BARBECUE LUNCH PREP WITH ASIAN FLAVORS
Recipe by @inspirecookeat
If you’ve ever had busy weeks working but considered eating healthier, you would have likely heard of meal prep. For the uninitiated, meal prep involves bulk cooking meals at one go to last for the week.
EAT HEALTHIER
This kind of eating plan is popular with gym-goers and health-conscious eaters, due to the flexibility of being able to choose what goes into your meals. Prepping meals ahead of time also has the added benefit of being money saving, as food is purchased in bulk.
EASY ON THE WALLET
I would say the only real drawback to meal prepping is taking the time to cook them on a weekend for the week! The payoff is more than worth it though; as you can control your portions, have meals that are good for you, and are also easier on your wallet.
Inspirecookeat has come up with a great meal prep idea that you can make on the grill! Try this meal prep when you have taken out your barbeque for the weekend with friends, or you feel like you’d want to make use of good weather. For this recipe, he has used the Napoleon TravelQ TQ285X.
In our meal prep, we use store-bought Asian soup mixes (laksa, and tom yum, with no added msg) to boost flavor with minimal effort. Just pick your favorite brand, and you are good to go!
Recipe Notes
- Use a variety of sweet potatoes (gold, purple, japanese) to mix things up!
- The chicken breasts need to be of even thickness and flat to cook evenly on the grill. Pound them slightly to flatten if required.
- When reheating, ensure all the food is hot. Reheating will also slightly wilt the bok choi, but this is desired.
- Be sure to open the lid slightly for steam to vent when reheating in a microwave!
- When grilling, the vegetables may not all cook at the same rate. In which case, remove the cooked ones, reposition the remainder and use the free space to cook the chicken!
All images and text credited to Eugene Chow. Check out the original post at inspirecookeat and follow him on Instagram @inspirecookeat for more grillin’ goodness!
Ingredients
2 large russet potatoes washed and skins scrubbed
1/2 medium kabocha pumpkin seeded, washed and cut into large wedges
2 large carrots peeled, washed, and halved lengthwise and across
1 packet bok choi bunches sliced in half lengthwise and washed
3 large chicken breasts skinless and boneless
1 packet tomyum soup paste
1 packet laksa soup paste
2 tbsp cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Preheat barbecue to medium heat.
Rub sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots and bok choi with cooking oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Halve chicken breasts by slicing down the middle, so that you get two flat pieces per breast. Mix half the chicken in a bowl with the tomyum paste, and the other half with the laksa paste. Cover and set aside to marinate.
Place all vegetables except bok choi on barbecue grill and cook, covered for 30-40 minutes, turning once halfway, until everything is tender. Remove to cool.
To cook chicken breast, increase heat to medium high, and cook for 3-5 minutes per side, until nicely golden, and the internal temperature of the meat reads 150°F (66°C). Remove and set aside to cool for packing
Finally, to cook the bok choi, place the bok choi over the grill and cook, turning occasionally until the stems have a slight char, and the leaves start to wilt slightly. Remove from heat.
Prepare 5 lunch containers, and distribute the vegetables evenly between them. Top with 1 chicken breast each (or more if you are hungry!). Once cooled, cover and store in fridge for reheating later in the week.