A realisation of the past week: eating well on a budget is not as impossible as I imagined before moving out. The misconception probably stemmed from formerly doing supermarket shopping for a family of six, all armed with large appetites, eating meat every night and not actively trying to cut costs. I was vaguely concerned that I would move out and have to subsist on slightly more lackluster meals, avoiding herbs, fish, and non-minced red meat and losing ingredients like ground almonds, dark chocolate and cream cheese in my baking. Couldn’t have been more wrong, really.
Stocking up on basics at the start helps: your fish sauce, soy sauce, spices, pomegranate molasses, tahini, pearl barley, rice, ginger, vinegar and oils. Buying what’s on special is huge – for example, in this meal you can use whatever greens you like. Grow your own herbs (our is a work in progress!) and you could save at least $5 a day. Hummus has become a staple in our house- for the price of a $1 can of chickpeas, a squeeze of lemon and a clove of garlic, I have something to go with lunch for the week, or a protein source for a middle-eastern inspired dinner. Judicious use of left-overs is absolutely key – make slightly more dinner and you have covered another meal in lunch the next day. Buy ciabatta when it is on sale at the end of the day and keep it in the freezer, or make your own bagels for an eighth of the price. It also helps that three girls don’t tend to eat quite as much as my three teenage brothers!
So much easier than I originally assumed. Coffee is something I continue to fork out for, however. Getting accustomed to Dad’s home-roasted beans and cafe-worthy espresso machine over summer means I have turned into a bit of a coffee snob, I have to admit.
With university often not finishing up until 6pm, dinners like this are necessities. I made up these teriyaki salmon bowls with sesame greens and avocado after a rare lunch out with Mum over summer at the recently opened &Sushi in Auckland. One of the more unique Japanese fit-outs around, it offers non-traditional takes on sushi and donburi with more of a health-food angle – the menu includes quinoa and sweet potato, purple rice is present in spades, and sushi garnishes include edible flowers and strawberry slices. Restaurant and cafe meals are one of my favourite sources of inspiration – I find it difficult to turn off the side of my brain that is constantly considering the components and ingredients, and how I could recreate them or change them up. The teriyaki salmon bowl we ate was a prime example.
Sticky, sweet teriyaki sauce coats tender seared salmon fillets on a bed of sushi rice and crispy-edged greens sautéed in sesame oil. Extra texture in the form of scattered spring onion, nori, toasted sesame seeds, avocado wedges and a drizzle of extra teriyaki sauce finish it off. AND it is healthy, packed with flavour, fast and budget friendly (if that doesn’t stretch to salmon, chicken thighs are almost as good).
The teriyaki sauce ingredients will last for ages, so after you have made it once, you won’t need to buy them again for a while. The sauce takes 5 minutes – all you do is boil them together in a pot. Buy whatever greens are cheap: use your leftover zucchini and broccoli sitting in the fridge, or if asparagus and snow peas happen to be in season, use them. Go crazy and use a mix of them all if you want. Add cabbage and green beans, and splurge on an avocado (there is a shortage of the latter in Melbourne currently, pushing the price up to about $3 each, so avocados are bought sparingly and used carefully around here!).
- 1/3 cup mirin
- 1/3 cup sake
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons corn flour
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 cups of rice(or however much you normally eat between 3-4 people) OR soba noodles
- A couple of tablespoons of sushi rice vinegar.
- 3-4 x pieces of salmon , skin on (usually allow 150g per person)
- Green vegetables: a mixture of whatever you have on hand , allowing about 1 cup-1 1/2 cups per person. I would normally use cabbage and beans or broccoli, then a mix of whatever else is available. For example: green beans, asparagus, snow peas,cabbage, zucchini, broccoli
- Salt and pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 avocado , thinly sliced
- 3-4 spring onions , thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 2 x Nori sheets , cut into squares and toasted
- Extra teriyaki sauce for serving
- Japanese kewpie mayo to serve (if you have it)
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For the teriyaki sauce, combine the mirin, sake, soy sauce and sugar in a small pot and bring to the boil, making sure the sugar has dissolved.
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In a separate small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and water. Add to the pot and return to the boil, stirring until thickened (2-4 minutes). Taste and adjust the seasoning if desired. Set aside or keep in the fridge until needed.
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Steam rice in a rice cooker or using your usual method, or cook up soba noodles. Once cooked, stir through a couple of tablespoons of sushi rice vinegar to taste. You can also use soba noodles here.
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Meanwhile, cut up your vegetables - top and tail beans, halve asparagus, thinly slice cabbage, cut zucchini into wedges and/or cut broccoli into small florets. Heat the olive oil & sesame oil (use only a little sesame oil as it is quite strongly flavoured) on a barbecue flat plate or wok over high heat. Stir-fry the vegetables until browned at the edges but still relatively crisp, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.
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At the same time, heat a tablespoon of olive oil on a barbecue flat plate or in a fry pan. Add the salmon, skin side down, and cook on low until the flesh has gone opaque in about the bottom 1/3 of the fish. Turn over, and when the flesh changes colour the other way for 1/3 (which takes about half as long) so the opacity hasn't quite met in the middle yet, remove and rest for 2 minutes. A ridged pan/plate is ideal as the fat can drain away, but don’t use grill bars as the fish gets too burnt.
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When almost done, coat with teriyaki sauce (I use a pastry brush, but a spoon will do) and cook for a minute or two longer. Reserve the remaining sauce for the bowls.
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Serve the salmon with your green vegetable stirfry, steamed rice or soba noodles, sliced avocado, spring onion, sesame seeds, nori and extra teriyaki sauce and japanese kewpie mayo to drizzle over the top.
Glad you are making eating on a budget happen, girl! It totally is possible! LOVE these bowls of yum! Teriyaki salmon and tons of veggies is my idea of dinner perfection! These bowls look seriously delicious! Cheers, Claudia! 😉
Thanks Cheyanne! So perfect for weeknight dinners. 🙂
Ohhh this is great! And I could not agree with you more about revitalizing leftovers for other meals. It is probably the easiest and cheapest ways to constantly have fresh dinners and lunches! Love this post.
Leftovers are my favourite, so with you Mila. Everyone is always jealous of my containers of lunch leftovers when they are stuck with a soggy sandwich, or have to shell out $10 for a bought lunch…
Thanks for stopping by <3
These look delicious Claudia! I love salmon and I’m trying to eat things that are better for me, so this bowl fits the bill!
Thanks Mary Ann! Always feels good to eat a dinner I know is healthy (although I usually go off and eat cake for dessert, so that probably puts me back at square one…). x
I just made this and it was delicious Claudia!!
Oh awesome, so good to hear!! xx
Claudia, this looks gorgeous! And super healthy. Love it!
Thanks Debs! x
So true! Eating well on a budget is easier than people think. And this salmon is out of this world, Loving the teriyaki flavor!
Thanks so much Meghan! <3
Eating on a budget can be bland but you are so right about stocking up on essentials. It is an investment for so many possibilities. I have been eating on a budget of $50 a week so it is mostly rice and pasta with some nice meat and seasonal veggies on the side. It is not kind to the waistline though, healthy is expensive. haha. Teriyaki salmon is the best. That is my go to dish whenever I try out a new Japanese place. This looks great and as usual your photography has managed to make my tummy grumble. 🙂 xx
Totally agree- those basics can completely change what you can do with whats on special at the supermarket! $50 a week is tough – it would be fine if you were happy with mince and pasta every night, but I’m not (and you probably aren’t either!!). Healthy is definitely a bit more expensive- by the time you start buying lean meats and vegetables, or any nuts/seeds/grains, it really ramps up what you are paying. We often end up having eggs on toast with whatever scraps of leftovers are the in the fridge by the end of the week haha! Thanks so much Lynette <3
This looks so great!!! I can’t resist salmon 😛
Thanks Anne! <3
I’ve been wanting to buy salmon for quite some time now to add to my bowls I make through out the week but I never knew how to get started! I didnt want to make salmon on its own and didnt know what flavoring to do! I love that you basked them in teriyaki sauce and it looks so easy to make! Totally loooooving this bowl!
Oh your bowls are amazing Linda! And this is such an easy way to cook salmon – only takes 5-10 minutes and I love the teriyaki flavour! Thanks so much x
I’m all about eating on a budget lately, and while I don’t have a garden filled with greens, I do have a fridge filled with leftovers. I’m gonna have to run out and get some salmon now.
A fridge full of leftovers is a fridge full of dinner opportunities! I so wish I had a veggie garden, but we don’t really have the space where we are at the moment. One day!! Thanks Nicole x
What a delicious way to enjoy salmon! Love that this is budget-friendly and doesn’t take too long to make. Looks so fresh and vibrant!
Thanks Beeta! I love extravagant baking SO much, but on the other hand don’t want to put that much effort into dinner… so this is what I generally end up with haha 🙂
These bowls are absolutely gorgeous! I’ve been on a huge salmon kick recently so thanks for the great inspiration 🙂
Thanks Sarah! Such a big fan of salmon over here too – so healthy and so easy to cook! x
This is a great quick meal for the week after work, love the combination of salmon and sticky rice then avocado and nori. I love nori could eat it plain actually I do have it plain at work for a snack but in this bowl would taste so wonderful. Excellent job on this dish and on a budget, good for you. Nicoletta and I do weekly meal plans and we find we save so much money on groceries because we are not over buying and plus we have no waste which is nice. Hate wasting food.
Have a great evening
Loreto
Thanks Loreto! It really is a great combination of textures – and bowl food is such a winner! It sounds like you have it sorted with your meal plans – it really makes it so much more efficient, I agree! Hope your week is going well 🙂
Hi Claudia, I’ve discovered your blog two days ago, and yesterday evening I made these – turned out absolutely stellar, thank you so much! Love the delicate balance of flavours at play, and all that on a budget AND healthy – sign me in anytime.
Now onto the rest of your yummy recipes; at first I bookmarked the ones I wanted to try but quickly gave up as I realised I was bookmarking every single recipe :p I’ll probably be limited at one point or another by the awful weather my country is associated with since the dawn of time – Belgium, meh -, which means fruits and veggies are much scarcer here, but we’ll see! I gotta say your blog has strengthened my wanting to discover Australia and New Zealand, seems like such amazing countries.
Many thanks anyway for your excellent recipes, gorgeous photography and delightful writing!
Best,
Melo
Hi Melo!
Thank you so much for reaching out – so glad you loved this salmon bowls! I actually made them a couple of nights ago as well, and am currently enjoying the left overs. I didn’t really think about the fact that your fruit & veggies would be limited in other countries – though in winter here it does also end up being apples, citrus & pineapples! Would love to hear about anything else you try.
Claudia x