6 Asian Tips to Enjoy Budget-friendly Meals at Home

Let’s face it: with the rising cost of living worldwide, most of us are feeling the pinch. Now more than ever, cooking at home may help you save more than eating out. And, with Asian cooking, you can still enjoy delicious budget-friendly meals every day. In fact, Asian home-cooking puts a special emphasis on tasty, satisfying dishes that you can share with the whole family, made from simple, affordable ingredients that ensure everyone gets their protein, carb and minerals.

How, you ask? Well, by practicing these handy tips and tricks!

Shop Wise, Store Right

Go grocery shopping with a plan. Gauge what you need and compare prices wherever you can. Remember your available storage space and that food stuff generally has a limited shelf life, so don’t buy more than what you can keep. Also practice safe and proper storage methods. For example, fresh raw foods are best kept in your fridge or freezer, while some food items just need ample dry and cool space. Come check out our 20 tips to save on groceries, and our guides to store rice, potatoes, mushrooms and spices.

Stock Your Pantry with Staple Sauces

Sauces and seasonings are the main flavour-makers in Asian cuisines. They often come in full bottles for you to make a plethora of dishes, and can last up to weeks of home-cooking. So do stock up your pantry with staples such as light and dark soy sauces, fish sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, cooking wines, sesame oil, miso, chilli pastes, etc. Many Asian cuisines share staple sauces and seasonings as well. For example, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian cuisines often use a similar selection of sauces to different flavour effects. Also check out the essentials to cook authentic Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Filipino flavours.

Use the Same Flavouring Blend for Different Dishes

Make the most of your flavouring ingredients. Cooking pastes like miso, gochujang and the host of curry pastes across Southeast Asian cuisines can be used to flavour more than one dish. For instance, Thai Green Curry Paste is great in stir-fries, soup and barbecue marinades. Asian sauce combos are likewise versatile. In Chinese cuisine, a simple mix of soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil can flavour veggies, meat, rice and noodle dishes. So do try out different ways to cook with the same flavouring blend!

Enjoy the Same Protein in Different Flavours

Protein foods like meats, poultry, seafood, eggs, tempeh and tofu, are all versatile for a myriad of Asian cooking methods and flavours. So you can stock up to a week’s worth of one protein food in your freezer, and cook a different tasty dish every meal. Pair it with veggies for stir-fries, braise it in thick savoury sauces, marinate and roast to fragrant yumminess, and many, many more. To start, check out these awesome ways to enjoy chicken and eggs. Discover the ways to cook every type of beef cut. Also be sure to visit our recipes collection, and use the Advance Search feature for your choice of protein.

Make Goodies You Can Keep & Savour

One-pot dishes to enjoy over several meals are common in Asian cuisines. Curries, soups, Japanese rice balls, sushi jar, braised and slow-cooked dishes can last up to days in your fridge. Just cook a good hefty portion, and store the dish in an airtight container, and reheat whenever you like. Perfect for weekly meal plans. Besides that, pickling your fruits and veggies is a great way to preserve food as well. Got a love for Korean flavour? Make your own Kimchi with our guide.

Yummify Your Leftovers

Waste not, want not, as they say. With Asian cooking, even leftovers can transform into sumptuous, tasty dishes. Fried rice is among the most beloved leftover dish across Asian cuisines, best made with overnight cooked rice. The Korean Bibimbap one-bowl delight and Budae Jigae stew are delicious wonders made with leftovers too. Got some meat left in the freezer? Thaw and mince for a savoury addition to your stir-fried veggies, salad or noodle dish!