Chinese New Year Leftovers Recipes
With the conclusion of the Chinese New Year public holidays in Singapore, we’re sure most of us are now very well-fed from the numerous steamboat reunion dinners both at home and at those of our loved ones.
If you’re anything like us, your fridge is now packed full with all the extra ingredients that you deliberately (or accidentally) bought more of in preparation for the holiday — what to do with them?
In the spirit of minimizing food wastage and making the most out of your ingredients, here are 8 easy, delicious recipes to make best use of your CNY leftovers.
Using leftovers can help you save money too! If you buy fresh ingredients now, they are likely to be more expensive than usual. Plus, freezing ingredients helps retain their freshness.
1. Rice Cooker Claypot Rice
This quick, convenient recipe is the perfect dish to make after all the hectic reunion dinner preparations! Aside from the chicken, mushrooms and vegetables that you might have leftover from your steamboat, this simple Rice Cooker Claypot Rice only requires a few other common kitchen ingredients. All you need to do is to fry the leftover ingredients, then add them to half-cooked rice in a rice cooker and cook until the rice is done.
Feeling extra nua and want an even quicker rice cooker recipe? Try making our Yam Rice in Rice Cooker instead, perhaps when you’re recovering from a long, overnight game of mahjong.
Recipe: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn1FiZMB0wI/
Preparation Time: 1 hour. Serves 4 pax.
2. Stuffed Lotus Root
Cooked Lotus Root & Pork Rib Soup, but have leftover ingredients? Try making Stuffed Lotus Root with Pork! This deep-fried recipe is a different, but delicious way to enjoy lotus root and minced meat together.
Think juicy slices of lotus root, with a generous serving of marinated minced pork in between. All coated up in a batter and deep fried to crispy perfection. Savoury flavour just explodes in your mouth with every bite! It’s great as a side dish for dinner, or paired with a festive drink or two, such as our refreshing mandarin cocktail.
P.S. Love fried snacks? Try our Fried Nian Gao recipe with your leftover nian gao for a crunchy twist with more bite!
Recipe: https://themeatmen.sg/crispy-stuffed-lotus-root/
Preparation Time: 15 minutes. Serves 3-4 pax.
3. Tom Yum Prawn Pasta
Is 45 minutes still too long a cooking time in your holiday mood? We have something even quicker for you. Check out our 15-minute Tom Yum Prawn Pasta. This recipe is packed full of flavor and tanginess, making it super refreshing after so many heavyset meals. Even better, you get to use up all the prawns you couldn’t finish!
Pro-tip: Using a mostly-finished bottle of Tom Yum? Use a small amount of hot pasta water to “wash” all the leftover bits in the bottle and add it to your sauce – zero waste, 100% flavour.
Recipe: https://themeatmen.sg/tom-yum-prawn-pasta/
Preparation Time: 15 minutes. Serves 2 pax.
4. Jumbo Siew Mai
Bought too much minced meat and prawns for your hotpot? Make some Jumbo Siew Mai! Not only does it taste better than the store-bought, frozen siew mai from the supermarket, you can make them as big as you want (or as big as your wanton skin can fit).
Being freshly made, these siew mai will also be one of the juiciest you’ll ever taste! Biting into one instantly releases the yummy meat juices from within — keep some tissues handy in case they dribble down your chin!
Recipe: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm–kEyKnKX/
Preparation Time: 45 minutes. Serve 3-4.
5. Stir Fried Beef with Broccoli
This CNY, may the only beef between you and your loved ones be delicious like this Stir Fried Beef with Broccoli. Jokes aside, this is the perfect recipe for you if you’ve got leftover beef slices from your hot pot.
For a nice, crisp exterior for the beef, we recommend doing a shallow fry before sauteeing with the other ingredients. Chock-full of flavor from the fresh beef, with a kick of spice from chili padis and the umami explosion from oyster sauce, it proves that meals don’t have to be boring after the main festivities.
Recipe: https://themeatmen.sg/stir-fried-beef-with-broccoli/
Preparation Time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Serves 3-4 pax.
6. Hakka Yong Tau Foo
Feel like putting your cooking skills to the test? With our Hakka Yong Tau Foo recipe, you can now create your own yong tau foo pieces from scratch.
Make use of your leftover tau kwa, brinjal, lady fingers and other steamboat ingredients overflowing from your fridge, and stuff them with our special kale fish paste. The kale in the fish paste will give these vegetables another dimension of crunch. If you have little ones who are keen to help out in the kitchen, making this yong tau foo recipe together is a great way to teach them kitchen skills and bond with one another!
Not a fan of kale in your yong tau foo fish paste? Just omit it and follow the recipe as usual — simple as that!
Recipe: https://www.instagram.com/reel/ClfVManh7Bj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Preparation Time: 15 minutes. Serves 3-4.
7. Penang Char Kway Teow
For those of us who love having Malaysian cuisine, this 30-minute, spicy and fiery wok-hei-filled Penang Char Kway Teow is a nostalgic must-have. Practise this dish, and with time you’ll be able to recreate it right at home without having to travel!
Simply toss your leftover prawns, lap cheong (chinese sausage) and cockles into this dish. One bite will have you dreaming you’re in Penang.
Recipe: https://themeatmen.sg/penang-char-kway-teow/
Preparation Time: 30 mins. Serves 2-3 pax.
8. Seafood Yee Mee
This Seafood Yee Mee guarantee plus chop will help you to use up all your remaining ingredients. It takes all the pieces of food and combines them into a thick, rich stock to be poured over ee-fu noodles! Quick, easy and efficient, this dish is a life (or food) saver.
Recipe: https://themeatmen.sg/seafood-yee-mee/
Preparation Time: 30 minutes. Serves 2 pax.
CNY Ingredients
Start the Lunar New Year well by making the best use of what you already have. Let’s be thankful for the abundance of family, friends and food that we’re surrounded by. If you decide to give these recipes a go, share your creations with us on our cooking community, The Meatmen Open Kitchen FB group! We’d love to see your take on them.
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Some other recipes you might like:
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