Living alone makes cooking a bit awkward: you buy a bunch of greens and cannot finish it, you make a pot of soup and still have some after three meals. Many young people end up eating out or ordering in. I think there is a middle way: cook for exactly one person, in one pan, in about fifteen minutes.
Buy little, buy right
Markets and supermarkets both sell meat and vegetables in small amounts. I often buy 150 g of minced pork and split it over two meals, one block of tofu, eggs in a small tray, and quick-cooking vegetables that are easy to divide, such as mustard greens, bean sprouts or cabbage. Shallots, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and pepper kept in the kitchen are enough to season every dish below.
Three one-pan dishes
- Minced pork with shallots: fry the shallots, add 100 g of minced pork and stir until firm, season with fish sauce, pepper and a little sugar. Ten minutes, eaten with hot rice.
- Eggs with tomato: cook one tomato down until soft, pour in two beaten eggs, stir gently until set and season with fish sauce. Every household makes it, and it is very fast.
- Tofu in tomato sauce: fry one block of tofu, cook the tomato, return the tofu and simmer 3 minutes. With rice, that is a full meal.
All three use one pan. When you finish you only wash the pan and a bowl, and you still have something savoury, tomato, and rice. If you want more greens, add a handful to the pan for the last minute.
Cook rice once and portion it
A small rice cooker makes more than one meal. Spoon the extra rice into a container while it is warm, let it cool, keep it in the fridge and use it the next day, or freeze it in portions. Reheat until hot all the way through.
On days you do not want to cook, we serve chicken pho and bún thang as a complete meal for one.
Read the article on cooking once for the week
Quick questions
- Is cooking for one more expensive than eating out?
- If you buy in small amounts and use everything, it is usually cheaper. What costs money is wasted food, so buy little and portion it.
- What can I cook without much equipment?
- One pan and a small rice cooker are enough for everything in this article.
- Which dishes reheat well?
- The pork and the rice reheat well. Eggs and stir-fried greens are best freshly cooked.
