Meal-planning is always a great way to start a week in order to prevent last minute grocery shopping or last minute take-out meals from restaurants. Budget-conscious folks resort to planning in order to prevent extra costs.
As I discovered local markets in Exton, I found that many of the markets had better priced ingredients for meals than in chain grocery stores. Herbs, spices, veggies, and even dairy were more reasonably priced. Exotic spices or ethnic ingredients were more accessible too! I decided to make three meals with low-cost ingredients found at local markets without breaking the budget.
This week, I explored cooking Indian and Mexican meals at home. Today, I’m whipping up an easy-to-tackle, affordable Thai dish.
Featured Recipe: Tofu Pad Thai
Where to Shop: Asian Grocery, 11 Marchwood Rd., Exton, PA
Stir fry recipes are, in general, inexpensive meals to prepare during the week. They are perfect for those with busy schedules or for busy families. Rice is a big staple when it comes to Asian food and is found in rice noodles, rice spring roll wraps, and many other Asian goods.
A pad thai recipe, for example, uses the rice noodles to bring a stir-fry mixture to life along with a tangy or spicy sauce. Asian sauce ingredients are usually pricey in regular grocery stores but at the Asian Grocery in Exton, the variety of sauce ingredients is amazing. Pretty much every ingredient can be purchased in the market at a very low price including produce.
Here are the following low-cost ingredients all purchased at the Asian Grocery: firm tofu, rice noodles, bean sprouts, veggies, sesame oil, tamarind sauce, and sriracha sauce. Tofu is definitely the lower-cost product as are the condiments.
Recipe: Tofu Pad Thai
serves 2 large portions
Ingredients:
- 1 13-ounce extra firm tofu, pressed
- 4 Tablespoons sesame oil, divided
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 3 Tbsp ketchup
- 4 Tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1-1/2 Tablespoon tamarind sauce
- 1 Tablespoon sriracha
- 1-1/2 cups snow peas
- 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup red bell peppers, sliced
- 2 Tablespoon crushed peanuts
- 2 1/2 cups rehydrated rice noodles (½ lb of dry noodles)
Method:
First, drain the tofu of extra liquid. Put tofu on a plate, place several paper towels on top, and then add another plate, with heavy books on top. Let it sit for 2 to 3 hours, then cube pressed tofu in 1 inch pieces. Soak noodles in warm water for 20-30 minutes.
Heat a nonstick pan with 2 Tablespoons sesame oil on medium heat. Add tofu and fry for 20 minutes flipping the tofu to opposite side after 10 minutes. In a medium wok, add remaining sesame oil. Saute snow peas, carrots, and red pepper for 10 minutes. Drain noodles and add to the wok. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix sauce ingredients: agave nectar, mirin, tamarind sauce, soy sauce, and sauce. Add the sauce to the noodles and veggies. Cook for 7 to 10 minutes on medium heat, until the noodles and sauce start to to absorb. Add chopped green onions. Serve immediately and add peanuts on top.
Discover Noelle Kelly’s pursuits in Indian cooking at home here, as well as her exploits in Mexican cooking here.
Photo credit: Noelle Kelly
