Chinese Food: inexpensive, nutritious, delicious... and fun!

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Once packaged the beef, pork or chicken should be quickly frozen at a temperature of 0° F or lower. The beef will keep well from 9 to 12 months at such a temperature and chicken and pork will keep six months to a year. If you have a freezer and can purchase meat in quantity, you'll find this knowledge quite valuable. (By the way, freezer-burn is unpleasant to look at and does adversely affect the quality of meat . . . but it does not make that meat unsafe to eat.)

The two chickens, one large steak and one pork butt I've described have frequently lasted me more than 60 days and, therefore, have cost me only about $3.00 per month. Your meat expenses may run higher or lower, depending on your individual taste and the prices you pay in your local markets.

Although I've talked only about meat so far, vegetables actually provide the bulk of most Chinese dishes. Fresh vegetables, of course, are best and they're naturally more expensive out of season. Even then, $5.00 or $6.00 will supply me for a month or more and I always keep plenty of vegetables on hand.

I usually purchase celery, Chinese cabbage, onions, scallions, mushrooms, bean sprouts (you can grow your own), ginger root (yes, it can be purchased fresh), bamboo shoots (canned), water chestnuts (canned), green beans, spinach, peas, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower and asparagus.

Just as with meat purchases, I try to buy most of my vegetables once a month because I've found that I tend to buy too much when I shop in spurts. Invariably, if I go to a store for just a few items, I end up with several things I didn't really need . . . and that adds senselessly to my monthly food bills. I try to keep my shopping trips as few and as far apart as possible and, when I do go to market, I stick strictly (as well as I can) to a list of items that I know need replenishing.

This shopping technique works reasonably well for me. Some vegetables—such as tomatoes and green peppers—deteriorate rapidly, of course, and should always be purchased just prior to use. Most of the produce I include in my CF menu, however, lends itself quite easily to a once-a-month marketing schedule. The canned vegetables I buy (shoots, sprouts and water chestnuts) quite obviously will keep almost indefinitely. Even celery and Chinese cabbage—both of which are difficult to purchase in small quantities—seem to keep pretty well for almost a month which is more than sufficient since I use both vegetables frequently.

The only other ingredients I find necessary are soy sauce (Kikkoman is good), dry sherry for cooking (I use the 80 cent-a-quart kind though—for things such as Drunken Chicken—a better quality sherry is recommended), garlic and oyster sauce. Some folks like even more exotic sauces and ingredients in their Chinese food and the best way to determine your own likes and dislikes is by systematically trying the more unusual recipes that appeal to you.

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