Advertisement

Yahoo cooks: What the team has been making at home

As the coronavirus pandemic is not going away any time soon, a lot of us are practising social distancing at home, and cooking for loved ones.

With no brunches or even after-work drinks with friends or colleagues - some restaurants and bars are also struggling with limited delivery services - this leaves many of us trying to cook at home. This includes the Yahoo team too.

So we rounded up some recipes that real home cooks (us!) are making right now to inspire you to cook for your loved ones.

Share with us in the comments below if you have any favourite recipes to cook or bake.

READ MORE:

POLL RESULTS: The top dishes people in Singapore will miss if home delivery stops

POLL RESULTS: The top dishes Yahoo readers cook or bake at home

Fun Yahoo bingo challenges to post on your Instagram Story

Aaron Kwok to stream live concert for free to raise funds for dancers and film crews

Korean-style pumpkin pancake

Korean-style pumpkin pancake. (PHOTO: Cadence Loh/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)
Korean-style pumpkin pancake. (PHOTO: Cadence Loh/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)

Cadence Loh, Content producer

I made Korean-style Pumpkin Pancake. Inspired by K-drama Chocolate, I decided I had to give one of the featured dishes a try myself. According to the male lead, this dish is easy to make, yet nutritious. I did a quick search on the web and found this recipe. What lured me to this video was its short duration.

I have no patience for long cooking videos, and this one, at less than 3 minutes 30 seconds, is short enough for me. I mean, we are still #wfh right? Time is still a luxury. As a total novice in the kitchen, the word ‘easy’ is key for all the dishes I attempt.

Using just five to six ingredients (which I happen to have at home), I made my very first Korean-style pancake. I gotta admit that I swopped the two flours to the only one flour that I have at home: The all-purpose flour. That’s why it’s called “all-purpose” right?

The tweaked recipe turned out relatively successful, making my K-drama dream come true.

Flavour: (3.5/5)

Difficulty: (2/5)

Peanut butter-milo ice-cream

Homemade ice-cream. (PHOTO: Wan Ting/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)
Homemade ice-cream. (PHOTO: Wan Ting/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)

Wan Ting, journalist

This is the recipe I referred to when making this homemade ice-cream: https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/homemade-ice-cream/

It's really simple to make and the ingredients are easy to find from your nearest wholesale supplier like Phoon Huat. Plus you can just use whatever flavour you already have at home - which is why I used Milo and peanut butter. Even though the recipe calls for a full can of condensed milk, I would suggest using half a can first and tasting it before you add more. I did the mistake of adding the whole can and it's super sweet! Also, the ice-cream base is a really big portion - you can split it up to experiment with at least three or four different flavours. For extra texture, you can add biscuit or chocolate bits or M&Ms to the base before freezing.

Flavour: Peanut butter-milo with digestive biscuit bits inside

Difficulty: (2/5) Because I'm a cook noob (haha)

Microwaved curry chicken

Curry chicken. (PHOTO: Nicholas Yong/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)
Curry chicken. (PHOTO: Nicholas Yong/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)

Nicholas Yong, Assistant news editor

This was cooked from scratch in a Corningware pot in a microwave oven, based on my mother’s recipe. Just as good as if it was fried in a wok, except that it lacks the ‘wok hei’ flavour.

Flavour: Slightly spicy, with the aroma of coconut milk, lemongrass and curry leaves

Difficulty: (3/5) You’ll have to take the pot out of the microwave several times to add ingredients, and adjust here and there for flavour/texture, but other than that, it’s fairly straightforward.

Prawn noodle soup

Prawn noodle soup. (PHOTO: Stephanie Zheng/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)
Prawn noodle soup. (PHOTO: Stephanie Zheng/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)

Stephanie Zheng, Content producer

For this prawn noodle dish, this is the reference link I used: https://eatwhattonight.com/2015/11/singapore-prawn-noodle-soup/

I miss prawn noodle soup, especially more so on rainy days, so this was a nice recipe for days when I can afford the time to fry up the heads, then simmer things for hours on end. Also, making it at home means you can add all the ingredients you want more of (prawns, duh!) and leave out the ones you don’t like (I’m looking at you, tau gey).

Difficulty: 5/5

Roasted Bell Peppers Pasta

Roasted bell pepper pasta. (PHOTO: Stephanie Zheng/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)
Roasted bell pepper pasta. (PHOTO: Stephanie Zheng/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)

Stephanie Zheng, Content producer

Ingredients:

Capsicum x3

Garlic x5 cloves

Onions x2

Milk/Cream 150ml/100ml

Chicken stock 200ml

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Thyme to taste

Rosemary to taste

Olive oil

Steps:
1) Drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary or herbs of choice over chopped bell peppers.

2) Bake the peppers, garlic, onions in the oven at 220 degrees for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t turn too brown.

3) Throw everything that was in the oven into the blender after it cools, including the roasted herbs. Blend.

4) After blending, empty the paste into a pot on LOW HEAT. Pour in 200ml of chicken stock and 150ml of milk/100ml of cream. Simmer over low heat. Add seasoning (salt/pepper) to taste.

5) Turn off the fire and melt butter on top.

6) Serve over al dente pasta of choice, with cheese! The recipe looks complicated, but you actually spend a lot of time just waiting for your oven, blender and stove to do the majority of the work for you. The resulting dish is naturally sweet and savoury with a tinge of bitterness from the roasted herbs, and very satisfying.

Flavour: For vegetarians, it’s easy to find a substitute for the same great taste!

Difficulty: (4/5)

Roasted bell pepper pasta. (PHOTO: Stephanie Zheng/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)
Roasted bell pepper pasta. (PHOTO: Stephanie Zheng/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)

Pasta with tuna flakes and leek

Pasta with tuna flakes and leek. (PHOTO: Reta Lee/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)
Pasta with tuna flakes and leek. (PHOTO: Reta Lee/Yahoo Lifestyle SEA)

Reta Lee, Lifestyle Editor-in-chief

Ingredients:

One can of tuna flakes in water 150g

Two sticks of leek

Garlic cloves

Two tablespoons of olive oil

Salt

Pasta of choice

Parmesan cheese

For this DIY recipe, I’ve decided to combine brown noodles with tagliolini to introduce some variety and colour. In a cooking pan, fry the garlic with olive oil, until they brown. Cut the leek and leave out the roots. Add the leek and tuna into the pan and fry. Add salt for taste. In a separate pot, cook the pasta in boiling water for up to eight minutes. Toss the pasta onto a serving plate, then drizzle the tuna and leek over it. Add some parmesan cheese and lunch is served in under 30 minutes!

Flavour: The tuna combined with leek gives the dish a flavourful, hearty taste.

Difficulty: (2/5)

Tiding over Circuit Breaker and WFH: