Run out of creative gift ideas for Christmas? Why not create a quick, ready-to-eat meal set that's both tasty and convenient? Everyone needs to eat anyway.

Because food components can always be altered (so long as the flavours match), this gift idea is scalable in price for whatever amount you need to spend! 

Here's how we did our own easy umami kit for under $15:

• One box of pre-cooked Japanese rice in a tray (just needs to be microwaved and it's ready to eat) - $3.60
• One can of luncheon meat / spam - $1.80
• One small packet Japanese curry (sauce) - $2.70
• One packet bonito fish meat (ready-to-eat) - $2.80
• One small packet of grated parmigiano reggiano - $3.80
• Total - $14.70

In order to complete the gift (and for it to make sense), you'll need to package it with instructions.  

These were the instructions we included with out easy umami kit: 

• Step 1: Dice spam into cubes. 
• Step 2: Open rice packet halfway, place spam cubes. 
• Step 3: Pour curry over spam & rice. 
• Step 4: Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cheese over curry. 
• Step 5: Heat in microwave on high for 1 min 30 seconds. 
• Step 6: Place bonito on top .
• Step 7: Enjoy!

Place all of these into a box, wrap it up and you'll have the perfect gift for gift exchange! It looks good, it's delicious and the recipient will enjoy it! 

And remember, if you have a higher or lower price limit, you can swap the ingredients around to match them. You could even prepare an entirely different dish (maybe like Korean army stew kit?) depending on the theme of your party! 

Have fun with the process, and enjoy!