I've been living on my own for two months now. There were two of us. No, not divorce. I did that more than ten years ago. My son left my flat to live just a few miles away when he started his university life in September. There's one major change in my life - the food bill. It has plunged, which is a good thing.
Now, there are always two sides to every story. In my case, the problem is my bloody-mindedness to try and reduce the bill even further. I'm not rich but I'm not that desperate in life, either. It's just an interesting challenge to see how far I can push, be it a person or a bill ;) To eat really healthily and satisfactorily on a low budget has proven to be easy for me, actually. Mind you, this is only possible if you genuinely enjoy eating and cooking, even just for yourself and on your own.
Conversely you have to like cooking in order to be able to eat cheaply. I have no problem with that, as you can see. In supermarkets in the UK organic mince meat is sold in a 500g package, which usually costs between £3 and £5, depending on the animal. I buy it, quarter it, put each quarter in very small freezer bags (available in this fabulous shop in the UK), suck out the air, write what they are on the bag (as it gets difficult to see what it is once frozen), and freeze.
The other day I fried 120g pork mince for Vietnamese glass-noodle salad as my light supper, but I used only half of the mince. The rest sat in a small bowl until the next day. It just so happened that I had half a carrot and a small bowl of cooked rice in the fridge on that day. I made this but with minced pork thrown in. And it just so happened that I overcooked it by mistake. I must say my supper in a little stainless steel pan looked like dog's dinner.. This is the flip side of my reduced food bill and my nature. Never mind. I was glad that it's only me who had to suffer.
The recipe today is one of these economic and satisfying suppers. If you like to cook, that is. If you don't go and get some kebab or Chinese takeaway.
Ingredients (for 1 person):
200g any Chinese greens
1cm cube ginger, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
half a red chilli, finely chopped
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 person's portion of cooked rice
1 tbsp rapeseed or groundnut oil
If your Chinese greens has some thick and hard stalks, peel the outside skin. If they are longer than 20cm then chop a little. Either steam or boil in salted water for 1 minute. Drain and keep warm.
Fry ginger, garlic, and chill bits for 30 seconds in oil. Add the oyster sauce and turn off the heat.
Put the warm greens on a hot bowl of rice and pour over the gingery sauce.
1 person's portion of cooked rice
1 tbsp rapeseed or groundnut oil
If your Chinese greens has some thick and hard stalks, peel the outside skin. If they are longer than 20cm then chop a little. Either steam or boil in salted water for 1 minute. Drain and keep warm.
Fry ginger, garlic, and chill bits for 30 seconds in oil. Add the oyster sauce and turn off the heat.
Put the warm greens on a hot bowl of rice and pour over the gingery sauce.