note to self: frozen food

note to self: frozen food

October 30, 2010, 10:22 pm
Filed under: The Diffident Cook

Azuki and his pizza

It’s been less than three months since we’ve been here, but I think I have forgotten how my freezer looked when it was empty. Now when I open the freezer door, I have to be ready to catch that bag of frozen peas or frozen pizza or whatelse that might fall on me. Just so I remember, here’s a list of what freezes well and what, not:

Cooked pizza: I usually make a number of them using tomato paste, fresh sliced tomatoes, and lots of cheese. I find using the cheese this way helps prevent the cheese from getting moldy in the fridge. And the pizza tastes just as good when heated in the microwave. It makes for a fast lunch for Azuki and I, on those days when we’re out till late in the morning.

Stir-fried turkey mince: Cooked with broccoli, carrots, diced onions, minced garlic, mushrooms, black bean sauce, dark soya sauce, and some oyster sauce. It retains its flavor well. I usually microwave the mince and boil a pot of noodles to serve with it. One of Azuki’s favorites.

Pasta sauce: Made with chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, mushrooms and onions, Italian herbs, with or without beef. Keeps well.

CW’s tau yew bak: Bite-sized pork cooked in dark soya sauce and a little sugar and lots of whole garlic. One of those stews that can keep forever. Cook with tau pok or firm tofu slices when eating.

Roasted chicken leg: This I would cook with oyster sauce, some Chinese rice wine, dark soya sauce, a bit of honey, and lots of whole garlic cloves and sliced onion. The chicken can be eaten as a stew or–as I prefer it–after it’s been browned in the oven for about twenty minutes.

Stir-fried beehoon: Surprisingly, this one is pretty resilient in the freezer. The usual ingredients go into this dish–thinly sliced cabbage, minced garlic, a can of mock abalone, chicken pieces, and sliced carrot. Make sure the noodles are frozen with quite a lot of moisture or it may suffer from freezer burn.

Soup stocks and stews are, in general, good freezer food. What’s not freezer friendly would be those foods that need to be hydrated before cooking. For example, pasta, rice, or dried kway tiao (which explains why I am amazed that beehoon can keep). Tofu becomes like a sponge when frozen. Cooked beef also does not freeze that well; the reheating  tends to overcook the meat and compromises its taste.

My mother-in-law would be horrified to know that I freeze more than half our meals. Back in Singapore, we ate everything fresh. I guess because the maid culture is virtually non-existent here, and because many women do everything by themselves here, homekeepers just don’t have the time to slave over meals in the kitchen. I must say I am a freezer convert! I am now trying to see if we’ve got the space to stash a deep freezer away somewhere…

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