for a while now. But I hadn’t had time to do so. Last time I was in the neighborhood, my stomach had already been stuffed with Yummy Sushi’s breakfast. Fortunately I was able catch up with some of my wish list during the holidays.

At first, I spent a few days watching the first and second seasons of “Death Like Me,” a Showtime original dated back to 2003 to 2004. I really enjoyed its dark humor. The writer(s) creatively came up with so many ridiculous causes of death imaginable. What a great way to kill my time! Too bad the show also got axed at the end of the second season. After I finished watching the DVDs, I still had a lot of time left on my hands. So, I dug myself off the couch, and hopped on the bus to Granville Island to pursue my Cheap Appetite mission at Stock Market.

A short bus ride later, I was in front of the Granville Island south entrance. Public Market, however, is on the opposite (north) side next to the Aqua Bus Ferry Dock. If you use Aquabus, just hang to your right once you get up off the dock. Stock Market is right behind door No. 8 of the Public Market.

Stock Market has been open since 1986. The store offers hot soup (made on the premise), frozen stock, sauces, dressing and more. There are three choices of soup daily—one fish, one meat and one veggie. Prices ranged from $4.75 to $7 depending on the soup and sizes.

Since, I’m a meat-lover, I went for a small Real Chicken Noodle Soup ($4.75). It was served in a 10 oz (300 ml) styrofoam cup. The soup came with a choice of regular or garlic bread. I mistakenly opted for the garlic bread.

Don’t get me wrong, the garlic bread was actually yummy. However, garlic aroma overpowered the flavor of the soup. Not that it was a bad thing. If you enjoy your soup with garlic bread, feel free to eat them together. But since I had to accurately write about the soup in details, garlic bread wasn’t the brightest idea.

The Real Chicken Noodle soup was mouth-watering. It was so simple, natural, and hearty. The soup was made with simple chicken stock (water, chicken bones, carrots, onions, celery, salt and black pepper). The stock was light and clear. I could enjoy the natural sweetness of the soup with no distraction from the herbs. The simplicity of this soup is the key to its greatness. The noodle were not only long, and thin, but also cooked perfectly. (I’m not a big fan of chicken noodle soup made with spiral or bow-tie pasta.) I was also impressed to see about 10 half-inch chunks of chicken meat in that small cup.

It’s obvious that Stock Market does not skimp on either quality or quantity. Although a small cup of soup and garlic bread wouldn’t fully fill me up, they were enough to stop my growling stomach for at least a few hours. As a Cheap Appetite Specialist, I give the Real Chicken Noodle soup (RCNS) a “strong buy” in any market situation.

Stock Market Real Chicken Noodle soup (RCNS): ©©©© 1/2

Stock Market is located at Granville Island’s Public Market. 1689 Johnston St, #147, Vancouver, BC V6H 3R9. (Phone) 604.687.2433

BUDGET BREAKDOWN:
Remaining Budget: $342.05
Budget Spent: -$4.75
Budget Available: $337.30

Note to my beloved readers:

Since my accumulated vacation days are about to expire, I decided to take a few weeks off to go to Japan and Thailand. No worries, you still have a new story to read every Monday even while I’m away. This story is the second of three scheduled posts. The last post was set for January 24th. Please feel free to comment on this post as usual. Although I am unable to reply right away, I promise to do so when I come back from the vacation. So don’t be shy:) I look forward to telling you about my Cheap Appetite missions in Japan and Thailand soon. Wish me luck:)

Try my Cheap Appétit recipes

Posted in cheap eats vancouver under $10, cheap eats vancouver under $5, cheap lunch, cooking shortcuts, fast food Tagged: Cheap Eats Vancouver, Chicken Noodle Soup, Good Eats Vancouver, Granville Island Public Market, Stock Market Soup

Cheap Appétit Recipes No. 003: Red Curry Tuna with Udon Noodles — Why Eat out When You Can Cook at the Office?

CheapAppetite — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:30:46 +0000

By Tana Kosiyabong

Winter had arrived and I hated it. I didn’t know about others, but I’d rather stay warm and dry in my office than run out in the cold rain to grab some lunch. However, I could only endure so much of ramen noodles, frozen dinners and leftovers at work. I desperately needed better lunch solutions. Fortunately, I have found one in the office’s microwave oven!

Microwave oven is not only great for making ramen noodles and heating up frozen dinners, but also good for cooking (if you know how to work around its limitations). However, you should be mindful while cooking at the office. Otherwise, your sweet coworker(s) could transform into Cruella Deville the minute your masterpiece stank up the office. At the point, nothing could stop those babbling mouths and evil eyes. Although cooking red curry from scratch will reek pungent smells, you don’t have to worry about it if you cook with my shortcuts.

The Red Curry Tuna with Udon Noodles is inspired by a Thai dish called Khanom Jeen Gang Phed. Khanom Jeen is Thai sourdough rice noodles normally served with Gang Phed (red curry), Gang Khiew Wan (green curry), or some other Thai dishes. Since I can’t find Khanom Jeen in Vancouver, I normally substitute it with spaghetti, ramen or udon noodles.

This recipe is also great for any college student who has either a microwave oven or an electric hot-pot in the dorm room.

INGREDIENTS:

– A can of Aroy-D red curry soup. For Vancouverites, you can find it at London Drugs for $2.69 or Asia Market (265 East Hastings street; 604.688.6824) for $1.89. If you’re keen on maneuvering through crazy stoners while shopping in a rough neighbourhood, you’ll save a whopping 80 cents there. Totally worth it in my opinion. For those who don’t live near Vancouver, try your local asian grocery stores or order online.

– A pack of udon noodles. I got this one on sale from T&T supermarket for about 60 cents. You should be able to find it in most asian grocery stores across North America. Any brand will do.

– A can of chunk light tuna in water. Look for a good deal at your local grocery stores and stock them up. I got this one for 75 cents.

NOTE: A few Thai hot chilies in the above picture are for decoration only. You can stock up all the three ingredients at the office in advance. Then pull them out when you’d rather stay out of the cold rain or snow.

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1. Add water to a microwave safe bowl. Bring it to boil in the microwave oven at high setting for 3 minutes or so. Add udon noodles into the bowl, then boil 2-1/2 minutes more.

STEP 2. In the mean time, open a can of Aroy-D red curry soup and pour it into another microwave safe bowl. Once the noodles are ready. Take them out of the oven. Replace with the curry bowl. Heat for 3 to 3-1/2 minutes.

STEP 3. While waiting for the curry, drain water from the noodles. Open a can of chunk light tuna, drain, then add to the noodle bowl.

STEP 4. Once the red curry is ready. Pour half of it into the noodle bowl. Serve hot.

You only need about half can of red curry for each package of udon noodles. If you have two packs of udon noodles and tuna, you can make an extra bowl for your boss. It could be the best ass-kissing move you’ve ever made in your entire career. However, if you’re as cheap as I am, keep the other half of the curry in the fridge for lunch tomorrow.

NOTE: The udon package said to cook in boiling water for 3 minutes. However, this recipe calls for 2-1/2 minutes because the residual heat will continue to cook the noodles while waiting for the curry. Also, I didn’t cook chunk tuna with the curry because I’d like to retain its shape.

NOTE FOR VEGETARIANS: Replace tuna with a cup of well-drained canned mushrooms or green beans. Add them to the curry before heating in STEP 2.

Posted in asian cuisine, Cheap Appétit recipes, cheap dinner, cheap lunch, cooking shortcuts, easy recipes Tagged: Cheap Appétit recipes, cooking shortcuts, easy Thai recipes, Microwave Recipes, Thai Red Curry Tuna Udon, Vegetarian Recipes

Cheap Appétit Recipe 002: Wasabi Leftover Turkey Salad Sandwich.

CheapAppetite — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:58:38 +0000

By Tana Kosiyabong

Canadian Thanksgiving always catches me off-guard. This year was no different. I totally forgot about it until last week. Once I found out, I started to panic. I had no clue where I could review a Thanksgiving turkey dinner under $5. I don’t know how to roast a turkey or bake a pumpkin pie either. “Oh boy! What am I gonna do?,” I murmured repeatedly.

It was impossible to think while having a panic attack. I had to calm down. So, I took a hot bath. Eureka! I jumped out of the bathtub like the enlightened Archimedes. (But I knew better than to run naked through the city like he did.) I can make good use of leftover turkey. People have tons of them for days, if not weeks, after Thanksgivings.

Still naked and soaking wet, I declared a new Cheap Appetite mission: How to make Wasabi leftover turkey salad sandwich under $5. The big problem was the turkey. It would be easier to get “technically free” leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. But how could I find cheap roasted turkey before then?

First idea was the Stouffer’s frozen turkey dinner I bought on sale last week for $2.50. Another one was to buy roasted turkey slices from the deli. Eventually, I decided to go with the turkey slices because I wanted to save the frozen dinner for my thanksgiving night. Then the rest of the ingredients easily fell into place. I got all but one of the ingredients at either home or Urban Fare.

Now don’t pass judgment until you hear why I shopped at this fancy grocery store. At Urban Fare, I could buy my ingredients in small amounts instead of purchasing the whole package. As an added perk I could grab the free mayo packs from their food court*. Since I bought turkey slices and a couple of other ingredients from them, I think it’s fair to use their free mayo.

INGREDIENTS:

– 100 grams of leftover turkey meat cut into small chunks (technically free). I used smoked turkey slices as a substitute ($2.67).

– 20 grams of craisins (75 cents). You can use raisins, dry mangos, or even cranberry sauce as a substitute.

– 20 Wasabi peas (20 cents). You can use any chopped nut as a substitute.

– 1 hard-boil egg (30 cents). Chop it into small cubes. If you don’t like eggs, add some more turkey.

– 4 12ml-packs or 31⁄4 tablespoons of mayo (Free). If you don’t like mayo, try the same amount of ketchup or barbecue sauce instead. But hold off on the lemon juice.

– 1-2 teaspoons of wasabi paste (10 cents). (I got it from T&T supermarket.)

– 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice (20 cents).

– 4 slices of bread (50 cents).

– 2 slices of cucumber as garnish. Stole it from my bird diet. (optional)

– 1 clove of garlic. Finely chopped or pressed. (optional)

– Leftover gravy. (optional)

This recipe makes enough salad for two sandwiches. (I forgot to put bread, lemon, salt and pepper in the above photo. My bad.)

HOW TO MAKE WASABI LEFTOVER TURKEY SALAD SANDWICHES.

STEP 1: Mix 4 packs of mayo, and 1 teaspoon of wasabi paste together. Make sure there’s no lump left. Taste the mixture. Add more wasabi if needed, half teaspoon at a time. (Once I was satisfied with the amount of wasabi, I still felt like something was missing. Suddenly, I could hear Chef Gordon Ramsay yelled “YOU FORGOT THE LEMON JUICE, YOU DONKEY!” in the back of my head. Fortunately I got a lemon in the fridge.) Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to the mixture. Taste it again. Add more lemon juice if needed. Then add salt and pepper to taste.

STEP 2: Add turkey and craisins or other dry fruits into the wasabi mayo. Normally, there’s no garlic in a mayo-based salad. But I can’t help it. I’m Thai, not a Vampire – I love garlic. If you like garlic, add it here. Mix well. If you decide to use cranberry sauce, spread it on the bread instead.

STEP 3: Add chopped eggs and wasabi peas. Fold them in gently. If you’re not going to eat the salad right away, DO NOT put the wasabi peas in yet. Add them in later just before you want to eat the sandwich. Mayo-based salads usually taste better the next day. But it doesn’t mean you have to wait if you’re hungry.

STEP 4: Put the salad on a piece of bread. Add cucumber and egg slices on top. Sandwich it with another piece of bread. You can use any kind of bread you like. Toasted or not, up to you.

STEP 5: If you have leftover turkey gravy, warm it up. Dip your sandwich in the gravy as you eat. I wish I had some. Damnit!

Looking for another exotic recipe using leftover turkey? Check out Cheap Appetit recipe No. 001. Just replace the mushroom with your leftover turkey, bring the green curry to a boil. No need to simmer.

Have a happy Canadian Thanksgiving and Cheap Appétit.

*I DO NOT condone this behavior. Try it at your own risk.

Posted in Cheap Appétit recipes, cooking shortcuts, easy recipes, north american cuisine Tagged: Cheap Appétit recipes, cooking shortcuts, easy recipes, Leftover Turkey Recipe, Leftover Turkey salad, wasabi mayo

Cheap Appétit Recipe No. 001: Green curry mushroom with Thai red rice and Edamame – So easy you can cook with one hand tied behind your back.

CheapAppetite — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 03:46:43 +0000

By Tana Kosiyabong

This week, I would like to introduce a new section called Cheap Appétit Recipes. It will be a gathering place for my cheap, easy recipes and cooking shortcuts. I hope you’ll find them useful and will eventually try them out. For more info on this section, please click here.

Last time I ordered green curry from a Thai restaurant was a long time ago. I think they should have named it pale green curry or Pantone 5807C curry to be exact. The cook used very little green curry paste in the dish. It didn’t taste good at all. I can make a meaner green curry even with one hand tied behind my back. Seriously.

To prove it, I will give you a step-by-step recipe on how to make green curry mushroom with only one hand. I’ll even get fancy and show you how to cook Thai red rice with Edamame beans to eat with the curry.

First we have to gather all the ingredients:

- AROY-D green curry in a can is my secret weapon. It was made in Thailand. So you can be pretty sure that it will taste quite authentic. I got it from London Drugs (1187 Robson St.) for $2.59. If you don’t live near Vancouver, try your local Asian food market or order it online.

- 1/2 pound of fresh brown button mushrooms ($1.75). I prefer small or medium sizes because they will soak up the curry flavor all the way through.

- 15 Thai sweet basil leaves, also known as Horapa (50 cents). Unfortunately, I had to buy a whole pack, but I can use the rest for other Thai dishes. You can buy them at your local Asian market too.

- 1/4 cup of frozen mixed vegetable (defrosted), eggplants or in this case, organic zucchini.

- 1 cup of Thai red rice.

- 1/2 a handful of frozen edamame.

- Fish sauce (or salt for a vegetarian dish) and Thai hot chili to customize your green curry taste (optional).

Note: I forgot to put Edamame, fish sauce and Thai hot chili in the ingredient photo. Sorry folks.

GREEN CURRY FRESH BROWN BUTTON MUSHROOM RECIPE

For those of you who want to play along with my silliness, please start from STEP 1. If you just want to take the easy route, you can skip to STEP 3 (But I hope you won’t. C’mon, let’s do it together).

STEP 1: Tie one of your hands behind your back. If you’re right-handed, don’t tie your right hand. No need to be a showoff. The same goes for the lefties. If you’re unable to tie your own hand, just put it in your pants pocket.

STEP 2: Sit on a stable chair. Put a can of green curry in between your knees to hold it in position. Try to place it as far away from your crotch as possible because that would be gross. Use your finger to pull the easy-open ring on the top of the can. Pull it upwards.

STEP 3: Once you open the can, pour the green curry into a small pot. Turn the stovetop on high. Bring the curry to a boil. If you are not familiar with the authentic taste of green curry, taste it at this point. Once you add mushrooms and vegetables to the pot, they will water down the taste of the curry. You’ll have to boil out the extra water to regain the original taste.

The Aroy-D green curry was a tad too sweet for my taste, even though green curry name in Thai is “Gang Keow Wan” or “sweet green soup” in English. So I add a few splashes of fish sauce to counter the sweetness. If you like it as is, omit the fish sauce. You can also add Thai chilies at this point if needed.

STEP 4: Once you are satisfied with the green curry taste, add mushrooms. They should be rinsed first in a colander then patted dry with paper towel. Bring the curry back to a boil. Then turn the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for about 7-8 minutes. Add the zucchini.

STEP 5: Let it simmer for a few more minutes. Taste it again. If it tastes similar to the original curry flavor, turn off the heat. (If not, boil a bit longer.) Remove the pot from the hot stove. Add the Thai sweet basil leaves and stir them in.

NOTE: Unlike French sauces, the seperation of coconut oil in Thai curry sauces are very desirable. It requires great techniques and patience to create the seperation if you cook from scratch. However, if you cook my way, the Aroy-D green curry has already taken care of it for you.

THAI RED RICE WITH EDAMAME RECIPE

STEP 1: Buy yourself a rice cooker. It’s pretty cheap. I bought mine for $15 from London Drugs.

STEP 2: Add rice to the pot. Wash and rinse it once or twice. Then add water to the level marked on your rice cooker inserted pot. Add Edamame. Put the lid on. Hit the cook button. Go watch TV or surf the net. But keep an eye on the pot.

STEP 3: Once the rice is cooked. The button will either automatically turn off or switched to warm. DO NOT open the lid at this point. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes. You’ll get evenly cooked rice. Serve with the curry.

Note: You should start cooking the rice first. Once the rice is resting, start the curry. This recipe made enough for two servings.

Enjoy and Cheap Appétit.

P.S. I promise that I used only one hand through out the cooking process, including the prep works. However, I had to use both hands to take pictures and control the light.