Echo Eats: 5 Recipes You’ve Got to Try During Quarantine

By Triny and Jaclyn

Even with the Movement Control Order (MCO) in place leaving us with limited food options, one of the most common complaints from the MCO is that people have been overeating, oversnacking, and generally just eating at all hours of the day (what even is the distinction between snacks and meals anymore?). Despite the fact that most eateries are now only open until 8:00p.m. at the latest (that is, if they’re operating at all), people have found plenty of ways to keep their mouths busy. What with the MCO being extended until May 12th, Echo Eats is here to add fuel to the fire with our own five recommendations on recipes to try during this MCO to keep your tummy happy (and also to convince yourself that you were actually somewhat productive during this period).

1) Oreo Popsicle Ice Cream

Now, let’s start off with something easy, so easy that a 10 year-old can do it (Source: my 10 y/o sister). 

Ingredients + Utensils

• Cup (Glass or strong plastic)
• Metal spoon (make sure the handle is long enough to pop out of your cup)
• Fresh/Full cream milk
• Oreo cookies
• A working freezer

All you need to do is break your Oreo cookies into 4 pieces and throw them into your cup. See, this is where the creativity comes into play because you can literally put as many as you want. I find that filling the cup ¾ quarters hails the best results. Next, pour your milk in until it’s ~1cm above the line of cookies. Stab your spoon right in the middle and leave it in your freezer for 2-3 hours!

Once ~3 hours has passed, take it out of the freezer and dunk the cup into a bowl of warm water to melt the sides just enough to be able to pull the ice cream out using the spoon handle. Ta-da! Easy budget-friendly Oreo ice cream!

2) Dalgona Milo

If you haven’t heard of the recent Dalgona Coffee craze on TikTok, chances are, you’ve been living under a rock. Non-coffee lovers have taken to trying the method on different drinks such as Milo and Matcha. However, one common complaint is that the Dalgona method weirdly only works on instant coffee. Try it on other powders and you won’t get the fluffy, light texture that floats on top of the milk. Though some have succeeded in getting the consistency right with Milo, it doesn’t work for most people. So, here’s a hack: add baking emulsifier (sometimes called Ovalette).

Adding Ovalette works because it stabilises the mixture, enabling it to be solid as it’s whipped into a light texture. Just add a half-teaspoon into the mixture before blending and you’re good to go!

Ingredients + Utensils 

• 1 part Milo powder (basically just replace coffee powder with Milo powder)
• 1 part sugar
• 1 part boiling/hot water 
• ½ teaspoon of emulsifier/Ovalette
• Ice
• Milk

As usual, just whisk the mixture for about 10 minutes until semi-stiff peaks form and the colour lightens. You could also use an electric hand blender to save yourself the effort. Add ice into a mug, pour in enough milk to cover the ice, and then spoon the Milo mousse over the milk. It tastes just like the iconic truck Milo!

3) Chapaguri (AKA Jjapaguri)

Now, this is an Oscar-worthy MCO recipe that I’m about to bestow upon you. Everyone has watched the movie Parasite by Bong Joon-Ho, right? Well if you haven’t, let me just point out the most important part of that movie: Chapaguri. 

Chapaguri is a combination of Chapagetti and Neoguri, which are two popular instant noodles in South Korea. Normally, the recipe calls for a packet each of Neoguri and Chapagetti, but since we’re all stuck indoors, we came up with a loophole recipe. 

Ingredients + Utensils

• Chapagetti
• Maggi Kari
• Garlic (2 cloves)
• Salt + Pepper
• Cooking oil of your choice
• Protein of your choice

The ingredients used for this are relatively easy to come by, but the one important ingredient that is necessary for this, is Nongshim’s Chapagetti Ramen (it’s actually on sale on Shopee for RM48.90 for 5 packets right now!).

Firstly, heat up oil in a pan and lightly fry some garlic before throwing in whatever protein you chose that is seasoned with salt and pepper. Once it’s cooked, take it off the flame and place your pot of water on the stove and cook the Chapagetti noodles along with the vegetable spices from the Chapagetti and Kari packets (note that these are the VEGETABLE packets and not the powdered sauces).

Once the noodles are boiled and cooked, use a strainer to transfer the noodles from the pot into your pan with the garlic and meats. Add one cup of broth from the pot that you cooked the noodles in, and then add the whole packet of Chapagetti sauce and ⅔ of the Maggi Kari packet sauce (or the whole thing, depending on how spicy you want it). Mix up all the ingredients while cooking it over medium flame and serve!

4) Strawberry Mug Cake 

Ah, mug cakes, a blast from the past! Of the many mug cakes I’ve made, there is one that has stood out to me as superior: The Strawberry Mug cake.

Ingredients + Utensils:

• 4 Tbsp cake or all purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2-3 diced strawberries
• 3 Tbsp full cream/fresh milk
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Whipped cream (OR you can make dalgona milk using the hack above!)

Prepare a microwave-safe cup that can fit 375ml and mix all your ingredients until combined and tinted slightly pink tint from the strawberries. Microwave on high for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, but open it every minute to ensure no spillage. Once done, leave to cool for about a minute and top with whipped cream or homemade Dalgona Milk. Voila, let them eat cake!

5) Blender-less Milo Milkshake

Ever craved something but was too lazy to make it yourself and satisfy that hunger? Sometimes, you just don’t have the energy to dig out all that kitchen equipment, much less have the motivation after thinking about the amount of stuff to wash after you’re done. We’ve come up with a hack that solves that problem if your sweet tooth is craving a milkshake during the long days of being cooped up during the MCO. Even better, a milkshake you can make without a blender (no cleaning fussy blades and splatters)! And, there’s Milo involved!

This particular hack is inspired by the age-old practice of vigorously stirring ice cream in a bowl until it’s semi-melted and then slurping up the whole thing (and getting told off by your parents for not eating properly). 

Ingredients + Utensils:

• Any kind of vanilla ice cream
• Milk
• Milo powder
• Whipped cream + toppings of your choice
• Mug + spoon

This recipe is fairly simple and 100% based on your own skill of agak-agak. Load your mug with ice cream, pour in milk and loads of Milo powder, then whisk the mixture until it becomes smooth and add as many toppings you want. You can adjust the amount of milk to make the milkshake as thick or thin as you like. The best part is, some bigger chunks of Milo powder will remain unmelted, so you’ll be left with semi-crunchy Milo pieces that give the milkshake a glorious little crunch. 

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All in all, we’re hoping that everyone has been (and will be) staying home and staying safe. With the continuous extensions of the MCO, it’s hard to not feel dejected and unmotivated from being cooped up inside your home. In the meantime, play around with the recipe recommendations above to occupy your time, maybe even tweak the ingredients to create your own new experimental recipes!