Takeaways and food delivery apps are great. But with just a few handy ingredients and your trusty LPG cooktop, your family or flat could enjoy some classic takeaway tastes without the delivery wait or the hit to your credit card.
Here are some of our favourite cost-conscious mealtime hacks
Twice the rice. Steaming or boiling some rice to go with dinner? Always cook twice what you need. Why? Because fried rice is best made with leftover rice from the day before, not freshly cooked. Pop that extra rice in a covered dish in the fridge, then fire up that wok the next night for your signature fired rice.
Living the steam dream. If you’re using a pot to boil vegetables like potatoes or corn on your LPG stovetop, you’re also making a lot of steam, which you could use for cooking things like peas, spinach, broccoli and other fast-cooking greens. If you don’t have one, hit the op shops for a steamer pot to fit on top of your main pot. (You can also try using an all-metal sieve if you have one that fits). If you do a lot of steaming, a bamboo steamer from an Asian grocery sits in a shallow frying pan or wok of boiling water and is a super-quick way to cook veges, fish, chicken and more.
Drop dead delicious dumplings. Those awesome steamed dumplings you love getting delivered? Trade secret: you can buy the same things frozen at the supermarket and steam them at home. Big bottles of soy or chilli sauce are great buying at Asian specialty shops and last ages too.
Premium mince? Not so fast! That lowest-fat, expensive mince is the best choice for a gourmet burger, right? Maybe not! Many chefs recommend mince with a higher fat content for a tastier, juicier burger. It’s usually cheaper as well. Try mixing it up with some pork mince too – there’s more to the burger life than beef.
Pick the perfect burner. Whatever you cook, your LPG stovetop has different-sized burners for a reason. Using the biggest one on a small pot or pan is wasting energy… if you can see flames around the sides of the pot, you’re heating the room, not dinner! On the flipside, use your wok ring for best results with a wok or largest pot.
The secret ingredient? LPG.
At Rockgas, we deliver LPG to homes and businesses all over the country. To switch to us, or get the best price for your place, call us on 0800 762 542 or click here for more information.