8 tasty instant meals to veg out with

SINGAPORE — Who doesn’t like the idea of convenience food? You can have it fast, hot and can be relatively delicious. Even better is the fact that you can consume it any time of the day — especially when you’re vegging out in bed and do not feel like moving towards the kitchen until it’s safely past 2pm. But don’t just stick to cup noodles when there are better alternatives around. We visited several supermarkets around Singapore and narrowed down the selection to eight best instant meals you can whip up with hardly any effort.

Kang Kang Express Meal Kit: Curry Mee

Kang Kang Curry Mee is like no other instant noodles. This express meal kit consists of hokkien noodles, curry paste and coconut powder. You can either mix all the ingredients and place the kit in the microwave or use the stove to prepare it. It will be ready in under 10 minutes. The fragrant smell of the curry hits you as soon as you open the pack. The curry is not too spicy and the noodles have a springy and soft texture. I’m glad to say the meal is just as mum would cook it. Almost.

Price: S$2.95 and S$5.15 for two packs at FairPriceXtra. 

CP: Chicken Green Curry With Rice

Made with real ingredients such as coconut milk, green chilli and kaffir leaves, CP’s express version of green curry will appeal to Thai food lovers. Pop it in the microwave for five minutes and your dish is ready to be eaten. The ingredients blend well and the chicken breast is chunky and soft, which makes for a satisfying dish.

Price: S$4.50, at all major supermarkets

Maggi 5 Minutes Mash: Mashed Potato With Sour Cream, Croutons And Chives

If you want a light snack, Maggi Instant Mash is ideal. Add hot water, stir and mix. Wait five minutes and it’s done. How easy is that? Packed with croutons, chives and sour cream, the meal is flavoursome, with the richness of the sour cream. The croutons add an extra bite.

Price: S$2.25, available at GIANT and convenience stores.

Maggi 5-Minute Cup : Broccoli Fettuccine

Who says instant meals can’t attempt to be healthy? With this pasta-in-a-cup version, you can say you’re eating your greens at the same time, as there are bits of broccoli thrown in. Similar to the Instant Maggi Mash, simply add hot water, mix it up and it’s ready for consumption in five. Skeptics might scoff at how good instant pasta can be, but let me assure you it turned out deliciously creamy and the pasta has a good bite.

Price: S$1.95, at all major supermarkets

Prima Taste: Beef Rendang With Rice

The pack promises a meal in just 90 seconds. Tear it open and zap the dish in a microwave. What’s amazing is that the rice is 20 per cent wholegrain basmati and five per cent multi-grains, and there is no added MSG or preservatives. The beef itself is spicy and tender, and the meal is altogether a good combination.

Price: S$5.95, available at GIANT supermarket

FairPrice: Curry Puff

Vegetarians can look forward to this as the curry puff by FairPrice is meat-free. The crust of the curry puff is surprisingly crispy and the filling of curried potatoes inside is every bit as good as what you would find at stalls outside. The troublesome thing is that you have to deep fry the curry puff for up to four minutes. But hey, when they taste this good. If you own an airfryer, you can put as many curry puffs as you want into the fryer and set the machine to 15 minutes.

Price: S$4.85, at FairPrice

Yopokki: Spicy Rice Cake

Korean fanatics, here is the instant meal for you. Each box comes with a batch of rice cakes and a packet of hot sauce paste. Add 20ml of water and pop it into the microwave for up to two minutes, and they’re ready to be eaten. The rice cakes are soft and chewy, and the hot sauce gives an extra kick.

Price: S$3.00, at SHINE KOREA supermarket (Bras basah complex)

Top Choice: Pre-baked Lasagna

Top Choice’s lasagna will please those who love all things cheesy as it’s filled with minced beef and flavourful cheese sheets. Microwave it for eight minutes and a satisfying meal emerges. It’s the perfect comfort food for those who can’t be bothered to do too much, yet demand a tasty dish. Why do you think Garfield loves lasagna so much? The meal comes in chicken and vegetarian flavours too.

Price: S$4.20, at FairPrice