Lunchbox Cooking
Still good hours later, not saucy, and no mess to eat without cutlery.
15 recipes
15 recipes sit under Lunchbox Cooking, and every one of them is scored against what is actually in your fridge before it is shown. The quickest is Nuggets in Sweet Soy Glaze at 10 minutes; the longest, Beef in Sweet Soy, takes 90. 4 of them finish in twenty minutes or less, which is usually what matters on a weeknight.
None of these need an oven, an air fryer, or a microwave — a stove and a pan is enough. 5 are vegetarian. 9 have no chili at all, so they work for children. 5 are properly spicy.
These recipes lean most often on Palm sugar, Red chili, Indonesian bay leaf and Potato — if you have one or two of those as well, more of this list becomes cookable tonight rather than after a shopping trip. Add what you have to your fridge and the recipes reorder themselves around it, with anything missing collected into a shopping list.
Sweet Crisp Tempeh
Sweet, dry, and keeps for three days. The cheapest rice companion there is.
⏱ 25 min🍽 4 servingsEasy
Braised Chicken and Potato in Sweet Soy
Dark, sweet, and fragrant with nutmeg. A dish that tastes better reheated the next morning.
⏱ 45 min🍽 4 servingsEasy
Spicy Potato and Chicken Liver
The potato is diced small and fried crisp first — that is what separates it from the soggy version.
⏱ 40 min🍽 5 servingsMedium
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Steamed first, then fried. Freezes for a month and saves you on hectic mornings.
⏱ 1 h🍽 6 servingsMedium
Sweet Braised Tofu and Tempeh
Slow-braised in palm sugar until it soaks through, then briefly fried.
⏱ 1 h🍽 5 servingsEasy
Beef in Sweet Soy
Dark, sweet, and tender. The beef simmers until the fibres let go on their own — there is no shortcut for that part.
⏱ 1 h 30m🍽 5 servingsMedium
Sausage and Green Beans
The fastest way to get children to eat green beans: cut them to sausage length so both land on the spoon together.
⏱ 15 min🍽 3 servingsEasy
Nuggets in Sweet Soy Glaze
Three ingredients, eight minutes, and it tastes far more like home cooking than plain nuggets.
⏱ 10 min🍽 2 servingsEasy
Peanut Sauce
The peanuts are dry-toasted, not fried. Toasting gives a roasted aroma that hot oil cannot imitate.
⏱ 25 min🍽 6 servingsEasy
Spinach with Sesame Dressing
Blanch briefly, then squeeze hard. Any water left behind thins the dressing and ruins it.
⏱ 12 min🍽 3 servingsEasy
Green Beans with Crispy Anchovies
The anchovies are fried separately and added off the heat. Cooked with the vegetables they go soft in two minutes.
⏱ 18 min🍽 3 servingsEasy
Anchovy and Peanut Sambal
Keeps a week in a jar and rescues a lot of lunches. The anchovies and peanuts must be bone dry before they meet the sambal.
⏱ 30 min🍽 8 servingsEasy
Rice Cooker Chicken Rice
Everything goes in at once, one button, forty minutes. The rice absorbs the chicken stock as it cooks.
⏱ 50 min🍽 4 servingsEasy
Cheese-Stuffed Tofu
Slit the tofu rather than halving it. An intact pocket keeps the cheese inside while it fries.
⏱ 25 min🍽 3 servingsEasy
Shredded Spicy Chicken
Keeps three days and goes with anything: rice, bread, or as a filling. Shred the chicken while warm so the fibres come apart easily.
⏱ 40 min🍽 5 servingsEasy