hello world!
It’s been a while since I’ve written something here, and an even longer while since I last did my Newbie’s guide to quick and simple easy cooking.
I am literally one of the laziest people in the kitchen. I want to eat a healthy and tasty meal, but am too lazy to spend too much time on it. So if you are someone looking for an elaborate recipe, this is not the post for you.
BUT if you are someone who is taking baby steps to cooking more frequently, love a fuss-free tasty meal, don’t want to have your groceries go to waste from not knowing what to cook ? then read on 🙂
I’m going to follow the same structure as I did in my last post, running through must have ingredients in each bucket, simple recipe ideas and this time around, some overarching guides that I found useful!
Overarching guidelines
- Decide what theme of cuisine is it for this week
Are you feeling up for an Asian week/Western week? I go through this mentally in my head before heading to the groceries because different cuisines simply use different types of vegetables and seasoning. Example Bok Choy would be definitely used only in Asian dishes.
Unless you think you’d be cooking very often and would like some variety, I recommend sticking to one theme so that you can bulk buy your groceries, and you can pair them in different combinations, to prevent groceries wastage.
Pro tip: Try to always get a cuisine neutral ingredient like mushrooms, tomatoes, and capsicum which can be paired with any cuisine, in case you want to spice things up - For a balanced meal, pre-plan your groceries and always make sure you have a carb, a protein, vegetable and healthy fats
If you have the above in mind, you’d start by thinking intentionally about which 1-2 carbs/proteins/vegetables you’ll need to buy, and how you can creatively pair them. I’ve started proactively seeking out healthy fats food in my diet since fats help the body absorb Vitamin A, D and E!
Literal example of my food planning pic, while I cook for my partner and myself.
3. Always stock up on frozen food and canned food
These are great supplements to fresh produce, especially when you are feeling tired, or short on time. Plus, they have a much longer lifespan so you can reach for them anytime you like!
For frozen meals, I always stock up on frozen edamame, and pre sliced chicken breast (separated into 200g packs each so I don’t have to defroze everything each time). Especially edamame, it’s a healthy snack, great side dish, simple addition to a western/asian salad. It’s as easy as popping them into boiled water for 5mins, strain and add salt as you like. Done!
For canned meals, I always make sure I have a few cans of chickpeas, tuna chunks in olive oil and baked beans. The options are endless, be it marinating the proteins in soy sauce/vinegar for a salad or a great addition to any noodle/rice dish.
4. Invest in good seasoning
I always make sure I have some soup stock, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, gochujang sauce and pre-made sauces (and sesame seed sauce and feta cheese to elevate your salads). These can change up the taste profiles so much, you could be having the exact same ingredients but feel like you are eating something entirely different.
If you are Malaysian – you can check out ‘Hao Xin Xian’, I love their pan mees and garlic flavour and chilli sauces. The sauces pack a punch and their pan mees, are simpler and faster way to have your asian carbs.
5. Meal prep!
The often tedious part of cooking is the prep, so if you can pre prep/pack before the week starts, you can simply just assemble them when you eat! I like to pre-boil my eggs, keep some in the fridge or marinate my chicken and cook them in bulk then store it in the fridge (both proteins can last 3-4 days in the fridge). Or drain my chickpeas and marinate them in whatever I like to pair it anytime.
Must-Have Ingredients
Carbohydrates:
- Noodles (Pan Mee/Ramen/Vermicelli) – most pre-made ones just need 5mins of boiling water
- Flatbread of any type (Wraps)
- Couscous– soak it in boiling water for 5-10mins till soft (best to add some olive oil and salt after!)
- Sweet Potatoes – if you have an air fryer, just poke a few holes in it with a fork, heat up the air fryer at 180 degrees celcius for 7-10mins, best to take it out to check after 7mins to see if the softness is to your liking, cooking isn’t hard science
- Muesli (for brekkie mostly – but you can eat it anytime of the day you want!)
Proteins:
- Pre-sliced chicken breasts
- Salmon (this just some marinating with salt before hand on each side, add some oil to the pan, cook on each side until the meat slowly turns salmon pink up to 2/3 then flip the sides, repeat till 3/3 fully cooked – I find salmon one of the easiest fish to fry)
- Canned – chickpeas, tuna, beans of your liking
- Frozen Edamame
- Tofu (firm/soft)
- Egg
- Tempeh
Vegetables:
- Kimchi – if there is only one ingredient you take away from this list – let it be this! A game changer in spicing up the taste of any dish, it can be eaten with lettuce as a snack or mixed together as sauce with noodles/couscous <– still my all-time fave
- Spinach- raw/cooked
- Bell peppers – raw/cooked
- Lettuce – raw (great pairing with Kim chi or as a salad base) / cooked as an asian dish
- Rocket – raw (for some texture change in a salad)
- Cucumber – raw (great crunch if you are making a Mediterranean salad)
- Baby tomatoes/tomatoes – raw (with a salad)/cooked
- Carrots – raw (with a dip) or cooked (i like to throw it into a pot of soup to soften it)
- Mushrooms (cooked – stir-fry/steamed/air fried)
- Broccoli -raw/lightly steamed
- Purple Cabbage -raw/cooked
*most of ingredients recommended can be eaten raw for versatility
Healthy Fats:
- Dairy products like feta cheese for Salads
- Nuts/nut butters – great addition to salads
- Greek yoghurt
- Avocado – can be used as a spread on your wrap + a pinch of salt, in salad etc
Others (eg. Herbs, Spices & Condiments):
- Red Onion (gives it a great crunch for salads)
- Lemons – for a bit of salad zest and to eliminate the fishy flavour
- Sauces – pesto, soy, garlic, chilli
- Spring onions (especially for asian cooking)
- Salt & Pepper
Simple Pairing Ideas
Asian:
- Kimchi Jigae ! I consider this a simple one pot recipe. I buy Kimchi from the Korean store nearby. I boil a pot of water, throw in some kimchi, gochujang sauce, mix it in, then add carrots, tofu, japanese mushroom and crack an egg. It’s satisfaction guaranteed. Some recipes online add sugar as well, but I’m trying to reduce sugar wherever I can
- Kimchi and Lettuce – if you go to any korean store, they will give you this as part of Banchan (starters) and it’s oh so yummmm, Lettuce becomes your wrap, you can add kimchi and any raw vege of your choice
Western:
- Mediterranean salad – staples include : Chickpeas, cucumber, red onion, bell peppers, diced baby tomatoes, feta cheese, some olive oil.
The only thing you have to marinate before hand is Chickpeas – I prefer it with vinegar, dice up the vege and mix it all it! walla! flavoursome 🙂
TBH, i love feta cheese with any salad, it really changes up the texture. I never use to add it and now i LOVE it. - Wrap of anything of your choice, just choose a protein, add any combination of vege 🙂
Tools I found useful
- Air fryer! I’m still exploring the recipes of this tool but if you can get it, you should really consider. It’s a lot easier to clean, much faster cooking (no oil sparks). You can’t entirely replace the oven for baked meals but it works well for smaller portions.
- Blender/Food processor (optional) – You would need this if you decide to make your own hummus. I think it’s a great addition either ways to make a simple smoothie so would highly recommend 🙂
- 1 frying pan, a pot for soup and a wok size to cater for larger meals 🙂
Hope the above helps! Cooking is a journey.
Most importantly is inculcating the good habits of cooking, enjoying the process and slowly but surely, you’d get better and eat better 🙂
Gudeiary 