Picture this: It’s 2am and you’re craving some savory foods to get you through some intense studying. All the delivery food places are closed so you resort to eating instant noodles. But you’ve already had that for three days in a row…
Source: knowyourmeme
Introducing our dorm-friendly one pot recipes, where cooking delicious food is made simple. These recipes have been specially curated for busy students living on campus, so there is little prep and washing up involved.
The best part is, the ingredients used in these recipes last in your pantry for weeks; so you can get them in advance and whip up restaurant-quality meals whenever you’d like to.
Kimchi Jjigae
For those rainy days where you just feel like getting tucked under the covers, this hearty bowl of soup is the perfect companion.
These are the proportions of ingredients needed for one portion, but you can adjust the amounts according to your own preferences. This recipe is so scrumptious and full-bodied, you wouldn’t believe it only takes 10 minutes to make.
Prep:
- Dice onion and garlic finely
- Open can of tuna
- Boil water
Steps:
- Turn on the stove and wait for it to become slightly hot before adding in the oil.
- Fry onion and garlic until translucent and fragrant.
- Add in kimchi and any extra kimchi juice that is collected at the bottom of the bag. Fry until slightly cooked.
- Add in boiled water till about half the pot is filled and adjust as necessary. If you are unsure, add a smaller volume first and top up accordingly.
- Feel free to add any other ingredients you have on hand like frozen veggies, tofu, rice cakes or pork belly.
- Stew for about 2 minutes and it’s done!
Tips:
- This recipe is perfect for old kimchi that has turned sour so you can use up your leftover kimchi in the fridge
- If you don’t have a can opener in dorm, you should purchase canned tuna that is packaged with a pull-tab for easy opening
Source: TheCanSupply
Cheesy “Risotto” with Burnt Rice
This mouth-watering recipe was inspired by mac and cheese but uses leftover rice to substitute the main carbohydrate. While it’s not exactly an authentic Italian risotto, the resulting texture is rather similar. Give it a go and see if you’d like it!
This recipe only takes 15 minutes to whip up but is guaranteed to fulfil your cheesy fantasies.
Prep:
- Dice onion and garlic finely
Steps:
- Turn on stove and wait for it to become slightly hot before adding in the oil or butter
- Fry onion and garlic until translucent and fragrant
- Add in the leftover rice and fry lightly
- Add in the milk until it almost covers the rice
- Cook until milk almost fully evaporates, ensuring to stir the mixture so the rice doesn’t burn
- Add in the cheese and mix to combine
Tips:
- By itself, this is a pretty basic recipe so you can jazz it up a little by adding other toppings like meat or steamed vegetables.
- If you prefer pasta, you can also use that in place of rice
I elevated this recipe by stirring in a pre-packaged mentaiko sauce that you can find at any local japanese supermarket. You could also use the fish roe sold in tubes in IKEA! Additionally, I also blow-torched the rice for some added smokiness and topped it all off with a pan-seared steak. But of course, it’s alright if you skip these steps.
Thai Green Curry
Although this recipe requires ingredients that you might not buy on a weekly basis, it is one that is sure to impress. Save it for a special occasion or if you’re just looking for a really easy recipe to experiment with.
Prep:
- Roughly chop up vegetables in curry set and tear up lime leaves
- Roughly cut chicken thigh into bite size pieces
Steps:
- Reduce half of the coconut milk in a heated pan until thick and coconut oil starts to separate
- Add curry paste and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes until aromatic
- Add chicken thigh and stir until half cooked
- Add in vegetables, remaining coconut milk, sugar and water/chicken stock
- Stir and leave it to simmer for about 10 minutes until chicken is fork tender
- Taste and add more fish sauce or sugar if needed
Tips:
- When using store bought curry paste, the spiciness and taste can vary so do adjust accordingly
- Other ingredients you can add include bamboo shoots or rice
From an amateur chef like myself, these simple recipes definitely win my stamp of approval. So don’t be intimidated to cook on campus – it’s a lot easier than you think it is.
Let us know if you try out our recipes and I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did!
Contributed from the personal kitchen of blog intern, Chloe Low
