Quick RM10 & Below Recipes For Your Buka Puasa Menu!

Celebrating the beginning of the auspicious Ramadhan month in midst of this worrying pandemic, many would contemplate hard to stay on the budget to fix their daily buka puasa menus, and also quite a number of them are fretting to step out at the Ramadan bazaar avoiding massive crowd in fear of contradicting the virus.

Worry no more folks, as we have got you sorted with a number of easy and quick recipes that would only fork out RM10 or below, satisfying your usual Ramadan cravings in a healthier way!

Sambal Tempeh & Ikan Bilis

Ingredients- 

• 6-8 shallots
• 15-20 dried chilies
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• 1 big onion, sliced thinly
• 200g peeled ikan bilis, soak in water, and drain
• 1 packet of tempe
• 1 tbsp tamarind, soaked in ½ cup water to extract the juice
• Salt and sugar, to taste

Prep Method-

• Heat up the oil, and fry the tempeh and ikan bilis in separate batches.
• Place the tempeh and ikan bilis aside.
• Then add in the blended ingredients over low heat into the oil, stirring from time to time until fragrant, and wait till the oil floats to the top.
• Add the sliced onion, and fry for about three minutes.
• Add the Ikan bilis and tempe.
• Increase the heat to medium.
• Fry for another three minutes to mix the Ikan bilis, tempeh, and sambal together
• Add tamarind juice, and bring to a simmer. Then, lower the heat and cook till the oil floats to the top.
• Cook it to the consistency you like – if you want dry sambal, cook it longer.
• Season. Add salt sparingly as the Ikan bilis is salty. If you like your sambal sweet, use more sugar.
• Best served with hot rice or use as a sandwich filling.

Oyster Mushroom Masak Lemak Chili Api

• 400g of oyster mushroom (cut in small pieces) 
• 3 cloves of shallots-chopped finely 
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon of dry shrimp (soaked & remove the excess water)
• 1 cup/170g of water
• 200g of coconut milk 
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 
• An inch of the lemongrass stalk 
• An inch of ginger 
• 10 cili padi 
• 1 red chili 

Prep Method-

1. Put in some oil in a wok.
2. When heated, pour in the blended mixture of dry shrimp, onions, garlic, cili padi, turmeric, and lemongrass.
3. Drop-in another stick of lemongrass and stir well.
4. Put in the mushroom and stir till it softens.
5. Add in the coconut milk and season with salt.
6. Cook with slow flame and remember to stir it frequently, add in a bit of water if it thickens too quickly.
7. Once it starts boiling, you can lift it off the stove and start serving.

Tom yam Meehoon

Ingredients-

• 2 tablespoon of dried chili paste
• 300g mee hoon, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
• 3 eggs
• 100g shredded chicken
• 1 tablespoon of tom yam spoon
• 60g of bean sprouts
• 6 tbsp oil
• 1/2 onion sliced
• Salt to taste

Prep Method- 

• Heat oil and fry onion till it’s translucent.
• Then add the chili and tom yam paste till the colour darkens slightly.
• Add chicken and salt to taste.
• Once the chicken is cooked, add in the pre-cooked mee hoon and mix well for 8-10 minutes.
• Push mee hoon aside in the wok. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the same wok and fry till eggs until it is cooked.
• Then add the bean sprouts and mix the mee hoon and eggs well together.
• Fry till all the ingredients come well together.
• Best served when it’s hot :).

Onion/Vegetable Fritters

Ingredients- 

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 1 ½ – 1 ¾ cups water (depend on how thick you want the batter)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 red chili – cut small
• 1 small onion – cut into small cubes
• 1 small bunch Chinese chives – cut small
• (You may also revamp the recipe to vegetable fritters by adding in any vege of your choice like enoki mushrooms, carrots or white reddish)

Prep Method-

• Mix all the flours, salt, pepper, baking powder, and turmeric powder in a bowl.
• Mix well using your hand or spoon and slowly add in water to make a fairly thick batter.
• Leave the batter aside to rest for 15 minutes.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir well.
• Heat up some oil in a non-stick pan and drop the batter by a spoonful into the oil.
• Shallow fry them on both sides until golden brown.
• Remove and drain the oil on paper towels.
• Serve warm with chili sauce.

For a healthier option you could also opt for the menus below:

Roast Chicken Tortilla Wrap

Ingredients- 

• 4 pieces tortillas
• 4 pieces cheddar cheese
• 1/2 red capsicum (sliced)
• 1/2 green capsicum (sliced)
• 1/2 onion (sliced)
• 4 green olives (pitted, sliced)
• 100 g roasted chicken meat (shredded)
• Finely chopped lettuce 

Dressing- Honey mustard

• 1 tbsp mustard
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt to taste
• black pepper to taste

Prep Method-

• Place all the ingredients on the wrap, drizzle the sauce over based on your own preference
• Fold it tight & serve

Tuna Croissant

Ingredients- 

• 2 Croissant
• Canned Tuna (Any of your favourite brand)
• 4 slices of Cucumber, if you opt for zucchini, then you will need 8 slices of zucchini
• 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Prep Method-

• Slice the croissants in the middle
• Toast it in the oven for 2 minutes
• Start the filling, by spreading butter and mayonnaise according to your own preference
• Place the cucumber or zucchini (for better crunch) into the croissant
• For the final touch, spread a generous amount of tuna.
• Serve when croissant is still warm.

Have a safe Ramadhan and make sure you have got the calories counting. Don’t binge on food and remember to always keep yourself hydrated especially after fasting. Those that take a stroll at the much-awaited bazaar, be sure to adhere to all the SOPs imposed whilst practicing social distancing! #kitajagakita

Reference: 1,2