From The Straits Times    |

If we had things our way, we’d eat clean everyday – if we didn’t have to worry about the inconvenience of constantly having to find cafes and paying for non-hawker fare (all while fighting the temptation of the nearby zichar stalls). The solution: these chef-endorsed packed lunches that tick the boxes on taste, price, and being stress-free. They take a little effort, but they’re worth it – we promise. 

 

1. Cold capellini with runny soy egg

Cold capellini

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 120ml soya sauce
  • 100ml mirin or rice wine
  • 50ml water
  • 100g capellini
  • 100ml olive oil
  • 20ml sesame oil
  • 20g spring onions, chopped
  • 20ml Japanese rice vinegar
  • A pinch of chilli flakes
  • A pinch of seaweed flakes
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Make the soya eggs (at least one day before): 

Add eggs to salted, boiling water, cook for six minutes, then soak in ice water; peel. Mix 100ml soya sauce, mirin and water, and soak eggs in marinade for at least a day. They keep for up to three days.

Make the pasta:

Cook capellini in salted, boiling water for three minutes. Strain into a large bowl, toss with olive oil, then mix in 20ml soya sauce, sesame oil, spring onions and rice vinegar. Leave to cool, then add a little more olive oil and sprinkle with chilli flakes, seaweed flakes and sesame seeds. Serve with eggs.
 

 

2. Grilled garlic prawns with avocado rice 

Grilled garlic prawns

Ingredients

  • A pinch of salt
  • A pinch of sugar
  • 100ml coconut water
  • 4 fresh prawns, shelled
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 60ml + 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 200g overnight rice
  • 2 avocados, diced
  • 1 tbsp crushed pistachios
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 tsp hot sauce

For the prawns: 

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Whisk salt and sugar into coconut water until dissolved; soak prawns in it for 30 minutes. Strain, then coat prawns with garlic and 60ml olive oil. Bake for five minutes, then season with lemon zest and salt.

For the rice:

Mix rice with avocados, pistachios, shallots, lime juice, and cumin and chilli powders. Add hot sauce, two tablespoons of olive oil and salt to taste.

 

3. Power greens

Power greens

Ingredients

  • 100g broccolini, rinsed
  • 50g fresh edamame*, rinsed and dried
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 20g fresh blueberries
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 20ml white sesame dressing*
  • 5g puffed buckwheat*
  • 50g cooked quinoa (optional)

Cook broccolini for two minutes in 1 litre salted, boiling water, then place in ice water to stop the cooking. Pat dry and cut into 2.5cm pieces. Mix all veggies and fruits together, drizzle dressing over it, then add puffed buckwheat and quinoa.

*Find fresh edamame at Fairprice supermarkets, puffed buckwheat at Phoon Huat, and a good white sesame dressing (Kenko Rich Taste Kin Goma Dressing) in the Japanese section of major supermarkets.  

 

4. Baked spiced chicken with cauliflower and yogurt sauce

Baked chicken

Ingredients

  • 100g butter, melted
  • 5g cumin powder
  • 5g curry powder
  • 8g salt
  • 3g black pepper
  • 1 chicken breast, butterflied and halved
  • 1 whole cauliflower
  • 100g yogurt
  • Zest of 1 lemon

For the chicken: Put melted butter, cumin and curry powders, 3g salt and black pepper into a bowl and mix well. Marinate chicken breast overnight in the fridge. The next day, bake for 20 minutes in a 140 deg C oven. Leave to cool.

For the cauliflower and sauce: Blanch cauliflower in boiling water for a minute, then remove and cut into bite-sized pieces. Mix yogurt with lemon zest and 5g salt. Serve chicken with sauce and cauliflower.

 

5. Smoked salmon with kale, portobello and honey lemon dressing

Smoked salmon

Ingredients

  • 2 portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • A pinch of sea salt
  • Zest of 1 lemon, plus the juice
  • 50g honey
  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 100g kale, stalks removed and shredded
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1 green apple, cut into strips
  • 100g smoked salmon
  • A pinch of almond flakes

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Toss mushrooms, garlic, olive oil and sea salt in a bowl; bake for 15 minutes. Mix lemon zest and juice, honey and extra virgin olive oil in a bowl. Combine dressing, baked mushrooms, kale, avocado and green apples. Finish with smoked salmon and almond flakes.

 

Recipes provided by: 
Chef Nicholas Chew of Symmetry (Power greens and Smoked salmon with kale, portobello and honey lemon dressing)
Symmetry is located at #01-01, 9 Jalan Kubor.

Chef Yvette Lin of Little Husband by Xiao Ya Tou (Cold capellini with runny soya egg, Grilled garlic prawns with avocado rice and Baked spiced chicken with cauliflower and yogurt sauce)
Xiao Ya Tou is located at 6 Duxton Hill. 

This story was first published in the May’17 issue of Her World. 

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