I’m a total Facebook junkie. Because I post so much there, I often don’t think of making sure I post some of the same stuff to the blog here. I mean, how much do people care (outside of Facebook) what new recipe I’ve tried or what nifty prepper tip I have for the day?
One of my favorite things is eating…but also cooking the food that I eat. I’m an avid subscriber to Blue Apron, but with a twist. I try to figure out how to make the ones I really like using common ingredients or pantry staples. I even try to use prepper friendly ingredients. I mean, after all, putting such in your regular rotation is the best way to keep them fresh and replaced without waste.
Here’s one recent twist:
Blue Apron’s Crispy Catfish with Yellow Curry & Bird’s Eye Chili Sauce
Go on and take a look at it on the link (which is prettier than mine). Yeah, that looks tasty. Here are pantry friendly substitutions and recommendations that store super well for longer term (we’d call that short to medium length for prep specific).
Ingredient Replacements: Use red pepper flakes instead of the chili, any non-instant rice instead of jasmine, flour for rice flour. NOTE: They sent an American farm raised mild catfish that tastes like Basa. Don’t get Vietnamese or Chinese Basa instead, because it’s questionably raised. Any mild, flaky, white fish works. Regular catfish doesn’t work in this.
Pantry (and Prep) Friendly or No-Waste Items:
1) Coconut Milk Powder is incredibly versatile, stores well, and adds a hint of tropical sweetness and depth to dishes. The powder is vastly superior to the canned milk in terms of cost. Coconut Palm Sugar is the same, but it’s pricey compared to regular sugar, so I use it where I get the best impact, like this dish.
2) Buy fresh ginger by the pound, spend an hour mincing it all, then put it in a bag in your freezer. Break off to use as fresh ginger as needed. No more waste! Powdered will work, but fresh is best. The bigger bag linked below is a bargain compared with most spices. I also like Laxmi brand, which is smaller and cheaper, but lasts forever if stored properly.
3) There’s a joke that says, buy a new pack of yellow curry paste every time you buy a new refrigerator to keep it fresh. Yeah, it lasts. The brand I use is linked below and it comes in a plastic bag inside a plastic jar. It’s freaking delicious and adds zip to boring things (like beans and rice in prep stocks). PRO TIP: You can (under uber-clean conditions) open the packet and re-vacuum seal single use amounts for storage. I don’t do that anymore because I use it so frequently.
4) Ponzu sauce is an overlooked, but delicious, thin sauce you can use like soy sauce. It’s got a citrus kick that’s delightful.
5) You can use regular old lime juice if you don’t have a lime, but the zest is really awesome in this one. Try to use fresh if you can. I’m still waiting for someone to pack up freeze-dried lime zest that looks like zest! Dehydrated lime juice is a prepper must-have, the brand I use is below and works fine when you have no limes on hand.
6) You can substitute the kale with fresh spinach, young collards, bok choy, or beet greens. It doesn’t taste good with cabbage. Cool tolerant, fast-growing, and low maintenance leafy greens are a prepper must-have. They fill huge gaps in prep diets and offer the satisfaction that only green things do. Do you have leafy green seeds on hand? Do you?
Overall, this is rated 5 stars from me. It’s easy to source the main ingredients and many of the components are pantry friendly and easily used in a myriad of other meals. It’s quick to make, as in super quick, and well rounded with rib-sticking satisfaction levels. On the economical scale – I rate this one an 8 out of 10, which is awesome. Initial purchases of milk powder and curry paste can be high, but the number of uses each provides knocks that cost waaaaay down. The protein grams per dollar are high too.