The Freezer Game - Home Stretch!

Wow!  Can't believe I last this long on this freezer food challenge.  Mom and Dad are great too!  Unconditional love and support for my cooking.  Whatever I cook, they always have positive things to say.  I notice that they have started drinking lychee sake every meal.  I wonder if that's to make food go down easier?  Hmmmm...

At any rate, good progress still.  It's like treasure hunting.  How about 2 boxes of soft shell crabs? I deep fried them in batter last night.  Tasted great but the batter was kind of thin. 

Note to self: follow the recipe next time!!

Tonight my challenge was frozen grounded chicken meat.  Can't remember why I got it.  Must have been on sale or meant for a particular dish.  So, I decided to try making this Elephant-Bar-like "Wok-Fried Chicken and Lettuce Wrap."  Pretty simple ingredients.  Again, see what you have in the refrigerator and in the pantry first.  I chopped up mushrooms and water chestnuts.  Sauted everything with finely chopped ginger and seasoning.  I made my own sauce with oyster sauce + sugar + balsamic vingar + sesame oil. 

Another note to self: check out plum sauce next time.  No need to mix own sauce.

Two more days left to the challenge.  I don't think I'll be able to empty out the freezer  in time but I think I have done a pretty good job thus far.

The Freezer Food Quest

Week 4 of my "Eat Only Freezer Food" game and I'm proud of myself for sticking to the rules.  I have not bought anything for the freezer since February 28th.  Yes, I still buy fresh veggies and fruits, but I did not buy any meat or fish.

After four weeks of digging and looking deep the freezer, I've made good progress in reducing inventory.  Let's see in the last week or so: I've baked a tray of stuffed clams, broiled Japanese Saba fish, and made Cajun jambalaya using frozen green/red peppers, frozen peas, ham and chicken.  I did buy a package of Cajun sausage to kick it up a notch.  Nothing wrong with that, right?

Tonight, I made two more freezer food dishes:

First: What more ways to use the julienned pork? How about stir-frying it with Shiitake mushrooms and wooden ears and half of a can of julienned bamboo.  Add a sauce made of black bean paste, vinegar, rice wine and sugar to incorporate the flavors at the end, and I made my version of 魚香肉絲.  Yes, it was good!!

Second: What to do with bags of frozen veggies ready for steaming?  I thought steaming would be boring.  So, I stir-fried a bag of green beans with garlic, fresh crimini mushroom and half a can of baby corns.  I got a healthy dish and I got to clean out the canned food too.  BONUS POINT!








Mommy notes that I'm getting creative.  I accept the compliment shamelessly because I think I do deserve a pat on the back.  :o)

Bon appetit!

We Are the World

This has been a heart wrenching week watching the events of the disaster in Japan. There is absolutely nothing we can ever plan and prepare for events like this.

When disasters happen, especially the natural ones, it reminds us that it’s not THEY who are suffering; it’s US – all living things on this planet – suffering from something that’s so non-preventable and non-stoppable.

People from around the world are helping out to the extent of their capability. Some donate money and goods; some donate time and expertise, and some put themselves in danger to save others.

The little dog that stood by his injured canine friend shows that all creatures have compassion, loyalty and love for each other. So, treasure our lives, treasure the friendships and treasure the time that we share with each other in this world.


Couple of Ways to Help:

To help humans: www.redcross.org
To help animals: www.hsi.org

The Freezer Find: 榨菜湯麵

I found some pork in the freezer.  I decide to julienne, marinate, and saute it for various use.  You can make many dishes out of the julienned pork.  Julienning is the time consuming part.

As I was julienning the pork, the first thing that came to my mind was to make Pickled Cabbage Noodle Soup (榨菜湯麵).  It's a classic northern Chinese noodle dish. Flavorful topping in a bowl of noodle soup.  Drizzle sesame oil - add a little bit of chili sauce if you like - and you will be on top of the world!!

It's pretty easy to prepare the topping.  Saute ginger, garlic and the pickled cabbage with a little bit dried red pepper.  Season with salt and white pepper.  Add pork, adjust seasoning and let the flavors incorporate.  You can make in bulk and put them in refrigerator for few days.  Just have the broth and noodle handy and you can feed an army.  Bon appetit!

Easy Freezy

Another great freezer food meal tonight!  Today's dishes were either steamed or baked.  Easy to make and easy to clean up.

Steamed vegetable soup.  Napa cabbage, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and ham.  Very simple to make and looked elegant.

I tried out a new recipe for steamed pork with  black "wooden ears".  Definitely a dish that I would make again.  The pork was seasoned with "sa-tay" sauce which was not usually associated with steamed food.  Yeah!  I learn something new everyday!

While two dishes were being steamed on the stove top, two more were being baked in the oven: bacon wrapped scallops and garlic butter escargot.  Yes, they were in the freezer.  Man, why haven't I eaten them earlier?

The giant scallops were from Trader Joe's.  I just wrapped them with bacons and they tasted like a million bucks!  I did not stuff the escargot in the shells.  Instead, I used the two stainless escargot pans that I found at Goodwill last year.  I put the garlic butter on the bottom, add the snails and top with bread crumbs.  Oven at 400.  The scallops in first and 20 minutes later, I popped in the escargot.

There we had it.  Easy and delicious.  I did good again!  :o)

The Freezer Food Combo

Frozen Chicken Breast + Frozen Vegetables + Frozen Pie Shell = Piping Hot Pot Pies. 

Chicken Pot Pies + Salad + Wonton Soup (yes, I found some wontons in the freezer too) = Tonight's Dinner.

Dad and Mom gave me the thumbs up.  Dad asked if I can make one with scallops and shrimps next time. OK, Dad.  I'll check if I have frozen mixed seafood in the freezer.

The Freezer Food Inventory

I took inventory of what's in the freezer and started my menu planning for the month. Instead of relying on running to the store to pick up what's called for in a recipe, I improvised. I tried to see how I can combine the ingredients and create new taste.

So what did we end up with?


For dinner last night, I took the easy way out and made hotpot. Taking all the little packets of lamb, chicken, tempera, corn cobs and adding them to a soup base of napa cabbage, tomatoes and tofu. Nothing fancy but it was perfect for a chilly night. Best of all, I cleaned out the little bags of frozen food here and there. Yes, when in doubt, make hotpot. Just make sure you have plenty of veggies and a good dipping sauce.

For tonight, I defrosted the beef short ribs made red wine-braised short ribs. New recipe. Made with simple ingredients of celery, carrots, shallots. And Oh My God, it smelled sooooo good!! I think I'm going to call this recipe one of my favorites. Thank you Williams-Sonoma!

As for the frozen chicken meat, hmmm... how about chicken with black-bean sauce? I stir-fried it with green and red peppers. Hey, it came out pretty good. Great with rice.

So, I think I did pretty good the first two nights. Let's give me a big round of applause!!