A WAC(y) Cookbook
We all know the typical broke university student stereotype, living off of instant noodles and stale pasta. But as Southeast Asians that sort of bland cooking is unacceptable unless you want your ancestors to start calling you as useful as char siew so I’ve gone through the precarious task of forcing everyone in the WAC Key Team to provide our lovely freshers with our homemade recipes to get you kick started for university <3
Caution: as Asians, we measure by heart ♥️
Lyn’s Double Cream Pasta (1 portion)
Ingredients:
Tesco Fresh Double Cream 300ml - £1.35 (2 portions)
Tesco Leaf Spinach 900g - £1.85
Tesco Fresh Tagliatelle Nests 300g - £1.25 (2 portions) or any pasta of your choice
Tesco Pancetta Cubes 130g - £1.90 (2 portions) or any meat of your choice
Tesco Grated Parmigiano Reggiano 100g - £2.35
Garlic (I usually get the pre-cut, frozen minced garlic from Tesco. If you’re cutting the garlic yourself, one clove is equal to one portion)
Instructions:
Boil water and cook the pasta (I usually cook mine till al dente).
While the pasta is cooking, heat up some oil in a pan on medium heat.
3. Add the garlic to the pan. Cook the garlic until golden brown then add the pancetta to the pan
4. Once the meat is cooked, add the double cream to the pan. Lower the heat and wait until the double cream boils. Then add parmesan cheese to your liking
5. Once the pasta is done, strain the pasta, making sure to save a bit of pasta water for later.
6. Add the pasta to the pan and mix thoroughly. Add pasta water if needed.
7. Add spinach to the pan and cook until the spinach has wilted.
8. Turn off the pan’s heat and you’re done!
Jun Rong’s Creamy Chicken Chop Rice - £1.57 per portion (excluding cost of rice)
Ingredients:
ALDI Chicken Thigh Fillets Medium Pack 600g - £3.99 (3-4 portions)
Tesco Chicken Tonight Creamy Mushroom Sauce 500g - £1.29 (2-3 portions)
Rice (Recommended to buy from Seoul Plaza)
Egg - 10 for £1.40
Optional (but recommended)) : ALDI Ready Set COOK! Chicken Seasoning 52g - £0.85
Instructions:
Cook the rice.
While the rice cooks, add some oil to your frying pan and put it on medium heat.
Add the egg to the pan and cook the egg until your preferred level of cookedness.
While the egg is cooking, pat dry the chicken thighs using preferably kitchen towels (normal tissue will stick onto the raw chicken) and season it with your preferred seasoning (salt and pepper or whatever).
Once the egg is cooked, take it out of the pan and plate. Then put the chicken in the pan and cook till it turns golden brown (around 3-4 minutes on each side).
Once cooked, take the chicken thighs out and use a kitchen towel to clean the oil in the frying pan.
Pour some mushroom sauce into the pan, then add the chicken again and let the chicken thighs simmer in the sauce for 2-3 minutes.
TADA!! Creamy Chicken Chop Rice. It is quite simple to make and takes you less than 30 minutes.
David’s Fry-Up with Rice
Ingredients
Rice
Tesco Chestnut Baby Button Mushrooms 150g - £1.05 (2 portions)
Tesco Leaf Spinach 900g - £1.85
Tesco Brown Onions 1kg - £0.95 (1 portion is about ⅓ - ¼ of an onion)
Tesco Garlic Large - £0.55 (we need 1 clove of garlic) (optional)
Tesco Smoked Lardons 200g - £2.70 (2 portions)
Sesame oil or vegetable oil
Note: you may skip the final item if you don’t eat bacon, but I am not aware of anything that could perfectly substitute bacon.
Instructions
Cook the rice, dice the onions and cut up the mushrooms (and garlic). Dry the spinach completely dry using kitchen towels.
While the rice is cooking, pour oil into a pan and wait until it is slightly hot.
Immediately put in the onion (and garlic), then saute until you can smell the aroma.
Add the mushrooms.
Next, add in the bacon lardons and continue to saute until you start to smell some aroma. If you are not using bacon, proceed to step 6.
Add in the spinach and stir. Be careful to ensure that it is dry or else some oil will splash out of the pan. Furthermore the spinach will shrink very quickly so make sure to mix the ingredients around well.
Finally, when you are satisfied that all the ingredients have cooked, turn off the stove before you overcook the dish. When the rice is ready, serve with rice and enjoy!
Isabella’s Stir-Fried Udon with Poached Egg
Ingredients
1 packet/portion of udon - I can’t find the price online but it should be around £0.60-£0.90 for 1 portion from Seoul Plaza without the sauce, cheaper in packs
1 egg - 10 for £1.40 at Tesco
Tesco Garlic Large - £0.55 (we need 1 clove of garlic)
Tesco 2 British Chicken Breast Fillets 300g - £2.60 (2 portions)
Your choice of vegetables (I used about 2 mushrooms, 1 carrot and half of a white cabbage) - price varies by vegetable but it shouldn’t come up to more than £1 in total
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
Pepper (to taste)
Cooking oil (I used vegetable oil) - a 1L bottle is £1.85 from Tesco
Instructions
Boil the udon. When the udon is about 3 minutes from al dente, crack an egg into the boiling water.
While the udon and egg are cooking, mince the garlic and cut the vegetables into small squares and the chicken into slices, cutting against the grain.
Add oil to a pan, turn on the heat to medium and wait until the pan heats up.
When the pan is hot, add the garlic.
When the garlic aroma appears, add in the chicken.
Once the chicken is cooked, add the vegetables.
Drain the udon and egg once cooked. Put the egg away and add the udon to the pan. Mix the pan.
Add two tablespoons of light soy sauce, one tablespoon of oyster sauce and pepper to taste in the pan while everything’s cooking. Mix everything together.
Once everything is fully cooked and the sauce thickens and the udon has a sort of glaze, plate and add the poached egg. And you’re done!
Wui Shuen’s 1 Pot Rice Cooker Meal
Ingredients:
(Rice)
1 cup of short grain rice/sushi rice (or other rice of choice works too)
½ - 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (or to taste)
½ - 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce (optional for colour)
1 - 2 teaspoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 cup water equal part (1:1 ratio with rice)
(Vegetables & Protein)
Tesco Garlic Large - £0.55 (we need 3 cloves of garlic)
Tesco Bunched Spring Onions - £0.50 (we need 1 scallion)
Tesco Carrots 1kg - £0.50 (we need 1 carrot)
Tesco Finest Shiitake Mushrooms 125g - £1.75 (we need 4 shiitake mushrooms) (or other mushrooms of choice)
Pak Choi 250g - £1.35 (we need 1 head) (broccoli works too)
Tesco 2 British Chicken Breast Fillets 300g - £2.60 (2 portions) (chicken thigh works too)
(Garnish, optional)
Sesame seeds
Chilli sauce/oil (to taste)
Note: The above portions are interchangeable in accordance to liking and preference.
Instructions:
Mince the garlic, chop the spring onion, shiitake mushrooms and bok choy and dice the carrot. Cut the chicken breast (or thigh).
Wash your rice 2-3 times until the water starts to run clearer. Drain excess water.
In the rice cooker pot, add the rice, soy sauces, sugar, oyster sauce, sesame oil, water and vegetables. Mix well.
Add your vegetables and protein over the rice. Cover your rice cooker and set to cook.
Once cooked, mix everything together. Feel free to season with more soy sauce to taste if needed.
For garnish, finish the dish by sprinkling sesame seeds and chilli sauce/chilli oil of choice. Enjoy 🙂
Ren Jie’s Curry Chicken with Cheese
This can go along with other dishes, I usually cook rice with this plus an egg :) it’s simple, efficient and great.
Ingredients:
ALDI Chicken Thigh Fillets Medium Pack 600g - £3.99 (3-4 portions)
Japanese curry cubes (available at Seoul Plaza, I use the Golden Curry brand kind) - around £3 - £4
Tesco British Medium Grated Cheddar 250g - £2.75
Cooking oil - a 1L vegetable oil bottle is £1.85 at Tesco
Instructions:
Dice the chicken.
Add oil to a pan and heat up the pan.
Add the chicken to the pan and stir fry the diced chicken.
When the chicken is fully cooked, add in the curry cubes (measure with your heart, less is better though, min. amount for one portion should be one cube).
Slowly add small amounts of water into the frying pan until the curry cube melts into a thick sauce. If you add too much water, you can just wait for the excess water to boil away.
Add the cheddar cheese to the pan and stir until everything melts together.
Looks a bit disgusting but it tastes awesome :).
Adrian’s Macaroni Soup
Ingredients:
Tesco Macaroni Pasta 500g - £0.75 (6 portions)
Tesco Cauliflower - £0.95 (we need ¼ cauliflower) (or other vegetable of choice)
Heinz Cream of Tomato & Basil Soup - £1.70 per can (we need 2 cans)
Tesco 12 beef Meatballs 336g - £3.20 (or chicken meatballs)
Tesco Brown Onions 1kg - £0.95 (we need 1 onion)
Tesco Garlic Large - £0.55 (we need 3 cloves of garlic)
3-5 red chillies (based on spice level enjoyed)
Salt
Cooking oil - a 1L vegetable oil bottle is £1.85 at Tesco
Any additional preferred seasonings
Instructions:
Boil a pot of water, add in a pinch of salt and some oil, then add in a packet of macaroni and boil until the macaroni is cooked. Strain the macaroni and leave aside.
Blanch the cauliflower in the boiled water until soft.
Blend the onion, garlic and red chillies together.
Heat some oil in a separate pan, add in the blended ingredients and cook until the oil is separated.
Add to the pan the 2 cans of tomato soup, meatballs, salt for taste and any additional seasonings.
Cook until the soup is boiled and serve with the macaroni and cauliflower.
Aaron’s Black Pepper and Cheese (Lazy) Pasta
You can cook this if you don’t have much left in the fridge or just want to save time/money. Takes around 20-25 mins to cook and you can make a big batch.
Ingredients:
Tesco Short Spaghetti Pasta 500g - £0.75 (6 portions)
Tesco Pancetta Cubes 130g - £1.90 (2 portions)
Tesco Grated Pecorino Cheese 50g - £1.35
Black pepper to taste
Note: Measurements are not fixed. Add however much pasta, cheese and pork you would like for 1 or even 5 meals during your preparation.
Instructions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally.
While pasta cooks, immediately heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. No oil needed as the pancetta will provide the oil. Add pancetta and cook until tender, about 5 mins.
Add 1 ladle of pasta cooking water to the pan, stir and cover the pan. As pasta cooks, add another ladle of cooking water to the pan with the pancetta to create a sauce.
At about 10 mins of pasta cooking time, drain the pasta while keeping some of the pasta water.
Add spaghetti to the pan with the pancetta and toss, adding the pasta water if necessary.
Turn off the heat and add as much cheese as you need to create a creamy texture. Toss until creamy.
Divide the pasta according to how much you desire and sprinkle the leftover cheese on top to your personal preference. Top the pasta with black pepper to taste. Store any leftovers in the fridge if you are eating it within the next 2 days but anything else in the freezer. Just add a few tablespoons of water before putting it in the microwave to heat it up.
Pim’s Mala Xiang Guo
Ingredients:
1 packet of Hai Di Lao’s Mala Xiang Guo package (from Seoul Plaza)
1 packet of Pork rolls (you can use beef rolls or lamb rolls as well) (from Seoul Plaza/Rootes)
Chinese Leaf Each - £1.35/kg (we need 1 da bai cai/chinese leaf)
1 packet of enoki mushrooms (from Seoul Plaza)
Tesco Garlic Large - £0.55 (we need 1 clove of garlic)
Soy sauce
other ingredients you want to put in your mala (e.g. fish balls, potato)
Instructions:
Wash the da bai cai and enoki mushrooms (and other vegetables if used).
Mince the garlic.
Cut the da bai cai into small pieces to your preference.
Stir fry the pork rolls, da bai cai and enoki mushrooms (and any other ingredients used) until nearly cooked and plate it out to rest.
In the same pan (which is now empty and has a bit of oil from pork rolls), stir fry the garlic you diced earlier until it turns yellow.
Pour your mala sauce into the pan and stir fry at high heat for a bit until fragrant and then set it to lower heat.
Put all your ingredients stir fried earlier back into the pan that has the sauce and garlic and mix it thoroughly at low heat.
Taste and add soy sauce according to your preference (I usually add 1 tbsp).
Angel’s Salmon with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Note: I honestly have questionable taste and don't measure properly so just go by vibes if you end up trying this recipe. My flatmate likes it though so shouldn't be TOO bad right 🙂
Take about an hour inc. prep time!
Ingredients:
2 Boneless Salmon Fillets (£4.35/260g - I know this email is kind of pricey but I love salmon and tomatoes sorry)
8 Cherry tomatoes/ ½ the pack (£1.05/330g)
10 Baby potatoes (£1.20/1kg)
Two Handfuls of Spinach (£1.15/250g)
3 cloves of Garlic
½ an Onion
¼ Litres of Oat milk (You can use normal milk or cream I'm just allergic - I use Oatly which is £2.10/1 Litre)
Two full squeezes of Tomato Puree (Would recommend the Napolina Tomato Puree £1.20/142g)
½ tbsp of Ketchup (Would recommend Heinz ketchup £3.00/700g)
1 tbsp of Mayonnaise
2 tbsp of Cream Cheese
Two handfuls of Shredded Mature Cheddar Cheese
Olive oil
Seasonings of your choice - would recommend the following
Parsley
Basil (but less of this since it smells quite strong)
Oregano
Garlic powder
Birds eye chilli flakes (if you like spicy)
Black pepper
White pepper
Salt
Instructions:
Take out your salmon fillets from your fridge and let it cool down for around 20 minutes.
Now, we work on the salmon. I'm personally too lazy to descale salmon fillets so I would just remove the skin with a knife. Rub a generous amount of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to the salmon.
Pan fry the salmon for a minute on both sides and on medium heat, and another 2 on low heat. P.S. Questionable technique but I like to cook it this way because it allows the salmon to get crispy-ish.
Take out your salmon and let's make the sauce!
Chop the garlic and onion finely.
Add the onions to the pan and wait for it to become translucent before adding in the garlic.
Once the garlic becomes fragrant and golden brown, add in the oat milk. Add in the tomato puree, ketchup, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and mature cheddar to the pan. Mix until somewhat smooth. Ensure you do this in low heat.
Chop in the cherry tomatoes and baby potatoes to the pan. Alongside, add in washed spinach (please wash everything but people tend to forget to wash spinach).
Close the lid, switch to medium heat, and wait for it to boil.
Taste the sauce and add in seasonings of your choice.
Add in the salmon fillets and cook for another minute.
You're basically done!! I usually add in a few drops of tabasco when serving.
P.S. If you want to save more money, switch out the potatoes for pasta and have 1 salmon instead. It tastes pretty good as well - just more stuff to wash LOL.
Milan’s Steak Stroganoff
This recipe is perfect for a dinner date. It's quite easy and takes around an hour at most. You can decide how fancy you want it by using different ingredients with the main factor being steak.
Ingredients:
A protein of your choice - I personally like ribeye steak and Tesco has an OK option at £5.30+/227g although the price is not the most student friendly and it’s mostly just an end-of-week treat. You can substitute with any other protein, caramelised onion cumberland sausages(roughly £3.25/400g) work quite well and are cheap
1 pack of Mushrooms - I personally like
Shiitake mushrooms (£1.75/125g) but closed button or baby button work fine too
1 White onion
1 Shallot
A teaspoon of Dijon Mustard (I like Maille brand which is £2.75/215g but Tesco has its own brand for £1/185g)
Double cream £1.25/270ML
Milk
Seasoning of your choice
Pasta of your choice - I prefer spaghetti or linguine
Sunflower Oil
Butter of your choice
Herbs of your choice for your steak
Instructions:
Take your steak (or protein of choice) out of your fridge and let it get down to room temperature to ensure it cooks evenly, about 30-40 minutes, not too long.
Lay your steak on a cutting board and pat it dry with a paper towel. Coat both sides and edges with your seasoning of choice and press it in so it doesn’t fall out during cooking.
In the meantime, dice your shallots and white onion evenly and keep on the side.
Rinse your mushrooms and slice them thinly and evenly, about 2-3 mm thick but not more than 5mm. Tip: slice off the stem of the mushroom so they are flat on the cutting board.
Add water to a pot and let it boil, then add salt and your pasta and strain once cooked.
In the meantime, add your protein to your pan and cook until your desired doneness.
For a steak, pour in enough sunflower oil to coat the bottom of the pan to properly sear the steak. Crank to max heat and wait until you can see the oil start to evaporate.
Then place in your steak by gently laying it away from you. If your oil was hot enough you should hear a sizzle and see a crust form which shouldn't take more than 30-40s. Make sure it doesn't burn.
Once the crust has formed on one side, flip it over and sear the other side for another 20-30s.
Add butter and any herbs of your choice and take a wooden spoon (especially if you’re using a non-stick pan!!!) to baste the steak. Do this by placing the steak on the side further away from you and lightly tilting the pan so that the herbs of your choice are placed on top of the steak and the melted butter pooling at the bottom.
Use the spoon to spoon the melted butter onto the steak.
Cook until your desired doneness. To do this you can use a meat thermometer, go by feel and touch or slicing into the steak.
When happy with the doneness, take the steak out and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Even after you take out your steak it will still continue cooking so take out a few degrees before your desired doneness.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the mushrooms. Using the leftover steak fat, sauté for about 5 minutes or until your mushrooms have turned slightly more golden brown in colour. Then add the onions and shallots and cook until everything has browned.
Add the double cream and milk, don't add too much or the sauce will be too runny. Ensure the double cream doesn't split or you will end up with an oily mess.
Add about a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and season to taste.
Add pasta and mix so that the pasta is evenly coated. Plate the pasta.
Slice the steak and place it on top of the pasta. You can garnish with deep-fried shallots for extra crush and flavour.
Snack time! Milan’s Deep Fried Rice Paper
For an additional snack from me, here is a quick and easy snack that anyone will enjoy!
Ingredients:
Rice paper
Salt
Sunflower oil
Sweet condiment of your choice
Instructions:
Pick out a small pan and cut your rice paper into pieces that will just about cover the bottom of the pan.
2. Fill the pan with sunflower oil and heat it up to high heat. The oil is ready when you put in any wooden utensil, preferably something thin like a chopstick, and you can see bubbles form around the chopstick.
3. While the oil is heating up, prepare a large plate and line it with some paper towels so it can absorb excess oil.
4. Once the oil is hot enough, drop in the pieces of rice paper individually. WARNING! They puff up and burn super fast so once you drop it in and it crunches and becomes like a cracker, take it out immediately and put it on a plate. Repeat for all the rice paper.
5. For a sweet and savoury experience, sprinkle some salt on top right after taking it out of the frying oil.
6. Add your sweet condiment of choice to the fried rice paper gently as it’s very fragile using a small teaspoon. My personal favourite for this one is nutella. Enjoy!
Sophie’s Seaweed and Egg Soup with Rice
This is my go to dinner when I’m short on time or lazy because it’s very simple and quick.
Ingredients:
Dried seaweed (can get from Seoul Plaza, I think they sell the Chung Jung One £7 for 2 packs)
2 eggs
Rice
Spring onion
ALDI Ready Set COOK! Chicken Seasoning 52g - £0.85
Instructions:
Boil your rice like usual.
Break however much of the seaweed you want in your soup into a bowl filled with warm water. Be careful to not break up too much as the seaweed expands in water.
Let the seaweed sit while you prepare the eggs.
Beat your 2 eggs.
Once seaweed has expanded, drain the water.
Slice however much spring onions you want for garnish.
Fill the bowl you’re going to have your soup in with water and pour it into the saucepan.
Wait for water to boil, then put ½ or 1 tsp of the chicken seasoning - depending on your tastes.
Place the seaweed into the saucepan.
Wait for water to boil again then slowly pour eggs in a circular motion around the saucepan.
Turn heat to lowest and let the soup boil again.
Once done, put your spring onion garnish on top.
Enjoy it with your rice :)
