3-Meal Prep: Healthy Nasi Padprik

Growing up, I will usually have lunch once a month outside with a good friend of mine, Yana after school back in my secondary school days. I will normally order Nasi Goreng Pattaya (omelette wrapped fried rice) and Yana will always order Nasi Padprik. She was one of those friends back then who actually ate vegetables so it’s no surprise there that she will order something with veggies.

Every time she orders that, I’m just constantly amazed by the fact that this dish is actually pretty healthy. I mean, as a 15 year old, who eats veggies right? Fast forward 15 years later, I realised that not only this dish is healthy, it’s also super easy to make. Plus, I tweaked the original recipe a little bit and used zero MSG or anything else you don’t need to grow old gracefully. 😉

So here we are – this week I made a healthier rendition of one of our local faves – Nasi Padprik. The word padprik derives from Thai language where “pad” means fry and “prik” means chilli so here we go, spicy chicken stir-fry made half Malay, half Thai styled served over 3 days for your lunches next week.

Grab your recipe book, pen this down, get the ingredients, and get preppin’. Don’t forget to tell me how it is either on the comments section below, on YouTube, or on Instagram at @asianmealprep. Would love to see your creations!

3-Meal Prep: Healthy Nasi Padprik

Makes – 3 meals
Time needed – 20 minutes
Cost – ~S$4.40 per serve

Here’s what you need:

• 300g chicken breast, sliced thinly
• 1 broccoli, chopped to desired size
• 1/4 cauliflower, chopped to desired size
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 red chilli
• 2 cili padi *optional
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lemon grass, sliced at the white part
• 90g baby corn, halved
• 200g mushroom, sliced
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp white pepper

To serve

• 100g of cooked brown rice or basmati rice.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Begin by boiling water in a saucepan, add the chickpeas and simmer for 5 mins. Rinse and drain under cold water.
2. Heat a non stick pan with coconut oil. Add onion, cili padi and garlic and stir-fry till fragrant for about 1-min. Add in minced chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add in cumin and paprika and mix well for about 1 minute.
4. Stir in carrots and chickpeas and continue stir-frying for a few more minutes.
5. Remove from heat, stir in coriander leaves and lemon juice.
6. Assemble your pita bread and add equal amounts of chicken and chickpeas.
7. Enjoy!

How much this costs:

*Keep in mind that this numbers are a rough guide. It depends on where you buy it and when. You can definitely save more money if you purchase in wet markets etc. 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.

• 300g chicken breast, sliced thinly – $3.80
• 1 broccoli, chopped to desired size – $1.85
• 1/4 cauliflower, chopped to desired size – $1.00
• 1 carrot, sliced – $0.20
• 1 red chilli – $0.20
• 2 cili padi *optional – ~
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped – $0.20
• 1 lemon grass, sliced at the white part – $0.20
• 90g baby corn, halved – $1.10
• 200g mushroom, sliced – $3.65
• 1 tbsp honey – $0.20
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce – $0.40
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – $0.20
• 1 tsp white pepper – ~

Total price = ~S$13
Price per serve = ~ S$4.40

Nutrition Information

The nutrition information below is based on the ingredients I’ve used above. It may not be an accurate representation of your meal.

Without rice: Calories 308 Protein 26.1g Carbs 20g Sugar 11g Fibre 4g Fats 14.2g Saturated Fats 3.4g

With 100g cooked brown or basmati rice: Calories 419 Protein 28.7g Carbs 43g Sugar 11.4g Fibre 5.8g Fats 15.1g Saturated Fats 3.6g