Comfort Food Classics – Fakeaways
By the time the weekend rolls around, the whole family is in the mood for the comfort of fast, delicious flavours. Whether it’s a Chinese, an Indian or a cheeky Nando’s, we’ve all got our go-to fast food favourites. Using nifty low-calorie swaps, we’ve found ways you can still get the whole family together for takeaway night, without going off track.
Our NEW cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Comfort Food is out on the 9th December and it features plenty of brand new Fakeaway recipes you can make at home! Have you ordered your copy yet? Pre-order here!
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Chinese inspired Fakeaways
Who doesn’t love Chinese? From sweet and sour to salt and pepper, everyone has their go-to flavour combo. Cooking Chinese-inspired dishes at home can be intimidating, especially if there’s a long ingredients list or a complicated method involved. That’s why we’ve kept things nice and simple in our Chicken Chow Mein recipe. In just 6 easy steps and less than 40 minutes, you can have this tasty, stir-fried noodle dish plated up and ready for the whole family to enjoy.
You’ll need a few basics for this one, like dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, oyster sauce and Chinese 5 Spice – these are all super handy to have in your store cupboard if you’re going to be cooking up more homemade Chinese-style dishes.
If you’ve never heard of 5 Spice, it’s a common ingredient you’ll want to add to your spice rack. It’s available in most supermarkets, or you can get it on Amazon if you want it delivered to your door.
It certainly comes in handy for our popular Diet Coke/Pepsi Max Chicken. From the name alone, this recipe sounds like it shouldn’t work – but trust us, it’ll soon become a family favourite! We prefer to use Pepsi Max because it thickens the sauce more than Diet Coke. We’ve used onions, mushrooms, baby corn and peppers, but it’s versatile enough to work with any leftovers you have handy!
If you prefer a crispy texture, our Crispy Chilli Beef is the one! To give this dish its signature hint of sweetness, we’ve used granulated sweetener instead of sugar to keep the calories nice and light. We get the crispiness from oven baking, instead of frying the beef strips in oil – delish!
Calling all nugget lovers! If you can’t choose between Chinese-inspired salt and pepper flavours and a McDonald’s, our Salt and Pepper Chicken Nuggets recipe is the best of both worlds. By toasting the sea salt in a pan first, these end up nice and crispy with that authentic salt and pepper flavour. They’re so good, they don’t need dipping!
Indian inspired Fakeaways
When it’s a bit nippy outside and you fancy something hot and warming, it’s more tempting than ever to reach for the Indian takeaway menu. Our Creamy Butter Chicken recipe is just as rich and smooth as the classic takeaway dish, using a tasty blend of fat free natural yoghurt and spices. You can even add an extra dollop or two of crème fraiche for more indulgent flavours.
Why not make it into a full on Indian-inspired Fakeaway feast by serving up some spicy sides? These crispy cheese and veg-filled Spinach and Ricotta Samosas are a tasty accompaniment or great to snack on while your curry dish is bubbling away.
You might be used to Onion Bhajis being greasy and deep-fried – not with our recipe! These baked balls of onion and sweet potato only take around 30 minutes in the oven, so they’re healthier AND quicker than ordering in.
If you fancy the comfort of a warming bowlful of curry but you’re not in the mood to stand over a hob, our Oven Baked Pasanda Curry is a great option. With its nutty creaminess, the flavours are nice and mild – ideal if you’re catering for fussy eaters.
Our twist on the traditional dish throws all of the ingredients together into one ovenproof dish, so there’s hardly any washing up either. Winner!
Fast food inspired Fakeaways
Even if it’s healthier and more affordable to eat and cook at home, sometimes you just fancy a bite of fuss-free fast food. Like with our Chinese and Indian inspired Fakeaway dishes, we’ve found ways you can recreate fast food chain favourites in your own kitchen, like the classic KFC Zinger Burger.
Using smashed Doritos (yes, really!) and spices to recreate the Colonel’s famously crispy secret recipe coating, you can bake your fillets until they’re just as golden and crisp as the real thing in less than 50 minutes. For added zing, why not ramp up the heat in your spice mix with a little extra chilli powder?
Our KFC Rice Box recipe is another tasty dish inspired by the KFC original. There’s no limit to the amount of finely chopped veggies you can throw into it, so making this dish will use up any stray veggies you have lying around, and provide a super nutritious dinner. Ideal!
To keep things light, we’ve used panko breadcrumbs to recreate the signature coating. While your chicken is in the oven, you’ll want to prepare our Savoury Rice recipe so that it’s all ready to serve together.
To make your Fakeaway night even easier, it’s so handy to have batches of reliable rice dishes ready to go in the freezer. Our fragrant Nando’s Spicy Rice recipe freezes really well, so you can have a portion reheated and ready to add to your rice box in no time.
Just be sure to check out the specific reheating instructions on each of our rice recipes, and the guidance on the NHS website, before you stock your freezer up.
What’s your Friday night Fakeaway go-to?
Fakeaways are the best way to enjoy your favourite flavours without the calories. Whether you fancy a savoury, sweet or spicy takeaway, our Fakeaway recipes are just as good with enough healthy swaps to keep things tasty AND slimming friendly.
Have you pre-ordered Pinch of Nom Comfort Food? It’s filled with home-cooked Fakeaway inspo, from flavourful curries to tasty nuggets. Order today to be one of the first to get a copy when it comes out on December 9th!
What’s your favourite Fakeaway recipe? Pop on over to our Facebook Group to let us know! You’ll find almost 1 million members in the group already sharing inspiration, motivation and support for each other’s slimming journeys.