The Weekend Feast: Delicious Dishes That Will Fill You Up and Satisfy the Whole Family’s Cravings

The 4-5-1 formula suggested by nutrition experts from the Institute of Nutrition is a simple way to design nutritious meals. The formula includes 4 essential nutrient groups (carbohydrates, proteins, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals); 5 main components in a meal (starch, protein, fat, vegetables, and water); and ensures that each meal is a complete serving. With this scientific arrangement, people can easily create healthy and balanced meals without spending too much time, making it more convenient to take care of their health in daily life.

On weekends, families tend to have more time to cook a variety of dishes. Instead of having rice with multiple side dishes, you can occasionally replace it with noodle-based meals, such as rice vermicelli or bun, to save time. These dishes offer new and exciting flavors that the whole family will enjoy.

However, when it comes to instant noodles, cooking only this dry food will not provide enough nutrients for the body and may lack fiber, vitamins, protein, and essential minerals. To create a more balanced meal, consider applying the 4-5-1 nutrition formula to ensure sufficient energy and nutrients for your family members.

Below are four delicious instant noodle recipes that you can try on the weekends as an alternative to traditional meals. They are not only tasty but also nutritious.

1. THAI-STYLE NOODLE SALAD

Ingredients

Starch: 1 pack of stir-fry instant noodles

Protein: 3 large shrimp

Fiber and Vegetables: 1 tomato; a handful of basil; ½ a lemongrass stalk

Spices: 1 bird’s eye chili; 1 spring onion; 2 shallots; ½ a lime; 1 teaspoon of chili sauce; sugar, fish sauce

Fat: from the satay oil packet in the product and cooking oil used in the preparation

Instructions:

Preparation:

Boil the shrimp: Bring 1 cup of water to a boil, add ½ teaspoon of sugar, and cook the shrimp until they turn pink. Remove from the heat, rinse with cold water, peel and devein, leaving the tail intact. Reserve the shrimp broth.

Cut the tomato into 6 pieces, chop the basil, slice the lemongrass thinly on a diagonal, slice the shallots, crush and chop the chili, and finely chop the spring onion.

Cooking:

Marinate the shrimp: Mix 1 teaspoon each of sugar, lime juice, chili sauce, and fish sauce with ½ packet of seasoning, 2 tablespoons of shrimp broth, lemongrass, chili, and shallots. Add the shrimp and mix well.

Toss the noodles: Boil the noodles with the dried vegetable packet for 2 minutes, drain the water, and place the noodles in a deep dish. Add the remaining ½ packet of seasoning, the oil packet, spring onion, and tomato, and mix well.

Serving: Top the noodles with the marinated shrimp and herbs, serve cold, and toss before eating.

2. CLAM NOODLE SOUP

Ingredients

Starch: 1 pack of instant noodles

Protein: 200g clams

Fiber and Vegetables: 1 spring onion, 2 sprigs of basil, 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce

Spices: 1 tablespoon of cooking oil

Fat: from the satay oil packet in the product and cooking oil used in the preparation

Instructions:

Preparation:

Soak the clams with chili to remove any sand. Finely chop the white part of the spring onion and slice the green part.

Cooking:

Sauté the clams: Heat oil and fry the white part of the spring onion until fragrant. Add the clams and stir-fry over high heat for 2 minutes. Then, add the tomato sauce, soup powder, and soup thickener, and mix well.

Toss the noodles: Cook the noodles with the dried vegetable packet for 2 minutes, drain, and set aside. Mix the clam mixture with the noodles.

Serving: Garnish with basil and serve hot.

3. CHEESE NOODLES WITH SAUSAGE

Ingredients

Starch: 1 pack of instant noodles

Protein: 2 sausages

Fiber and Vegetables: 3 tomatoes; 30g onion; 2 bay leaves

Spices: 30g mozzarella cheese; 30g tomato paste; 1 teaspoon of sugar; ½ teaspoon of salt

Fat: from the satay oil packet in the product and cooking oil used in the preparation

Instructions:

Preparation: Deseed and dice the tomatoes. Finely chop the onion. Slice the bay leaves. Cut the sausages diagonally.

Cooking: Place the noodles and dried vegetable packet in a bowl, add 400ml of boiling water, cover, and let it sit for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside. Add ½ packet of soup powder and mix well.

Heat a pan, add the oil packet and fried onions, and sauté until fragrant. Add the diced tomatoes and 100ml of water, simmer over low heat. Then, add the tomato paste, sausages, and season with the remaining ½ packet of seasoning, sugar, and salt. Cook until the mixture thickens.

Serving: Place the noodles on a plate, top with the tomato sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and garnish with bay leaves. Toss before eating.

4. ROASTED PORK NOODLES WITH GARLIC

Ingredients

Starch: 1 pack of instant noodles

Protein: 80g roasted/fried pork

Fiber and Vegetables: 1 Chinese cabbage; 2 spring onions

Spices: 1 teaspoon of minced garlic; ½ teaspoon of minced chili; 1 tablespoon of soy sauce; 1 teaspoon of sugar

Fat: from the satay oil packet in the product and cooking oil used in the preparation

Instructions:

Preparation: Cut the Chinese cabbage and spring onions into bite-sized pieces. Cut the roasted pork into bite-sized pieces.

Cooking: Make the sauce by mixing garlic, chili, soy sauce, sugar, soup powder, and 1 tablespoon of water. Boil the noodles with the dried vegetable packet for 3 minutes, drain, and set aside the broth. Add the oil packet and mix well.

Blanch the Chinese cabbage in the noodle broth. Drain and set aside.

Serving: Top the noodles with the roasted pork, Chinese cabbage, and spring onions. Garnish with basil and serve hot.

Good luck with your cooking adventures!