10 Takeout Dishes You Should Be Making At Home
It’s so easy to fall into the takeout trap. With takeout menus readily available, and phone in hand, it’s hard not to make a split decision to order dinner instead of making it. However, takeout can be hard on your wallet, especially when you can make the same thing at home, with extra servings, for a considerably cheaper price. You won’t want to call in your order when you find out just how easy it is to make these 10 takeout dishes!
1. General Tso’s Chicken
A popular, classic takeout dish is General Tso’s chicken. Admit it. One of the first things you think of when it comes to takeout food is Chinese food, and there’s a reason why. Chinese food is made fresh, daily, from flavorful ingredients. Your local Chinese restaurant probably buys their groceries daily from your local market. You can make fresh, delicious takeout too with just a handful of ingredients. The key to making General Tso’s is using cornstarch to get that wonderful, crispy coat on the outside of your chicken, and making the sauce nice and thick.
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2. Chickpea Curry
Throw away your takeout menu and grab the curry powder and coconut milk to make this fragrant, warm dish. Try toasting your spices to take the flavor profile of this curry dish to a whole new level. Not only is this easy to make, but you may already have a good deal of the ingredients on hand just hanging around your cupboard. You’ll be so surprised by how easy this meal is to make, you may just decide to make yourself some naan to serve with your meal as well!
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3. Ramen
Ramen is gaining in popularity as a takeout food. Nothing can make you feel content like a big bowl of warm noodles bathed in a rich, umami broth. Make this comforting takeout food at home by adding your favorite vegetables and noodles to a base of hot water and miso paste. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can try making your own broth! Add scallions, sliced meat, an egg, and chili paste to make a bowl that will have you slurping every last drop.
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4. Burger And Fries
So basic, so easy to make, and yet we all find ourselves pulling through the drive-thru for a classic takeout meal of burgers and fries. Once you’ve perfected the burger and fries at home, you’ll wonder why you wasted all that time waiting in line for something you could’ve made better! The secret to the perfect burger is the right amount of seasoning and a whole lot of butter. As for fries, once you’ve peeled and sliced them, soak them in water for a few hours before frying them. The butter will give you a juicy burger, and the water will allow your fries to reach peak crispiness when you fry them.
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5. Burritos
Seriously, why do people order takeout when the majority of the food they are ordering is easy to make at home? Don’t even think about going to Chipotle or Taco Bell for a burrito, when you can go to the grocery store and buy every item you can imagine to customize your burrito experience. Corn or flour tortillas, salsa or guac, meat or veggies, or all of the above! The hardest part you’ll experience in making your own burrito is trying to wrap it all up into a single roll of goodness. try grilling each side of your finished burrito to help hold it all in place, and dig in!
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6. Pad Thai
Sure, you could easily call up your local Thai restaurant and have some of this eggy, spicy, overall awesome noodle dish delivered to your door. Or, you could learn how to cook it so you can have it all. The. Time. When you break it down, the dish is mainly comprised of noodles, your choice of protein, vegetables, and sauce. Pro tip: if you want that 100% authentic pad thai taste, invest in tamarind paste. You’ll get the flavor profile you’re looking for. Top off your dish with a squirt of lime and a sprinkling of crushed peanuts, and you’ll be recycling those takeout pamphlets in no time.
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7. Pizza
Whether you’re ordering pizza, or even buying a take and bake pizza, pizza is just one of those takeout foods that takes so little time and energy to make that it’s almost ridiculous to even think of paying the extra markup to have somebody make and deliver it to you. Making your own dough is literally just the cost of water, yeast, flour, and a little sugar, and the ingredients can be as cheap as you want them to be. Try baking a pizza with in-season vegetables, or go all out and make a fancy pizza, like a pizza topped with morels and ramps. This takeout dish will steal a pizza your heart! Sorry, too cheesy?
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8. Kebabs
This is the perfect takeout food to grab after the bars are closed and you’re looking for something to soak up everything you drank. Instead of grabbing takeout after a night out, whip on your apron! Kebabs are cheap, worth making at home, and you can add whatever fillings you desire. If you enjoy falafel kebabs, consider getting a cheap box of falafel mix to make your kebabs, you can freeze your leftovers, and you’ll be helping the environment by cutting meat out of a meal! Dress your kebab with homemade yogurt sauce, tomatoes, and whatever your heart desires for a fresh meal.
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9. Fried Chicken
Please don’t try to kid yourself by thinking those 11 herbs and spices are a big secret you’ll never be in on. Making your own fried chicken will open your eyes to seeing that you never needed that takeout chicken. Making sure you maintain the perfect oil temperature, and dredging your chicken is perfectly seasoned flour are two of the main things you need to worry about when making fried chicken. The rest will fall into place as you go.
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10. Sushi
Sushi, hands down, is one takeout food that is considered extremely hard to prepare. Chefs train for years to hold the title of Itamae. The idea of making it yourself can sometimes be laughable, but fear not–you may not be a sushi chef, but you can always be your own chef. While the ingredients may be a bit more expensive, the end result will be entirely worth it when you take that first bite of soft, tender fish on perfectly seasoned sushi rice.
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