Here are a few things you should always have in your pantry/fridge/freezer for quick easy meals.
-Tinned tomatos
-Dried mixed herbs
-Tomato paste
-Crushed garlic and ginger
-Onions
-Rice
- Soy Sauce
-Frozen veges
- Potatoes
-Pasta
-Beef, chicken or vege stock.
-Eggs
A basic pasta sauce can be made using onions, garlic, ginger, mixed herbs, tinned tomatos and tomato paste. All you need to do is first heat up a bit of oil in a saucepan (canola and olive oil are preferable) and depending on how much pasta sauce you want to make add a teaspoon (for a quantity of 4 servings) of dried mixed herbs to the oil and quickly stir around to release the aromas (will only take a few seconds). Then you want to add in your diced onions ( tips to avoid tears while chopping onions, use a sharp knife, cut through the root, then peel, then chop the onion vertically avoiding hitting the root, then turn your knife on the side and put one slice through the middle of the onion, again avoiding the root, then chop horizontially, your last cut should be cutting the root off. If you still get a little teary eyed doing this then chew gum as well). Saute the onions for a couple min then add a teaspoon of garlic and half a teaspoon of ginger, mix it in and saute for a further couple min. Now time to add the tinned tomatoes 2 regular tins serves 4 people, then add a couple teaspoons of tomato paste. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 min. You can also add some beef or vege stock for a little bit more flavour. Salt and pepper your sauce and dont forget to taste! You can choose to leave it lumpy or to blend it in a food processor to make it nice and smooth. Another additional thing is right at the end adding some chopped basil leaves, just gives it that extra pizaz! All you need to do now is cook some pasta and you have a great meal!
My favourite thing to make for lunch or dinner is fried rice, its so filling and so simple to make!
Firstly the rice quantities, 1/2 cup of rice per person is about the right quantity. The easiest way to cook rice is in the microwave, whatever quantity of rice you have you double the amount of water 1:2 ratio although i tend to add a half cup more water because some tends to spill out the side in the microwave. Make sure you salt your rice. It can take anywhere between 8 and 10 min in the microwave. On the stove you can do a 1:2 ratio but it is very easy to burn the rice so its much much simpler to do a 1:3 ratio and keep checking it every 5 min (you will have to strain the remaining liquid out) (also make sure to give it a stir)
Once your rice is cooked start heating up a little oil or butter in your pan. Tip the rice in and stir around for a min, create a circle in the middle and crack an egg in it (1 egg per person) break the yolk with your wooden spoon and mix it around until its just cooked then mix your rice into it. Now is when you add your soy sauce, i would only add a tablespoon at a time, mix it and taste, all depends on your liking. I would personally also at this stage add in some seasame oil but it is quite pricey, you do only need a small amount though (1/4 teaspoon PP) Now is time to add your frozen veges and whatever else you want to put in there. Crack some pepper on top to taste, make sure your frozens aren't well frozen anymore and vuala easy meal.
I recomend everyone to go out and buy a meat thermomerter they are so handy especially when working with chicken. You want the core temperature of your chicken to reach 75 Degrees C (165 F) for it to be safe to eat.
When you want to use things such as fresh broccoli, carrot, bok choi, and beans in a stirfry the best thing to do is pre cook them and then quickly stop the cooking process. You do this by placing them (one type at a time) into boiling salted water and then using a slotted spoon scoop them into ice water (Broccoli will take 2-3min, carrot ribbons (peels) take 1min, bok choi takes half a second and beans take 5ish min). This will retain the colour, and nutrients and make the stirfry time a lot quicker.
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I like some salt in my rice :/
But good take for noobs.
The soy sauce is your salt.