We get it. You’ve had a busy day, you’re tired, your kids have soccer practice, you had to stay late at work. You have a million other things to worry about besides food. So you pick up the phone and order your favourite takeout and have it delivered to your door when you need it: ASAP.
But takeout bills add up. The average American spends $67 per week on takeout. Over the course of a year, that’s nearly $3,500 — enough for a beautiful two week beach vacation.
Here’s the secret to nailing (many) popular takeout dishes: focus on the spices. Make sure to use the right seasoning in the proper amounts.
Here’s how to recreate some of your favourite takeout meals at home:
Butter Chicken
Butter chicken is one of most popular takeout foods in both Canada and the USA. It’s easy to understand why: it’s so rich and flavourful. Want to create it at home? The secret is to use National Butter Chicken Recipe Mix, which contains spices like cumin seed, red chili, coriander, ginger, garlic and turmeric in perfect balance. You’ll also find the perfect butter chicken recipe right there on the product’s label.
Spicy Tuna Poke Bowls
Don’t have the time to make your own sushi? Poke bowls are a fast and fun way to enjoy a sushi experience (and the best part is you don’t need to be a master sushi chef to make them)! Gently mix chunks of sushi-grade tuna (cut into half inch cubes) with thinly sliced scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil and sriracha. Then serve the mixture with chunks of avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo and scallions on a bed of steamed rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bonus: give your bowl an extra kick of heat with sour and spicy mango pickles.
Chicken shawarma
The key to good chicken shawarma, once again, is the right spices: for your marinade, pre-mix your spices (1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tbsp of coriander powder, 1 tbsp of cumin seeds powder, 1 tbsp of cardamom, 1 tsp of chili powder, 2 tsp of smoked paprika, 2 tsp of salt and a 1/4 tsp of black pepper powder) and combine with 2 tbsp of lemon juice and 3 tbsp of olive oil. Next, combine a cup of Greek yogurt with 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of cumin seeds powder, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper. Finally, serve on a fluffy flatbread with slices of tomato and sliced iceberg lettuce.
Don’t have time to make a complicated meal? Buy pre-packaged spice blends or pre-mix your spices ahead of time and you will be whipping up your favourite delivery dishes in your own kitchen, and saving thousands of dollars per year, in no time.
