Quick and Easy Lunch Ideas to Cook at Home
As a nutritionist, Adelle Davis, famously said in the 60s: “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper”.
Lunch is an important meal for everyone. It provides energy and nutrients we need for the rest of the day. It gives you the focus and concentration you need for the rest of your day! But preparing quick and delicious meals at home might seem impossible with your daily routine.
Quick and easy recipes are the talk of the town when it comes to being healthy and proactive with your meals. Eating at home saves money because it’s more cost-effective than going to a restaurant for lunch. It also tends to be cheaper in the long-run when cooking in bulk. From Fried Rice to noodles to meat and more, these recipes each have a healthy portion of carbohydrates, protein and plenty of vegetables.
Get your lunch set with these six easy recipes!
1. Chicken Fried Rice
This Chicken Fried Rice will quickly become one of your favourite go-to lunch meals as it is a simple yet complete meal suitable for everybody. This dish started as a way to use leftover rice, meat and vegetables. The sauteed garlic and onion, oyster sauce and AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning spruces up the rice for a delicious meal.
If you’re craving a savoury Chinese-style fried rice, the texture of the rice is very important. It’s recommended to use Jasmine, medium-grain white rice & Japanese-style sushi rice. For best results, the fried rice should be cooked quickly over high heat in a heated wok as this helps prevent the rice from steaming in the pan instead of frying.
The sky’s the limit when it comes to homemade fried rice. Feel free to customise the ingredients based on your taste.
2. Turmeric Stir-Fried Beef
Turmeric Stir Fried Beef is typically made with a simple combination of turmeric, ground chillies, salt, and pepper. It’s excellent as a simple starter or as a side dish to your meal. Turmeric gives this steak an extra kick of flavour and a gorgeous colour! Studies show that turmeric has significant benefits for both your body and brain. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant[1], thanks to its active ingredients, Curcumin. The combination of fresh turmeric, garlic and Seri-Aji® All Purpose Deep Fried Seasoning enhances the flavour of the meat, while bringing out only the best of each ingredient.
3. Thai Steam Fish
This recipe for Thai Steam Fish has a deliciously fresh salsa topping that is made with spicy chilli, garlic, and cilantro in a sweet and sour lime juice base. This dish is considered to be one of the best known steamed fish dishes in Thailand, its popularity spreading to its neighbouring Malaysia. This recipe is relatively easy to make, as there are only five steps in preparing this meal. Although you could use a different type of fish like tilapia, red snapper, or grouper, but the authentic Thai steam fish is using a seabass. Click here to find out more fish recipes.
4. Curry Mee
The Curry Mee is one of the favourite dishes of Malaysians. This curried noodle soup with a coconut-base is topped with shredded chicken, shrimp, fried bean curd, and bean sprouts. This dish often has various noodles to choose from, including flat rice noodles, vermicelli, or yellow noodles. The ingredients for this homemade dish can also be customised to make this dish vegetarian or vegan friendly. This step-by-step guide will show you all the nitty-gritty of preparing Curry Mee and the fundamentals of preparing noodle recipes in particular.
5. Creamy Butter Chicken
This simple and Creamy Butter Chicken recipe is a crowd-pleaser! Made with the most popular protein sources, this dish is further complemented with other components such as vegetables, spices, and seasonings. You’ll find that the crispy fried chicken with a silky, creamy butter sauce with a hint of spicy makes this dish simply irresistible. It is best served with a piping hot bowl of rice. The ingredients used are pretty simple, with the usage of AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning, this dish able to reduce sodium up to 30%. Now, check out our collection of chicken recipes you can cook up at home.
6. Mixed Vegetable with Pumpkin
This Mixed Vegetable with Pumpkin recipe is perfect for your kids because of its rich blend of colourful vegetables and delicious chicken bits. This one-pan Mixed Vegetable with Pumpkin is delicious served as a main course or side with steamed rice. This meal can be further enhanced with beef or shrimp and AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning. This side dish is so versatile that you can have it as a side dish, appetizer, or entree. A recipe doesn’t get much easier than this one as it’s so easy and quick to make. Best part yet, you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand. This Mixed Vegetable with Pumpkin recipe will become a staple in your home!
Find more Quick and Easy recipes through this link: https://www.ajinomoto.com.my/recipes
Reference:
[1] Gunnars, K., 2021. 10 Proven Health Benefits of Turmeric and Curcumin. [online] Healthline. [Accessed 10 September 2021].