With the recent extension of the stay-at-home notice in Singapore, we’re sure many of you have turned to home cooked meals to keep hunger pangs away. While it can be difficult to whip up simple dishes that everyone in the family (kids included!) love, it’s definitely not impossible.
To get some reliable advice on food ideas for this circuit breaker, we spoke to Jamie, a Singaporean Mum home cook who loves sharing what’s cooking in her kitchen on her Instagram, @anythingjamie. And as a mother to a 2 year old, she definitely understands the woes of parents out there who’re struggling to feed picky tots!
Read on for 4 easy, healthy and yummy recipes we learnt from Jamie, which she’s confident you and your family will absolutely love!
1. Rosti Pizza
Image source: @anythingjamie
If you’re a big fan of potatoes, you’ll love this rosti pizza. A seemingly humble dish that rests on a crisp golden brown bed of fried potato, this savoury meal is bursting with flavour and will definitely be a hit with children! Feel free to give this recipe a personal touch by trying out different combinations of toppings too.
Ingredients
- 1 russet potato
- Tomato sauce of your choice
- Thin-sliced barramundi
- Lilo scallop powder
- Shredded cheese
Steps
- Prepare a shredder and shred the potato into a container filled with water.
- Squeeze the shredded potato until completely dry.
- In a pan, heat up some oil, then spread and flatten shredded potatoes in it.
- Once lightly browned, flip and cook the other side of the rosti pizza.
- When cooked, take the rosti pizza out of the pan and spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on it.
- Add thinly sliced barramundi, marinated with kid-friendly scallop powder. Store the powder in condiment shaker bottles for easy access.
- Top with cheese and bake until cheese browns.
- Your rosti pizza is done, enjoy!
Things to note:
- Try to use toppings that aren’t too oily, as they may release a lot of oil, leaving you with a soggy rosti!
- Don’t overcrowd your rosti with toppings or it will be too heavy to hold up.
- To ensure toppings cook fast, keep them thinly sliced (like Jamie’s barramundi).
2. One-pot Chicken Stew
Image source: @anythingjamie
This quick, easy and healthy one-pot (or some may call it one-dish) chicken stew is a delicious blend of protein and vegetables that’s sure to fill you right up. Chock full of savoury goodness, this is a also a fuss-free meal prep idea. Store in the fridge and simply heat it up when ready to eat!
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 300g chicken parts, marinated in oyster sauce & pepper (Jamie uses boneless chicken thigh)
- ½ tablespoon flour
- 150ml chicken stock
- 1 potato
- 1 carrot
- Broccoli
Steps
- Brown onions in a pot.
- Remove the onions, brown the chicken and add the onions back into the pot.
- Add flour into the pot and stir continuously.
- Once flour has been dissolved, add in your chicken stock.
- After the chicken stock has dissolved, put carrots, potatoes and a splash of water into the pot. Stir and cover with lid. Cook until potatoes turn soft (around 30 minutes).
- (Optional) Add broccoli once the potatoes are almost soft.
- Enjoy!
Things to note:
- It’s important to ensure the onions and chicken are browned. Browning the potatoes is optional.
- Feel free to increase or reduce the amount of water added according to personal preference.
3. One-pot Japanese Mixed Rice
Image source: @anythingjamie
One great way to incorporate vegetables into your diet would be to mix them into your rice. For parents with picky eaters, give this method a go to ensure your child gets enough nutrition.
A staple in Japanese meals, short-grain rice has a distinctive sticky and starchy texture that will leave you returning for more! Here’s how you can create a yummy one-pot Japanese rice dish with just your rice cooker.
Ingredients
- Japanese rice (soaked for 30 minutes)
- Dashi stock
- Soaked shiitake mushrooms
- Carrot
- Shimeiji mushrooms
- Spring onion (white part)
- Goji berries
- Barramundi (marinated in mirin & miso)
Steps
- Add equal parts of Japanese rice and dashi stock to the rice cooker.
- Place the shiitake mushrooms, carrot, shimeiji mushrooms, spring onions and Goji berries on top of the rice.
- Select the ‘Cook Rice’ function.
- 15 minutes before the rice is cooked (according to your rice cooker’s timer), add miso marinated Barramundi fish.
- Continue to let the rice and fish cook until the timer is up. Then let the rice sit for 10 minutes.
- Mix and serve. Enjoy!
Things to note:
- Mushrooms will release liquid when cooking. Jamie used ¾ cup water and ¾ cup japanese rice in a 1:1 ratio, but feel free to stick to your usual rice cooking method, and make adjustments when necessary to account for the extra liquid from the mushrooms.
- You can try prepping the ingredients in advance like Jamie did, so that it’ll take less than 10 minutes to pop everything in the rice cooker when you’re ready to eat!
4. Tortilla Pizza
Image source: @anythingjamie
If cooking a full meal just seems too tiresome, or if you have a hungry tot who’s pining for pizza, a tortilla pizza is the simple remedy to all troubles! With a warm, crispy golden brown crust, as well as a hearty helping of toppings, you can enjoy this as an appetizer or meal all on its own.
What’s even better about this dish, is that you can change up the toppings however you like. The measurements for the ingredients below are simply estimations, you can feel free to add in whatever you have in your fridge as filling or toppings!
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- ½ tablespoon minced garlic
- Onions
- Carrots
- Capsicum
- Mushrooms
- 150g seasoned minced meat
- 2 wholemeal tortilla wraps
- ¼ cup shredded cheese
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
- Black pepper (seasoning)
- Italian herbs (seasoning)
- Chili powder (seasoning, for adults)
- 1 egg (optional)
Steps
- Stir fry garlic and onions in olive oil.
- Add seasoned minced meat and break them apart.
- Add carrots, capsicum and mushrooms. Cook until soft.
- Spread tomato sauce onto the tortilla wrap, then add minced meat. Top it off with cheese.
- Bake the tortilla in the oven until the cheese browns.
- (Optional) Crack an egg in the middle before baking it.
- Enjoy!
Things to note:
- After stir-frying the meat, you can also add the tomato sauce directly into it and you will get bolognese sauce!
Given how scrumptious looking Jamie’s food looks, we’re sure many of you will be giving her recipes a go! Share with us your rendition of her 4 easy and healthy recipes by tagging us on Instagram @style_degree.
Stay home and whip up meals for your whole family to enjoy! Cook with an organized kitchen with Jamie’s favourite picks from us here:
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