Freezing Food IS Cool!

When I was studying in Japan, each time I came back to Malaysia for holidays, I will packed some frozen local food to bring back so I could still enjoy the taste of Malaysia whenever I missed home. My parents would buy rendang, murtabak and other of my favorite local dishes, then we would freeze them in 1-person-portion in small plastic bags for 72 hours before my flight is due. The longer is the better actually. Next, we will pack them in polisterine box, sealed and this will travel with me for 6 hours flight to Narita, another 1 hours flight to Aomori and by road to Hirosaki, which will be almost 10 hours including the waiting time for each transportation schedule. I will quickly freeze them again, and these food will be kept for 6 months. Well, I have to admit, I didn't keep them up to 6 months, but it could last for more than a year, and being away from home, it still taste super-delicious to me! :)

I started to do home-made frozen food when I had my 3rd child. My maid did not want to continue her contract after 2 years of service, so I had to handle 2 small kids and a new baby alone at home. Even though it is 'pantang' or against the local rule for any post-delivered moms to eat cold food, I had no choice. Survival is more important, and that includes keeping me sane. Admit it mommies, we need our extra time, not only to spend more time with your family, but also to appreciate ourselves...we deserve it!



So, this is how my freezer usually look like, even now. I'll freeze my kids favorite food which are pasta, marinated chickens and ingredients for other 5-10 minutes recipes. Also curries and stews, only the gravy/soups. At times when I bake, it will have frozen muffins, bread puddings, quiches and buns.

So, how do you start a frozen food meal for your family? I've heard comments from my friends that their family doesn't like frozen food. Well, let's understand this, most restaurant food are also frozen, some with preservatives, and we are talking about home-made frozen food. Why does your family do not like frozen food? It's not the food, unless you really can't cook, but if you have been cooking fresh for them your whole life until you read this, and feeling tired and drained out, well, let me tell you this, it's not the food they hate, it's the 'ice' or 'freezer' tastes. Also, to some families is, the fact that you are serving the same food for a few consecutive days.

Then, how to make them accept frozen food?

1. Freeze it and reheat it well
There are ways to do it right and save you more time for yourself, if you appreciate yourself. I will share more on this in my post Secrets of Frozen Food

2. Do not serve it repeatedly
Imagine eating the same food at dinner table 2-3 days in a row? Of course, the first day you are serving it, it'll be a blast because you had just cooked it fresh. Then you happily freeze the left-overs, and to save your time, reheated it the next day and maybe the day after too. If you have picky-eater husband or kids or both, OF COURSE, they will know. Don't think they wouldn't notice the same chicken curry they had for 2 nights, do you? So, if you have left-overs, freeze it for next week, it won't get bad and in fact, for food that used lots of spices or herbs, it will taste even better! Think of mamak stall! :D

3. Similar but not
My rule is - home-made frozen food should not be the exact left-overs. If you have too much of a left-over, either freeze it and reheat it the next week, or else innovate your ideas and creativities to 'disguise' it.

When we have grilled lamb or chicken or beef for dinner last night and had left-overs, I will re-use them for either my kids' lunchboxes or home-meals. You can shred them, stir-fry a little adding a bit more herbs or just peppers, or you can even add sauces to turn them into sandwiches. In this photo, I packed tortilla wraps with the shredded grilled chicken left-overs and veggies. You could also add the shredded chickens in fried rice or noodles, or scattered on home-made pizza or quiches or omelettes...thousands of different ideas!

So, still thinking home-made frozen food is impossible?