Seven easy last minute dishes that you can serve guests in 30 minutes or less!
It’s Raya Eid season! You’ve done all your visiting, and you’re chilling at home, minding your own business, and then you get a call. “Are you home? We’re nearby! Coming over!” Surprise guests are the best, aren’t they? Put down that food delivery app and do not panic!
Check out these recipes which are effortless, gets you a full meal in 30 minutes, and are sure to impress. A bit of a spoiler, they’re mostly noodles.
1. Mee Goreng
Mee Goreng is THE classic Malay fried noodles! It’s comforting, hearty, done and dusted in less than 30 minutes. You can also make this with any toppings – cubed chicken, seafood, fishcakes, imitation crab sticks, vegetables… so it’s a great way of using up leftover ingredients.
While the typical noodle of choice here is yellow hokkien noodles, but you can make Mee Goreng works with any other noodles, including pasta.
I have two recipes on this blog here:
2. Macaroni Goreng
I know what you’re thinking, isn’t this Mee Goreng but with pasta? Yes… but! You use more tomato ketchup here. Of course, you can make Macaroni Goreng the Mee Goreng way, aka more spicy and rich, but Macaroni Goreng generally is more sweet and savoury than spicy. Due to this, Macaroni Goreng is a great dish to serve kids! Omit the dried chilli paste or chilli sauces for the kids.
Get the Macaroni Goreng recipe here!
3. Chicken Curry
This easy chicken curry is so fulfilling and wholesome… plus everybody loves curry! Curry is so easily adjusted to your preference too. Add chillies if your guests love spice, or toss in vegetables for more nutrients! Get this easy Chicken Curry recipe here.
If you got a bit more time, you can even make your own bread from scratch! Otherwise use up leftover bread or just cook up some rice.
Prefer noodles? Do that! Add more water so the curry is a more liquid consistency so the noodles can sop up all that delicious flavour.
4. Mee Bandung
Mee Bandung is a Malaysian/Singapore Malay noodle dish of prawns and eggs poached in a savoury sweet tomato ketchup-based gravy. The main ingredient here is… good ol’ tomato ketchup, a staple in most kitchen. This is so easy to make and you can accomplish this with just eggs.
5. Kacang Pool (Foul Medammes)
Kacang Pool or Kacang Phool is the Malay interpretation of Foul Mudammas, a Middle Eastern dish of stewed broad or fava beans. This looks deceptively difficult to make, but this is so easy and quick to make! This version uses canned baked beans; and is equally delicious.
Serve this easy, quick dish with some bread and eggs.
6. Mee Hailam
Mee Hailam is a soy sauce-braised noodle dish made with dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and oyster sauce; again pantry staples for most Asian pantries. This slurpy, noodle dish is a crowd-pleaser since it’s not spicy at all. If you want that spice, serve it with some pickled green chillies.
7. Singapore Hor Fun Noodles
Singapore Hor Fun Noodles is a classic hawker zi char dish of springy, wide rice noodles slathered in a slurpy, thick, egg gravy. This is a hawker classic in Singapore, and not difficult to make at all.
Thanks for access to your blog … from a transplanted Malaysian girl who learnt how to cook after leaving Penang!