Fancy Chinese for your lunches over the coming days? I love Chinese food – it’s a Singaporean thing, but the thing about hawker styled food is that it leaves you super thirsty and just really downright ‘ergh’ after the meal. Must be the oil. And the salt. And the other not so fancy things being put into the dish.
Which is why I decided to whip up my own Chinese meal – Kung Pao Chicken, and turn it into some awesome meal prep that lasts me for four days! It costs less than $4 per serve and won’t take you more than 20 mins!
Meal Prep: Kung Pao Chicken
Serves – 4
Time needed – 20 mins
Cost – Approximately $3.80 per serve
Here’s what you need:
- 600g chicken breast, skinned and fat removed, sliced
- Red, green, yellow capsicum, chopped
- 150g snow peas
- A handful of dried chillies
- 1 tbsp olive oil or 3-sec olive oil spray
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 100g cashew nuts
- For the sauce
- 4 tbsp liquid aminos
- 4 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 2 tbsp chilli paste
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp potato starch
Here’s how you do it:
- Begin by mixing all the ingredients for the kung pao sauce together.
- Prepare the veggies by slicing them any way you want.
- Heat a non-stick skillet on medium high with olive oil spray or olive oil. When the skillet is hot, add in garlic and saute for one minute.
- Add in the chicken and cook until the the outside is white or for about 8 minutes.
- Add in the veggies and stir fry for a further 4 minutes.
- Slowly add in the sauce in two batches, stir frying it in between and let it cook for another 2 minutes, adding in the cashew nuts halfway through.
- Remove from heat. If preparing as a meal prep, divide into 4-5 different containers. Depending on your goals, you may have it with a side of brown rice or Thai red rice like I did!
- Enjoy!
How much this costs:
*Keep in mind that this numbers are a rough guide. It depends on where you buy it and when. At the end of the day it’s possible to eat healthy without breaking the bank. Also, ~ denotes the items that should already be in your pantry for a long time or it’s a very small amount. I’ve also added about $0.50 to the final number to account for those ~ items.
- 600g chicken breasts $5.20
- Red, green, yellow capsicum $3.50
- Snow peas $1.30
- Dried chillies $0.20
- Cashew nuts $2.50
- Liquid aminos $0.80
- Natural tomato puree $0.50
- Honey $0.30
- Ginger $0.20 ($1.50 per pack)
- Chilli paste $0.20 ($1.30 per pack)
- Rice vinegar $0.20
- Potato starch $0.20 ($2.00 per pack)
Total price = ~ $15.10
Price per serve (without rice) = ~ $3.80
How much calories and macros:
Calories: 350, Protein: 38g, Carbohydrates: 18g, Fats: 12g
