5 Budget Friendly Rice Recipes

Oct 24, 2024

3 min read

The recent inflationary pressures on food and so many other aspects of daily living have been a hot topic. If you are thinking of ways to cope with the rising costs, one way is to eat at home more often. No doubt the prices of eggs and many food items have gone up significantly, but cooking is a wonderful way to keep our budget in check. Best part? When you cook at home, you can plan to make the meals healthier too. And not every meal needs to be an elaborate one to be enjoyed by the family, quick and easy, yet budget friendly one-dish rice recipes is the focus for this blog. Read on for more inspiration and do note that the costs are listed in Singapore dollars and are an estimation based on current grocery prices.

#1 Mala Fried Rice

This Mala Fried Rice recipe takes comfort food to a whole new level, combining your favourite fried rice with tongue-tingling Mala and other yummy toppings. The surprise: there is nothing much to fry so it is a no-mess and easy recipe but the end result tastes like fried rice, done the conventional way. Experience a healthier and easier take to this rice dish with Alchemy Fibre For Rice being the secret ingredient to lowering the GI and increasing the fibre in this dish! And it feeds 2 pax at a cost of under $6. Let’s try this out!

Ingredients:

1 cup of rice – $0.30
1 heaped tbsp of Alchemy Fibre For Rice – $0.60
1 medium potato (cut into cubes) – $0.50
1 large King oyster mushroom (cut into cubes) – $1.0
1 Chinese sausage (cut into cubes or slices) – $2.0
1tbsp of soy sauce – $0.30
1/2 tbsp of dark soy sauce – $0.30
1 tbsp of Mala sauce – $0.30
Generous dash of Shao Xing (Hua Tiao) wine – $0.40

Estimated Total Expenses:$5.70 for 2 pax See full recipe:

Photo credits and recipe abstracted from: Kimchirami

#2 Korean Curry Rice

Korean Curry Rice is the easiest and simplest one-pot meal (with rice of course) that’s loved by many. This Korean curry can be made with beef, pork or chicken, lots of different veggies and is perfect with Korean rice and Kimchi.

Ingredients:

150g frozen pork belly, thinly sliced – $3.00
1 yellow onion – $0.50
1 potato – $0.50
1 carrot – $0.30
3 cups water
2 tbsp vegetable oil – $0.30
1 packet Korean curry sauce mix – Ottogi – $3.50
1 cup of rice – $0.30
1 heaped tablespoon of Alchemy Fibre For Rice – $0.60

Total Expenses:$9 for 2 pax See full recipe: https://kimchimari.com/korean-curry-rice/

#3 Mapo Tofu with Rice

Mapo Tofu is a simple Chinese dish from Sichuan that Asian households enjoy having for meals, especially since it is so quick and easy to cook. It is spicy, tongue-numbing, flavourful and fragrant. Don’t let its bright red colour scare you, yes, it has a thin layer of oil on the surface but you can adjust this to your liking by reducing the amount of chilli oil used in the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup of rice – $0.30
1 heaped-tablespoon of Alchemy Fibre For Rice – $0.60
120g minced pork – $2.00
1 block of tofu (300g) – $1.50
1 tbsp chilli oil – $0.20
2 tbsp chilli paste (we used Lao Gan Ma) – $0.70
3 chilli padi – $0.40
1.5 tbsp light soya sauce – $0.10
Handful of Sichuan pepper corns – $0.30
A sprig of spring onion (chopped for garnishing) – $0.40

Total Expenses:$5.8 for 2 pax

See full recipe: https://alchemyfoodtech.com/blog-mapo-tofu-recipe/

#4 Oven Baked Garlic Mushroom Rice

One-pot, Oven Baked Garlic Mushroom Rice. A simple, comforting, no frills kind of meal that you are going to be wanting to make again and again!

Ingredients:

2 cups of rice – $0.60
3 1/2 cups flavourful broth – $4.00
1 teaspoon dried thyme – $0.20
1 teaspoon dried rosemary – $0.20
500g fresh white mushrooms – $6.00

Total Expenses:$11 for 3 – 4 pax

See full recipe:https://avirtualvegan.com/oven-baked-garlic-mushroom-rice/

#5 Tom Yum Fried Rice

It is a simple yet hearty recipe with a hint of spice and sourness from the Tom Yum flavour, perfect for all fried rice and Thai food lovers. Cook up your favourite Tom Yum Fried Rice with Alchemy Fibre to enjoy healthier meals with more nutrition, while retaining the same great taste and texture.

Ingredients: