If there’s one thing I am good at, it’s taking short cuts when cooking! Yes, I don’t pound my own spices, fry my own sambal or spend an entire day cooking one single dish. I take short cuts and am proud of it. Sorry not sorry to the cooking nazis who judge people like me!

I love sticky glutinuous rice but am not a fan of the various steps involved and things to wash when making it. Well I have nothing to fear because there’s always my awesome everything-also-can-cook Tefal spherical pot rice cooker to the rescue!

All you need to do is wash the glutinuous rice grains, place them in your ricecooker, steep for 30 minutes and cook! While the rice is cooking, make the coconut sauce to add to the rice later. Slice up some mangoes and tada!

The crunchy bits on top of mango sticky rice is usually fried mung beans. You can get mung beans from the supermarket (I saw it at the Indian spices section at Giant) and fry them yourself. I didn’t want to do that so I got some fried dhal snacks from Sri Murugan opposite my house, crushed them and topped my sticky rice with them. So unauthentic but I love the crunch LOL. Alternatively, substitute mung beans with any crispy beans.

I used brown sugar for this recipe but you can use caster or white sugar if you wish.

Who’s Mdm June Lee? My mom, that’s who!

Mom has always been an amazing baker and cook. One of my fondest memories is my brothers and I fighting over the butter cake pan because we wanted to scrape off the bits stuck to the sides after she removed the cake. We preferred those yummy cake bits more than the actual cake back then. Now? You can have those cake scraps guys. I’ll settle for a piece of rich buttery cake, thanks!

Last weekend, cbb had a baking session over at Grandma’s. When mom said we were going to bake a sponge cake, I was a bit disappointed as I thought I would have the entire butter cake to myself. BUT what I didn’t know: what she meant by sponge cake is what’s trending now… the super wobbly Ah-Ma sponge cake! Whoaaaaa I need to learn to make this! Mom doesn’t know trends, but she knows a good cake.

I literally watched my mom bake this right before my eyes. The final product is pure magic. The ingredients are super simple – the only skills needed is in the folding of the egg whites. I hope you succeed in making this and let me know how it goes!

Have you heard of the instant ramen from Japan that boasts a One Michelin Star? Yes, it exists!

The mind-blowing cup noodles are by Nakiryu, a one-Michelin-Starred restaurant that has collaborated with Nissin to release the “Nakiryu Dandan Noodles”. We have heard about it for a while, but finally got our hands on our first bowl in our recent Tokyo trip. Each bowl costs 279 yen, about SG$3.40, available at most convenience stores and department stores’ supermarkets.

Even the bowl looks atas!

The noodles look skinny but they’re smooth with a very good bite, just like fresh ramen. I expected to taste MSG in the soup but what attacked my taste buds was a glorious, harmonising, creamy broth with a unique sesame flavor – not sesame OIL (I’m not a fan of that), but the fragrance of actual sesame seeds. It’s so, so good. I can’t believe it’s instant noodles!

Here’s how you cook it:

Sprinkle the brown packet seasoning powder on the noodles and fill with hot water to the inner indicator. Cover and place the red and green packets on the lid to warm them up. Wait for three minutes. When time’s up, loosen the noodles and mix well. Stir in the concentrated broth and oil and be sent to ramen heaven.

We also bought the Ippudo instant noodles as I am a real fan of the restaurant. But at least for me, these are just ok and super salty. Maybe I’m just biased after tasting Nakiryu!

Now you get a chance to try BOTH for yourself! I have a giveaway going on over at my Facebook page. Read this post to take part. Good luck!

What is your child’s absolute favourite food?

Mine’s rice for sure.

She can eat an entire bowl of plain rice if I let her! To balance her love for rice with better nutrition, I often let her have more protein (fish, beans) than rice during meal times. In this recipe, I added airfried salmon seasoned with garlic powder and mixed herbs, plus 16-grains, corn and edamame. The optional ingredient is cream cheese. It adds flavour and acts as a binder. It’s so good that even adults love this!

I have a picture of the multi grains I use over in this blog post. The last time I checked, it was still available on Redmart.

This recipe is really easy and requires no effort at all. Just cook rice, add in ingredients, bundle up in cling wrap for a minute or two and serve! Although it’s just rice, kids usually find finger food more fun to eat. Mix and match your kids’ favourite ingredients in this! Some ideas: prawns, scrambled or hardboiled eggs, peas, carrots, pumpkin all work well.

Leave me a note if you’re making this!

The post Recipe for kids: Salmon rice cakes with 16 grains appeared first on .

Our baby girl turned two last Saturday… where has the time gone?

We did the mandatory (at least for us) photoshoot to commemorate her turning of age (haha), and these photos will go up on an IKEA frame to be hung in our living room wall! We did the same when she was one year old – we framed her cake smash shoot. I wonder if we will continue the tradition until our living room runs out of walls?

How has it been for me for the past two years, you ask?

I love it. I enjoy being a mum. I think I was made to be one.

And that’s not because Cbb is someone who’s relatively easy to take care of. She *is* a sweet baby – thoughtful, loving, understanding and accepts reasoning. But there are also times that she cries non stop just because. If you’re a parent, you will know this too.

There are times she wanna eat a rice cracker and drink milk two minutes after her dinner and cries the house down when I refuse to let her. There are times she goes mad just because I must the one to wash her empty bottle instead of her dad (“Mama wash! Mama washhhhh! Waaaaaaaaa!!!!!!”). There are times she wants to eat dinner but doesn’t want me to cook (?!) and demands I do magic to poof food on the table.

But honestly, although it is tiring to deal with this unreasonableness, I’ve never once felt frustrated. What’s the point of being frustrated over something you just have to deal with? There’s no choice right? Not as if feel frustrated and angry then you don’t have to entertain her right? Then lose patience for what? You’re just wasting energy. Yes, it’s super tiring, but better than losing your temper at her and making yourself tired x 2.

My close friends ask me, how do you remain so chilled when she’s kicking up a fuss for no reason? Doesn’t she get on your nerves?

Not really. With a character like mine (oh, you don’t know.. you don’t know at all), I seriously amaze myself at the level of patience I have with this girl. Except it doesn’t take me a lot of effort to be patient and loving towards her. She’s really so special!

How could I ever feel anything less than love for her? She’s the girl who tells me, “I love you mama” every night before she goes to bed. She’s the one who kisses my bruise and tells me, “明天就好了”. She’s the baby for whom I tried to “give the best” by breastfeeding her as long as I could even though I was struggling so bad. She’s the one who makes me smile all day just thinking about her!

Motherhood has taught me to give without complaint. I love her sticking to me, oh yes I do, because I know the days are long but the years are just too short. I want her to stick to me all day, even when I have to go to the bathroom.

What has being a mother (or father, if you’re a dad reading this) taught you?

If cbb has captured your heart… follow our journey on Facebook and Instagram!

Click to read her newborn shoot and one-year-old cake-smash session!

The post #cbbturnstwo: For the past two years… appeared first on .

Ok this is a kid-friendly recipe… really? Yes without the oil, it’s perfect for kids!

I cram A LOT of vegetables in this version – water chestnuts, carrots, cabbage, spring onions… it’s so easy to up your veggie intake with this recipe. Cbb has hers boiled in soup or airfried, and she loves both versions. I also love freezing these so I can whip up a quick and yummy meal for us anytime!

The sauce looks red but honestly it’s not very spicy la. I used the lao gan ma chilli oil brand which was ok for me. The game changer has to be the black vinegar added to the sauce… it kicks the level up a notch. Please do not skip the vinegar.. you wanna skip, you might as well don’t cook this.

If you’re new to making wantons, it’s really simple to fold them. Place the filling in the middle of a square wanton sheet (use the yellow type, not those white ones), fold the edges so that it becomes a triangle, then with the one end pointing down, bring the other two tips up and criss cross them. Seal them in place with some water.

I didn’t add prawns to my wantons this time because I didn’t have them, but you could add some for extra crunch and sweetness. Honestly, every time I make wantons they’re different because apart from the minced meat, other ingredients depend on what I have on hand. Who’s the same?

If you love red oil wantons, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

The post 红油抄手 Red oil wanton with a yummy sauce appeared first on .

Have you tried Leek and Potato Soup before? Here’s my low carb version!

Cauliflower is an amazing vegetable for people trying to lose weight or need to be on a low carb diet due to medical reasons. They’re such an awesome replacement for potatoes and flour, and can be used in so many ways!

Today, I’m sharing a leek and cauliflower soup recipe that’s great for kids too. Cbb loves this soup and it’s another way I make sure she eats all her vegetables, not that I’m having a hard time getting her to – she eats everything! I often use this as pasta sauce.. just ladle on top of cooked pasta and serve with meat balls for a complete meal.

I use my $49 panasonic handheld blender for this. It’s really one of the most-used tools in my kitchen apart from my airfryer. How often do you make soups like this? Do you have a favourite blender to recommend?

The post Leek and cauliflower soup for the family appeared first on .

Where do you go to shop for wholesome, nutrient-packed snacks, juices, power foods and dietary supplements for your family? I shop online from Wholesome Harvest, on Redmart!

Wholesome Harvest is a local company that has been wholesaling and distributing natural and organic beverages, confectioneries, food, snacks and health supplements for the last 15 years. They began small, serving the local independent organic stores initially till today where their products can be found at various F&B outlets, hospitals, hotels, supermarkets and even conveniently online on Redmart – that’s where I get mine!

What kind of products do they carry? TOO MANY TO LIST! Organic baby puffs, yogurt bites, fruit crisps, fig bars for mid-day hunger pangs, a mind-boggling range of flavoured teas, wholesome juices, chia seeds, healthy quinoa… even lactation biscuits and nursing tea for breastfeeding moms!

Here’s a list of our favourite products and a kid-friendly quinoa meatball recipe as you scroll down… cbb approves!

1. Happy Baby Organic Puffs and Yogurt Snacks

Which kid doesn’t like puffs? Cbb started her pincer grasp with Happy Baby puffs when she was about eight months old and she loves these anytime, anywhere!

Happy Baby Organic Gluten Free puffs are enriched with vitamins and minerals, and lightly sweetened with real fruit juice concentrate. Cbb’s current favourite flavour is purple carrot and blueberry…I have to pry the bottle away from her chubby little hands!

She also loves the organic Yogurt Bites that are enriched with probiotics for digestive health, and which are available in a range of flavours too!

2. Brothers-All-Natural Freeze-Dried Fruit Crisps

Fresh is best, but when I’m crunched for time or haven’t managed to stock my fridge, I do reach out for these nifty fruit pouches for cbb. Initially I had thought that these are dried fruits, like the types of sickly-sweet apricots and raisins I often see in supermarkets. But these pouches of FREEZE-dried fruit are different! There’s no sugar coating, so it’s delightfully light and crisp, thanks to the freeze-fried process that gently removes water from the fresh fruit. I like this a lot myself! 100% fruit. No preservatives or sugar added.

3. Gogo Quinoa

Quinoa is a power food also known as the mother of all grains. A complete protein and fantastic wheat-free alternative, quinoa is making its way into nutritious baby and kids meals all over the world.

How do you cook quinoa? I cook it in a few ways. The easiest is to mix it with rice grains and cook them together in the rice cooker. Another way is to simply mix one part quinoa and two parts water and cook it on the stove top, covered for about ten minutes till done. I love mixing quinoa into meatballs for added crunch with I airfry them for cbb. Read my kid-friendly quinoa meatball recipe with apple sauce below!

You could also add quinoa to soup, or try out this yummy mushroom cream soup with quinoa, 100% vegan and gluten free.

4. Field Day Organic Applesauce

Who loves using apple sauce in their cooking? Me! Applesauce is an incredibly versatile ingredient. Cbb loves eating it plain or dipped with meatballs (this is the applesauce I’m using in my recipe below!), and the husband loves having his with pork chops. I also add the cinnamon applesauce to my homemade apple tarts whenever I do bake them. The smell from the oven is heavenly!

Field Day Organic Applesauce is a simple and delicious treat, made with fresh organic apples and nothing artificial. Great as baby’s first food too!

5. Pukka Organic Herb Teas

Herbs have been used to support health for thousands of years. Pukka Organic blends are suitable for drinking throughout the day to help maintain a healthy glow. I take them to the office as a mid-day boost too! My favourite is the lemon, ginger and manuka honey, a welcoming cup of spicy-sweet organic bliss.

Pukka also has a range specifically for women and mothers to take care of your well-being. Raspberry teas for the pregnant mom, lactating tea for the nursing mother, and beauty teas to rejuvenate us. Love this thoughtful selection.

6. Traditional Medicinals Organic Range for Mothers

If you’re currently pregnant or breastfeeding, you will welcome the range of products on Wholesome Harvest! The Mother’s Milk products promote healthy lactation and the Morning Ease candy help relieve nausea during pregnancy or whenever you need it.

7. Franjos Kitchen Lactation Biscuits and Muesli

And if you’re looking for yummy lactation biscuits without having to bake your own, Franjos Kitchen’s selections is the answer! Biscuit flavours include Fig & Almond and Chocolate Chips, and the Date, Walnut & Maple Crunchy Muesli can be sprinkled over yogurt or eaten with milk.

Contains brewer’s yeast to help you produce milk for your little one.

8. Nature’s Bakery Fig and Brownie Bars & Harvest Box Snack Packs for Adult Snacking

I’ll admit it – I love snacking. And it’s sometimes hard to watch calorie intake when you’re snacking, even when it’s nuts and berries, or other delicious goodies that are good for you. Conveniently packaged for on-the-go snacking, Nature’s Bakery’s brownie and fig bars contain no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial flavors or colours, are soy free, dairy free, cholesterol free, and contains 0 trans fats at only 100 calories a serving.

Another product I swear by is the Harvest Box Snack Packs. One pack can keep me satiated for the entire afternoon! With the many flavours available, there’s bound to be one delicious mix that makes you reach for them again and again. The husband loves these too and I can absolutely understand why.

My favourite is ‘Go Bananas’ – goji berries, banana chips, seeds and dark chocolate. The different textures and flavours I experience makes this a fun and yummy treat!

Go on over to the Wholesome Harvest online store on Redmart to make your purchase today! There are over 350 selections of nutritious snacks and products suitable for the whole family – baby, kids and adults alike!

Wholesome Harvest products are also available from these e-stores:

• Shopee – https://shopee.sg/wholesomeharvest
• Qoo10 – https://www.qoo10.sg/shop/wholesomeharvest
• Lazada – https://www.lazada.sg/shop/wholesome-harvest/

And now for a kid-friendly quinoa meatball recipe that will help you incorporate power grain quinoa into your kid’s diet easily. Ready? Let’s go!

Recipe for kids: Quinoa Meatballs with Organic Applesauce
Makes 10-12 meatballs
What you need:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Gogo Tri-Colour Quinoa
2 tablespoons Field Day Organic Applesauce
250g minced meat
10 water chestnuts
1 medium carrot
Half a medium capsicum
2 stalks spring onions
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3 cream crackers or butter crackers, crushed

Steps:
Combine quinoa and 2 tablespoons water in a pot. Bring to boil and lower flame. Cook, covered for 10 minutes until quinoa is done. Set aside.

Place water chestnuts, carrot, capsicum and spring onion in a food processor or blender (I used a manual blender) and chop till fine.

Place minced meat in a large mixing bowl. Add in the chopped vegetables, quinoa and cream crackers. Mix well and shape into balls. The quinoa will help bind all the ingredients together.

Airfry at 180C for 10 minutes. Alternatively, shallow fry with a little oil till golden brown.

Serve with Field Day organic applesauce as a dip.

The post All my family’s favourite power snacks + a quinoa meatball kids’ recipe! appeared first on .

I often ask the hubs if he feels like eating anything special and I will cook it for him.

Last week, he ‘ordered’ Korean kimchi pancakes. Mmmm ok! I love crispy Korean pancakes too and am too cheap to buy it outside. I could have saved more if I made my own kimchi, but this time I simply bought ready made ones from the supermarket. I can make 3 pancakes with a 500g packet which cost about $7. So it’s still much cheaper to make it at home!

This is a super easy dish to make – I like to use cake flour to make the pancake fluffier, and potato starch helps make it crispier in the hot oil. This batter is amazing… you can make different types of savoury pancakes with it simply by substituting the kimchi with something else. I have made ham and cheese, minced meat and spring onions, fish paste and prawns, and many more!

The prawns are optional in this recipe, but they’re really good. So don’t omit them if you can!

The post The easiest crispy Korean kimchi pancake recipe ever appeared first on .

The post Protected: Learning through play: Playtime for my active toddler appeared first on .

I can’t promise that this tastes like Mos Burger sweet corn soup (because it doesn’t), but I can tell you that this is one pot of nutritious goodness that you want to feed your kids with.

No oil, no sugar, no salt, no cream, no flour, no artificial ingredients – just a whole lot of vegetables and natural sweetness. This soup is thickened with potatoes and corn. I used a handheld blender to purée the soup at the end, but you could transfer it to your stand-blender. Buy a handheld blender if you don’t have it.. it will save you so much time!

I often cook this for the whole family and add a bit of salt to ours. For an even yummier taste, you can add a tablespoon of butter at the beginning and saute your vegetables before adding water. For this recipe, I simply boiled all the vegetables together and puréed them in the end. Cbb loves having this with macaroni!

The post Creamy sweet corn soup for kids (with lots of vegetables!) appeared first on .

Readers of budgetpantry would know that I’m a BIG fan of Elsie’s Kitchen. If you’re doing research on baby full month or birthday party buffet catering, consider them!

Why is Elsie’s Kitchen my #1 choice when it comes to buffet catering? Here are my top three reasons:

1. They’re 100% halal certified.
This is a must-have for me because I have muslim guests, and when hosting a full month party or even big events, being halal certified is TOP of my requirements.

2. Their thematic set-up décor is awesome and can be customised!
I engaged Elsie’s Kitchen for cbb’s full month party and they dressed up the buffet so well, complete with a cute diaper cake and dessert table! Read about it here. And when she turned one year old, it was without question that I got them to help again. I asked for an ‘enchanted forest’ theme, and they outdid themselves again. Read about our experience here, and see for yourself! Also view their baby full month photo gallery on their website, and see the décor they have done for other families.

3. Their menu is super innovative with interesting flavours + reasonable prices
Gula meleka cupcakes? Cheng tng konnyaku jelly? Kopi-C cream puff? Their menu selection really blows me away! Some of my favourite innovative dishes: Cuttlefish & Kang Kong Tempura with Spicy Dipping Sauce, Battered Eggplant with ‘Curried’ Chicken Floss, La La in Laksa Cream and of course their Signature Muar Mackerel Otah! Check out their buffet menus here. I promise you’ll be spoilt for choice mix and matching!

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Because I’ve used their services for the longest time even before cbb was born, it was of no surprise that I got them to help us at Singapore Tula Love‘s recent birthday party! Look at what their décor team did for us… an Under the Sea theme!

We opted for their tea reception menu because refreshment time for our event was at 2.30pm. I love the buffet selection:

Dishes included:

• Vegetarian Black Bee Hoon with Crispy Beancurd Skin
• Pandan Gula Melaka Muffin
• Fried Saito Fishball
• Chicken Floss Mayonnaise Sandwich
• Cheng Teng Konnyaku Jelly
• Tau Suan with You Tiao
• Barley Cordial

We were spoilt for choice as there was easily more than 60 dishes to choose from at only $5.50 per pax!

How to go about indicating you want a thematic set-up?

Simply order your regular buffet or tea reception as usual, then top up accordingly for your preferred theme set up. Send them an email at sales@elsiekitchen.com.sg, tell them you read about the buffet + thematic set up on budgetpantry, and they will guide you from there. Contact Elsie’s Kitchen today for a unique buffet experience… thank you to the team at Elsie’s Kitchen for doing this for us!

***Free special upgrade for Budgetpantry readers***

Choose your own customised theme. Share this post on your Facebook to qualify!
Complimentary upgrade of Customised Baby Full Month Set-up when you pay for one of their basic décor packages. You will receive a free upgrade to a customised theme of your choice, just like our enchanted forest theme for cbb’s first birthday! Email sales@elsiekitchen.com.sg to find out more and remember to quote ‘budgetpantry’. Don’t forget to share this blog URL on your Facebook!

Elsie’s Kitchen
Website: http://www.elsiekitchen.com.sg/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/elsiekitchen/
Email: sales@elsiekitchen.com.sg

The post Why you should choose Elsie’s Kitchen as your baby’s full month buffet caterer appeared first on .

I LOVE HOMEMADE GRANOLA.

It’s super yummy and cheap to make, and it helps me use of all the rolled oats I got in baby & mummy goodie bags! Cbb loves granola for breakfast with oat milk!

This recipe is for the loose kind of granola. Yes the honey makes it sweet and makes parts of it clump together, but if you’re looking for the kind that you can break apart like granola bars, this isn’t it. I’ll share more when I make a batch of those!

The wonderful thing about homemade granola is that anything goes. No, really. All you need is an oven to make everything come together. Use rolled oats. Then add whatever nuts, dried fruit and crunchy bits you like (we love puffed rice krispies)! Phoon Huat is a wonderful place to get all of these.

In this recipe, I used sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried currents, rice crispies and rolled oats, but I also love adding chocolate chips sometimes with hazelnut and some almond essence. The measurements in the recipe are an estimation. Basically what you do is mix everything in a large mixing bowl according to what you like. If you prefer more almonds, all them. If you don’t like dried currents, use blueberries.

Once you learn how to make these, you won’t go for store bought ones again! Enjoy!

The post Easy Homemade Granola Recipe appeared first on .

Have you heard? Philips has come up with the XXL version of their revolutionary Airfryer, the only Airfryer I use in my kitchen!

I have used my Philips Airfryer since 2013. That makes it more than five years since it has occupied a space in my precious kitchen counter top. I started with the first generation Viva Collection 9220 series, then moved on to the Avance XL Digital Collection. And now I can’t wait to tell you what I love about the XXL HD9654/91! Check out all my Philips Airfryer recipes here.

Why do I love the Philips Avance XXL Airfryer? Here are my five top reasons:

Family-sized meals
The ultra large 1.4kg capacity is big enough to handle a whole chicken and even baked potatoes and root vegetables by the side. The space is equivalent to six portions of fries, so imagine how many bottles of crab sticks I can do at a go during Chinese New Year! It is big enough to even fit FOUR slices of bread all together:

Innovative Fat Removal Technology
With the Twin TurboStar technology which uses a powerful heater and motor to make hot air swirl
fast like a tornado, the Airfryer XXL allows you to enjoy delicious meals with up to 90% less fat as compared to a conventional Philips fryer. Whenever I have a fries treat, there’s always a pool of oil collected at the bottom of the Airfryer tray which I can easily dispose of. I love this feature the most. So not only do you NOT need to deep fry precooked fries and nuggets (and intake even more oil in the process), you’re actually expelling unnecessary oil when you airfry!

More than just a fryer
It’s a myth that the Airfryer is only good for cooking processed deep fried frozen food! I probably use it about 10% of the time to cook fries and hashbrowns. The rest of the time, I bake, grill and roast fresh food like chicken wings, whole chicken, salmon fillets, pork chops, cakes and cookies! The easiest thing to do after a long day at work is is to Airfry salmon for 7-8 minutes and dinner is on the table. Oh, and cbb loves her airfried meat balls too. 6-8 minutes is all it takes.

QuickClean basket with non-stick mesh
Airfryer’s QuickClean basket has a removable non-stick mesh for easy cleanup. Both the basket and removable drawer with non-stick coating are dishwasher safe – and frying with air saves you and your home from the odor of traditional deep-frying.

Keep Warm mode for flexible serving time
The Keep Warm function lets you serve the food when you are ready for it. You can keep your dish warm up to 30 minutes. As a mom, I just want to get settle everything else before having dinner. With the Keep Warm function, I can still have warm food for myself after cooking for cbb, bathing her and taking a shower before sitting down to have my own dinner. Moms would recognise this luxury, right? LOL.

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Recipes

The versatility of the Philips Airfryer is unmatched. Look at the different meals I have prepared in my Airfryer. You can do the same! Here’s the simple recipe of our homemade pizza:

Quick and Easy Lamb French Cutlets in Char Siew Glaze [CLICK FOR RECIPE]

Finger food for kids: Crispy potato and veggie bites [CLICK FOR RECIPE]

Airfried Cajun Salmon [CLICK FOR RECIPE]

Airfried Cod Fish with Crispy Skin, HK Style [CLICK FOR RECIPE]

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New to cooking?

If you’re new to cooking or to the Airfryer, there’s no need to fret. Every purchase of the Philips Avance XXL Airfryer comes with a recipe booklet with more than 30 delicious dishes. From quick healthy snacks to full family meals, the free recipe book offers easy-to-follow instructions that everyone can follow.

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Get 20% off for Budgetpantry readers!

Ready to explore the new way of cooking with the Avance Collection Airfryer XXL HD9654/91?

Click here to buy online at 20% off retail!

Code: twinturbostar (key in at check out)
Discount: 20% off – applicable only on the Philips e-store
Applicable models: HD9654/91 and HD9723/11 – both models come with Twin TurboStar technology

Share this deal with your friends and look out for a sweet giveaway coming your way soon on Facebook!

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The post 5 reasons why I love the new Philips Airfryer XXL appeared first on .

My family is Teochew and we have a thing for Lo Bak (braised pork belly). But I really do love Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan. I would choose it over the Teochew version anyday! (Sorry, Ah-mm.)

This recipe is an easy way to satisfy our cravings for Taiwan braised pork rice. If you don’t have a few hours to spare, you can also prepare this in your instant pot or all-in-one pressure cooker as it’s usually referred to here. The long cooking time results in a savoury, rich, melt-in-your-mouth dish that isn’t overly greasy – thanks to the good fat-meat ratio. I can eat bowls of rice with this. I hope you try this for your family!

The post 卤肉饭 Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan in Slow Cooker appeared first on .

I have a new love affair – with the Panasonic Cubie Oven! I made Pandan Madeleines in it – look out for my easy recipe below, which is perfect as quick bites for the holiday season and Chinese New Year too. I often bake a big batch for festive snacking/house visiting during the CNY period and everybody loves these over kuih bahulu – little sponge cakes also known as ‘Asian Madeleines’.

The Panasonic Cubie Oven (NU-SC100W) is an all-rounder Convection Steam Oven that lets you steam, roast, bake, healthy fry and even disinfect baby bottles and tableware in it.

Some amazing features of the Cubie Oven:
1. Prepare quick and healthy meals in no time at all
2. Multi-cooking functionality
3. Super easy to use!

Cooking styles
Steam
In the ‘Steam’ mode, hot steam is generated in just 20 seconds and the entire oven is filled with 100 °C steam in under three minutes. This translates to much faster cooking time as compared to traditional steaming methods. What I love most about this feature is there are no multiple items to wash – wok, steamer rack and what-have-yous. Just fill the water compartment at the top, place your dish inside the oven, turn the knob, press ‘Start’ and that’s it! A healthy and delicious meal is ready in minutes.

Hot air convection

The hot air convection function (healthy fry!) give you amazing results every time. With hot air convection, you can cook fried food with minimal oil and do away with the guilt of deep frying.

Steam + hot air convection

This is my favourite mode! Today’s recipe of Pandan Madeleine with Coconut Cream is made using this mode. With steam + hot air convection, the madeleines are first steamed to maintain moisture, and then baked to perfection. I love the crisp outer layer that you can achieve with this mode. You can use this function to roast vegetables too for kids and adults alike by first steaming the vegetables till cooked, then roasting or caramalising them. Yum!

So with the Panasonic Cubie Oven, you get these three super modes to ensure that your food turns out perfectly every time: Steam, Steam + Convection, and Convection only. You can even ferment bread dough in it! The 16 auto menus let you prepare delicious dishes in a jiffy. Some examples are steamed fish, steamed egg, steam frozen food (like mantou or buns!), steamed chicken, homemade yogurt, pizza, cheese cake, fried fish, chicken chop, breaded prawns, korean chicken wings and more.

Compact size

The Panasonic Cubie Oven is so compact, it’s unreal. Measuring only 355mm wide, it takes up just a small corner in my space-constraint kitchen. Yes, I do have three pull-out work tops for my small kitchen for prepping food (seriously the best decision made during renovation!), but the kitchen countertop is still so small. With the Cubie Oven, I can do away with multiple kitchen appliances as it fulfils so many functions in one. The multiple tray levels let you cook more than one dish at the same time. Like you can steam vegetables and make chawanmushi all at once. And don’t be fooled by the compact size. A whole fish of 28cm fits inside with no problems.

Verdict

The Panasonic Cubie Oven is compact, but powerful and versatile. A worthy addition to any kitchen! And yes, you can even disinfect baby bottles in it. Is this amazing or what?

Recipe

And now for my recipe of Pandan Madeleine with Coconut Cream made using the Steam + Convection mode. Everything is ready in less than 30 minutes including prep time. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

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Cbb loves her meatballs and so do I because it’s so easy to cook! Just mix random ingredients together and you can have a variety of dishes. Add some water chestnuts, prawns and mushrooms and you have a different taste. You can have meatballs as they are in soup, braised, as burger patties, wrapped in dumplings or beancurd skin … and the best part? They freeze well for quick weekday meals!

Today’s recipe is Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs 红烧狮子头, gigantic, delicious and juicy meatballs in a yummy broth, with sweet napa cabbage. I like to add fish paste to mine – I don’t care what anyone says! To up the veggie profile you can include some sliced carrots or add Chinese spinach towards the end.

Because airfryers are awesome, I airfried the meatballs instead of panfrying them. They’re actually fully cooked in 10 minutes, but the simmering time makes them extra juicy and tender. And my secret to sweet and savoury broth/gravy? Honey dates! Don’t forget to add them.

Feel free to reduce the saltiness in the gravy if serving to kids, like using 1 tbsp concentrated stock instead of 2, etc. Your kids will love this all the same. Try it out!

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This cake came about because of two bananas. Two overriped, speckled bananas which were too mushy to eat on its own but perfect for cakes. Cbb has also developed a new obsession for steamed cakes, so this naturally was our after-school adventure!

My little girl helped me with sifting the flour and spooning the brown sugar, and she also decided she wanted blueberries in there. You could totally add chocolate chips if you want, or leave them out all together. This cake is super easy to make and quite fail proof I would say. It’s a perfect activity to do with your little one!

I steamed this in my Panasonic steam oven (the one with a lot of functions), but you could do it over the stove too. If steaming over the stove, be sure to wrap the wok/pan lid with a piece of cloth during steaming, to prevent condensation from dripping all over the cake when you lift the cover.

I used brown sugar in this recipe, but you could use regular caster sugar as well. Enjoy!

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What’s savoury, delicious, comforting, and ready in 10 minutes?

TADAH! This amazing pork donburi! Donburi essentially means a ‘rice bowl dish’. Popular dons include Katsu Don (fried chicken/pork bowl), Gyu Don (beef bowl), Ten Don (tempura bowl), Soboro Don (minced chicken bowl) and the list goes on. My favourite is this Buta Don, served with sliced onions, egg and spring onions. It’s super easy to cook and warms my tummy any day!

One important thing to note is that you need to add the pork belly slice by slice into the pan so they don’t clump together. This also keeps them soft and not overcooked! And if you don’t have mirin and/or sake at home, replace with hua diao wine. I mean, it’s not traditionally Japanese of course, but it’s still quite damn delicious.

I hope you try this easy and yummy recipe!

Oh, and many of you ask me what soy sauce I use. I only use Hand Flower Brand! You can do a search online. I think you can get it from Kee Song online and also at fairs and wet market provision shops. Look for ‘Heng Yoon Trading’ on Facebook for the stockist list!

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This is the perfect soup for the erratic weather recently. It is soooo hot even if it rains!

The husband also remarked that we’ve been having a lot of heaty and heavy food since our Taiwan trip (fried chicken, Taiwanese braised pork rice and bak chang anyone?)… so slow cooked soups it is this week!

Wintermelon and barley both have cooling properties, and the dried scallops, honey dates, corn and carrots add sweetness to the soup. Cbb loves this so much that she had two bowls of soup and asked for more. This soup can also be cooked over the stove top or in the pressure cooker, although I always find soups made in the pressure cooker not as flavourful.

We love having this soup. Would you like to try it? Anyone can make cook this!

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