Kimchi, frozen seafood and other kitchen timesavers we embrace. MUST CREDIT: Photo for The Washington Post by Scott Suchman Scott Suchman
As much as I enjoy being in the kitchen, especially when testing new recipes or preparing elaborate meals for loved ones, sometimes feeding myself feels like a chore. Can you relate?
Imagining that you’re nodding your head in agreement, I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone. But instead of ordering takeout or making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, there are shortcuts you can have on hand for when you don’t feel like prepping and cooking from scratch.
Here are some of the Washington Post Food team’s favorites.
Cooked rice and grains
I’ve mastered how to cook rice on the stove, but buying frozen or shelf-stable packages of rice – or even cauliflower rice – is a great alternative for those who struggle with the task. These convenience products, including the various pre-cooked grains available, can yield hot, fluffy results in a fraction of the time. Within minutes you can have rice and grains for curries and stews or to serve as simple sides for meat or seafood. (You can throw the frozen rice straight into a skillet to make a quick fried rice.) Another item to consider stocking in your freezer is Korean rice cakes to add heft to stir fries.
Kimchi
The spicy fermented staple of Korean cuisine is quick way to add a punch of flavor to just about anything, including sheet pan noodles, shrimp burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. Or you can keep it simple by just stirring it into a bowl of rice, which I’ve done on a number of occasions. The beauty of kimchi is that it can last in the refrigerator for months, and it can be enjoyed without having to do anything to it. An instant vegetable, if you will, that’s always at the ready.
Frozen seafood
I typically am not that big of a planner when it comes to food, so I tend to shy away from anything that requires a marinating or proofing time. This last minute-ness also applies to ingredients that require thawing from the freezer. (I’m not alone. There’s an entire genre of memes dedicated to kids who forgot to defrost the chicken before their parent returned home. I’ve been there.) It resonates with so many because meat and poultry can take hours to fully thaw in a cold-water bath. Procrastinators and forgetters don’t despair. Instead, turn to seafood. It can ready to cook much quicker. Shrimp, in particular, can thaw in about 10 minutes when taken from its packaging and covered with cold water.
Frozen vegetables
While I do enjoy eating fresh produce more, the convenience and longevity of frozen vegetables is hard to beat. One reason for my admiration is that I don’t have to worry about them going to waste, which is always a risk for me as a person who lives alone. But an even great reason to love frozen produce is that they are often prepped and ready to go straight from their packaging, saving you the trouble of slicing and dicing. My mother would simply boil them so we got our dose of vegetables that day, but now you can toss some packages straight into the microwave. Or if you want to use them as more than a side dish, add them to soups, stews, pastas, and stir fries.
Jarred sauces
A pot of pasta and a jar of your favorite marinara sauce is always an easy answer to “What’s for dinner?” But you can also use prepared the sauce to more easily assemble lasagna, as the base for a Bolognese-style sauce with ground meat or to simmer meatballs in for spaghetti night. And tomatoes don’t need to have all the fun! A jar of pesto can easily take a dish from drab to fab. More than just as a sauce for pasta, use it to marinade chicken or seafood, spread on sandwiches or pizza dough, swirl into soups or toss with vegetables for an extra punch of flavor.
Curry paste
What makes curries so great is their complexity. And in the world of curry pastes, that complexity comes at the cost of about a dozen or so different ingredients. Jars of Thai curry paste and Japanese curry bricks save you from gathering all of the requisite ingredients and doing all of the prep work, making it that much easier to enjoy a comforting bowl of curry whenever you desire.
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