old dog child posted:

I didn't read the thread (which I will do later when I need another midterm break), so hopefully this isn't a rehash. As a broke rear end college student, I find myself in a similar predicament to you quite often. Now, I'm far from a good cook but I get compliments from my fellow college students since they all subsist on poo poo and fast food. It's amazing what lurking GWS and stalking my mom can do.

-Buy stuff in bulk; find someone with a Costco or Sam's club membership and buy oil, vinegar, eggs, spices, etc, in large quantities so you don't have to do it often. I buy 60 eggs for about five bucks at Costco. It's really a good deal.

-Get lots of sauces and spices. These will make similar ingredients turn into drastically different, flavorful meals. Sirarcha (spicy), oyster sauce (salty/savory), fish sauce (super salty and loving AWESOME), soy sauce, Tapatio (slightly spicy), cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, rosemary, salt, black pepper, sesame oil, bean curd sauce (a tablespoon with garlic makes a great base for vegetable stir frys), peanut butter (to make poor/lazy man's thai food), Old Bay or some kind of allspice, and thyme.

Note: some of these items require an Asian market but are well worth the price and will last you a long time if you can get any

-Buy a big rear end bag of rice and ramen. I like Jasmine rice. It's great and can be used with pretty much anything. It's cheap as gently caress, too. Too tired to cook? Heat some rice and eat leftovers. No leftovers? Make some ramen. Dash of fish sauce, sirarcha, black pepper, fresh lime, a few fresh vegetables*, and an egg means you'll have a delicious and cheap meal. Just to clarify, I rarely eat ramen unless I absolutely have no time to cook so my huge (and cheap) supply lasts me several months easily. I generally make a ton of noodles (Italian and Asian) at once if I know my meals need it during the week.

*mushrooms, beansprouts, and spinach are great.

-If you make meat, buy it on sale or only as bulk and don't cook it often. Beans and tofu make cheaper protein sources and can be made totally awesome pretty easily. Sauteed garlic, ginger, or onions will make beans and tofu absolutely awesome. Your mean can be cooked with those three, too. Use spices and sauces to adjust the taste of everything.

-Get a wok. It will make stir frys easier to do. Basically you just super heat the wok and cook meat or tofu and throw your vegetables on and finish it off with sauces. You can mix and match vegetables and sauces to create entirely different flavors to keep your palette satisfied. Sesame oil, fish sauce, and black pepper will taste very different from oyster sauce, sirarcha sauce, and lime. Both combinations can use any combination of bean sprouts, bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach, cabbage, tomatoes, or whatever you feel like throwing in there.

-Don't be afraid to buy frozen vegetables. They are always on sale and will give you a supply of ready-to-use vegetables if you don't have time to prep or cook the others properly. Use these as additions to soups or just heat them and add some pepper and salt for a quick side dish.

Now on to a couple recipes for which I have no accurate measurements nor timings (sorry, I eyeball everything). These both can be made in huge bulk, are easy to make, and don't require too many ingredients. Let me know if you have any questions. Sadly these are both meat dishes since my vegetarian ones tend to be impromptu stir frys.

Adobo
Ingredients
4 chicken thighs (pork works too)**
1tsp Black peppercorns
3-4 garlic cloves (use less if you don't like garlic)
3-4 lovely bay leaves
soy sauce
vinegar

There are a lot of approaches to making good adobo but the way I like to do it is simple. Throw everything in the pot. Add soy sauce and vinegar until the meat is covered and there's a nice tan color to the sauce. Remember, lighter color means a stronger vinegar flavor so adjust based on how strong you want that, too. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-45min, or until chicken is tender. When it's done, eat with a side of white rice and chopped up tomatoes with a dash of salt and red pepper flakes. Adobo will be good for days after you cook it because of the vinegar and garlic and any extra sauce makes a great topping for rice if you want a quick snack.

**thighs are my favorite part but you can use any part of the chicken. Butcher your own if you don't want to buy a pack of 10 thighs since it's way cheaper

Tinola
Ingredients
4 chicken thighs
1 large piece of ginger, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2-3 cups or cans of chicken stock/broth (stock is better of course)
2 potatoes, cut
1 large onion diced
a couple dashes of fish sauce (add according to taste)
spinach

Brown thighs. Sautee ginger and onions. Combine and add potatoes and chicken stock. Chicken should be covered completely. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-45min or until potatoes fall apart and chicken is tender. Add fish sauce. Drop spinach into the soup when finished. Serve over rice.

And remember, a great way to add intense flavor to your food is marinate it overnight. It's a simple way to turn something boring (like chicken breast) into something amazing. Be creative- there's no harm in experimenting, especially since your taste buds have no where to go but up.