Surviving Januworry: How to give basic ingredients a budget-friendly glow-up
Transform the humble cabbage.
Image: Instagram
We all know the feeling. One minute, you are living your best life in December, generously sponsoring the family braai and convinced that you are actually the main character of a music video.
Then, January hits, and suddenly, that early December payday feels like a distant memory from a previous lifetime.
Between the "Back-to-School" stationery lists that require a small loan and the fact that January officially has 742 days, the financial pinch is real.
Most South Africans find themselves in this gap where the spirit is willing, but the bank balance is crying.
However, just because you are counting your remaining cents doesn’t mean your dinner has to taste as sad as your balance looks.
Now’s the best time to stop viewing your pantry staples as "emergency rations" and start seeing them as the versatile heroes they can be.
The 2-minute noodle upgrade
While kids love them plain, you can easily turn the boring noodles into a treat for the whole family.
With a few small additions, you can transform a packet of noodles.
Sauté minced garlic and grated ginger before adding the noodles and water. If you have some frozen veggies, you can toss them in during the last minute of cooking.
Leftover chicken makes for a great addition.
Don’t forget about those half-used sauces. Reach for sauces like chilli garlic sauce, sriracha, oyster sauce or soy sauce to enhance the flavour.
For a completely different flavour, add a spoonful of peanut butter and a dash of chilli flakes to the hot noodles to create a creamy, satay-style sauce.
Reimagining baked beans
If you are down to your last tin of beans, don't just put them on toast and call it a day.
Take some onion and garlic, fry them until soft, and add a pinch of curry powder before tossing in the beans.
This "curried bean" base can be served inside a hollowed-out loaf of bread for a mini home-made bunny chowIt is filling, packed with protein, and has enough flavour to make you forget that it was just a can of beans.
The pilchard makeover
A tin of pilchards is the undisputed king of Januworry, but you don't have to just mash it into a bowl.
By adding a can of pilchards, including the gravy, to sautéed onions, garlic and ginger with curry spices, you’ll have an aromatic curry. If you want to bulk it up, add a few chopped potatoes and cook until they are soft.
Instead of the standard tomato gravy, try turning those pilchards into crispy fishcakes.
By draining the sauce and mixing the fish with some leftover mashed potatoes or even a bit of flour and an egg, you create a texture that feels like a treat.
Shape the mixture into balls, coat with flour and fry until they are golden brown.
Gourmet cabbage
Cabbage is probably the most undervalued vegetable in the grocery aisle. It is cheap, it lasts forever in the fridge, and it is incredibly bulky.
To move away from the soggy, overcooked cabbage, try the "steak" approach.
Slice the cabbage into thick rounds, brush them with a little oil and whatever spices you have left (braai salt works wonders here), and roast them in the oven or sear them in a pan until the edges are charred and caramelised. It brings out a sweetness you never knew existed.
Januworry is a marathon, not a sprint. By getting a little bit creative with the basics, you can make sure that your taste buds don't have to suffer just because your wallet is.