Well lets be honest whether you are a man or a woman, living abroad is probably your first time doing alot of things.
Nothing has as dire an effect on you as managing your “diet”, and NO burgers and pizza don’t even qualify. Well it is understandable that after college/work you are out of it and just want to put some food in your stomach and relax! honestly I think a 30 minute investment can go a long way.
Here are a few things that personally I think would make life easier…
1. Do food shopping every two weeks. it helps to maintain things into perspective and keep food under budget. Essentials on the list;
- Fruit juice
- onions, tomatoes, garlic, lettuce (because you can do so much with just those 4 items
- Soy sauce & salad Dressing (also multi purpose)
- Deli & cheese
- Hormel Burgers, and any variety of microwavable food (only enough for emergency cases)
- eggs, steak & chicken (boneless hopefully)
- Noodles & campbell’s soup (these are called the last resort)
2. Buy a Rice Cooker; this single tool will make life so much easier! it will not cost you much, it is the easiest way to learn how to cook rice. in general jasmine rice goes for the ratio of 2 1/2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. Plus it is easier to clean. (get a frying pan too)
3. If you are cooking, cook enough for 2 days atleast. Always cook extra rice, it comes as a handy meal late at night.
4. Chinese food is your friend. Nothing can compete with the efficiency and flavour of chinese food, and it requires alot less spices (<– those expensive little things) than any other cuisine. Fried rice is about the most beneficial, healthy and tasty meal that you can prepare in under 15 minutes.
5. Try to get atleast 2 meals in the day. Mine were 10am, and 6pm with the later being the focal point of the day.
6. Arabic food is too annoying to cook and takes way too long to prepare. Find you a nice restaurant and by it ther, i can’t recall how many horrid concoctions of arabic food i had to starve through.
I Think that about sums up all the important points that occur to me right now, I think a recipe is due.
Chicken Fried Rice:
2 cup of day old rice
minced/diced Garlic according to taste (I use 2 big cloves)
1/2 medium onion diced
1/4 cup peas, carrots, and corn mixed frozen vegetables
1 chicken breast shredded
2 eggs
Seasoning according to taste (Soy sauce, sal, pepper, & hot sauce)
1 table spoon oil
1 table spoon butter
Preparation:
Some go through the hassle of cooking everything separately, I prefer the flavor fusion so its up to you.
Boil the mixed vegetable till it is tender, preferably in the microwave (place it in a bowl with water covering it for about 4 minutes and let it sit after that)
add the butter and oil to the pan on medium heat, stir till the oil and butter are ready (usually when things start flying around). Increase the heat and add the garlic and give it a minute till it turns golden brown and then add the shredded chicken.
Cook it till it turns golden brown, usually it takes between 5-7 and place take it out of the pan. Add the onion and stir till it is light yellow (about 2 minute) and then add the rice vegetables (after draining the water from it, since you don’t want to burn your self) . Season it with salt pepper and 4 table spoons of soy sauce (if it is dark soy sauce you can skip the salt) fry it till it is light brown (about 10 minutes) then add the eggs and chicken and stir till you can’t see the eggs any more and serve for a nice hearty meal.
ENJOY!
