Feed me, Seymour!

[Quindiana Jones]

I am very good at making food. Here are the things I use for making food which I am very good at making: cooker with hobs (electric or gas), oven, grill, microwave, open fire.

I live in China. Here is a list of equipment I have with which to cook: microwave, rice cooker, a single hot plate. Note that though this hot plate technically has multiple settings, it does not. It is either off, or VERY ON.

So yeah, my cooking ability has taken a dive recently. I know they say a bad craftsman blames his tools, but they also say a craftsman is only as good as his tools, so... smeg China.

Anyway, stir fry with rice takes exactly six consecutive days to get extremely boring, no matter what you mix up. So I'm asking you guys for help. I'm gonna do some shopping around for some better equipment, but it's unlikely I'll find any here, so I'm gonna have to make do. Anyone know of any decent recipes for nice stuff that I can make without any of the stuff I'm familiar with?

I like making roasts, and grilled meats, and biscuits and brownies and curries, but I'll be damned if I can do any of that here. :(

I've been googling around for single pan recipes, but I figure I'd get some personal advice on the matter as well.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Good movie!

What sorts of pots and pans to you have? Have you thought about ordering things like bread makers, pressure cookers, crockpots or other stand along cookers on Amazon? You could mail order the bread packets and bake fresh bread. Slow cook up some pork loin, and maybe make soups, chillis, and chowders with the crockpot.

If you ordered a small personal fryer (http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/presto-5442-deep-fryer-cooldaddy?ID=136870&cm_mmc=Google_DMA_Home_Electrics_PLA-_-PLA+Home+Generic+-+Kitchen_PLA+-+Kitchen-_-37669322516_-_-_mkwid_efn00FyG|dc_37669322516|-|efn00FyG), you probably have the stuff there to make fried chicken, french fries, or other things.

Fried foods aren't the healthiest, but the thing doesn't take up much space and it's an option.

What about a fondu set? Maybe the good ol' George Formean grill?

As for single pan dishes.....there's a reason that area is known for stir fry in the west. With just one pan, maybe some pan seared options? Pan seared seasoned fish or chicken? You may be able to make a marinara sauce with some diced stewed tomatoes, beaf stock, garlic, and herbs. I guess you'll have to stew the tomatoes yourself? Are canned tomatoes hard to find? You can try heating it slowly in the microwave, stirring often, and maybe try to find some kind of noodle to boil in a pot on the hot plate. VERY ON sounds good for boiling water. Maybe the rice cooker could cook noodles? Hell, try it.

Then you could use the pan and the hot plan to do some pan fried egg plant. Egg plant marinara.

[noxious.sunshine]

When I lived in Texas in the small house beside my parents, all I had was a small electric skillet.

It may be tedious, but I actually would cook foods that normally need more than one skillet. Like pastas and things- like Sharky said. I'd make the sauce /meat first, then put it in a big bowl or on a plate, clean out the skillet, add water, boil noodles.

You can do a crap ton in your rice cooker.. I have a cookbook on my phone that's like "The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook" or something.. I downloaded it from tuebl, but it has tons of things besides Chinese.. If you'd like, I can go through it and post or pm you recipes that sound good?

[Shorty]

Oh man Quin xD I had a similar setup when I lived in my closet-sized guest house in California. I had a microwave, a toaster oven, and a waffle iron I turned into a grill xD

I've never used hot plate. I'm under the impression that you use a pan to cook on it, is that right? If so, you should be able to cook a number of things that you would be able to cook on a stovetop. If not... is there a way you can acquire an electric skillet? (I have no idea what is available in china or how remote you are!) They are relatively cheap in America.

If you can find a toaster oven, I would also invest in one, and they can also be relatively cheap. My most common meal was a fillet of salmon with chopped summer squash and slices of red onions. Bake in that tiny thing for 40 minutes and you're good to go.

[Quindiana Jones]

I can do plenty of basics on my setup, but I like challenging myself in the kitchen and trying new things, hence the appeal. :D

noxious, if you PM me some of that stuff, I will literally make you a magical pony out of happiness and whiskey. :love:

Great suggestions from you guys. My agenda today is shopping for more appliances, like a nice toaster oven (and a new hot plate; old one blew up whilst making breakfast YEY!). The problem with the hot plate is just that it doesn't heat like a normal hob, electric or gas. It's either MAXIMUM BURNAGE or "gently warm your toes". :(

[Night Fury]

Get yourself a slow cooker! Not only are they bloody fantastic, but they're great for lazy cooking! Throw in any cut of meat with some stock and vegetables and leave it on all day - you've got yourself a tender, tasty stew!

You can also do pasta in them, curry, casserole etc etc. They're grand!

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Yeah a slow cooker is like a crock-pot. I forgot you might call it that instead.

The pressure cooker gets the job done in a similar way, but faster incase you're not comfortable leaving an appliance on while you're out of the house.

You might not find cilantro easily over there (I have no idea), but with a personal sized food processor (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/kitchenaid-3-5-cup-food-chopper/133645?device=c&network=g&matchtype=&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_kitchenelectrics_&gclid=CPDi95bIkr4CFU8Q7AodjFIAcQ) you have all the vegetables there you need to make salsa. Probably guacamole too.
You could buy some of that flat bread they make (bing?), and try to make some sort of soft taco/pita bread type chicken taco.

The little food processor could dice up potatoes for frying too. If you get the right blades for it, you can take ice and maybe make fruit smoothies. ice, fruit, yogurt helps, and maybe some honey.

[Quindiana Jones]

I have been on the prowl for a nice big pot or pressure cooker, but no such luck in finding one yet. I used to make massive amounts of stew and keep them for weeks. xD

Also on the lookout for a blender of some sort, because smoothies are yum and I want smoothies. :D

[noxious.sunshine]

I'll jump on it right now! :)

[magemasher]

I am very good at making food. Here are the things I use for making food which I am very good at making: cooker with hobs (electric or gas), oven, grill, microwave, open fire.

I live in China. Here is a list of equipment I have with which to cook: microwave, rice cooker, a single hot plate. Note that though this hot plate technically has multiple settings, it does not. It is either off, or VERY ON.

So yeah, my cooking ability has taken a dive recently. I know they say a bad craftsman blames his tools, but they also say a craftsman is only as good as his tools, so... smeg China.

Anyway, stir fry with rice takes exactly six consecutive days to get extremely boring, no matter what you mix up. So I'm asking you guys for help. I'm gonna do some shopping around for some better equipment, but it's unlikely I'll find any here, so I'm gonna have to make do. Anyone know of any decent recipes for nice stuff that I can make without any of the stuff I'm familiar with?

I like making roasts, and grilled meats, and biscuits and brownies and curries, but I'll be damned if I can do any of that here. :(

I've been googling around for single pan recipes, but I figure I'd get some personal advice on the matter as well.

I'd go mad if I lost my oven and hob. Do they not use them so much in China? Maybe you could fashion a Bain-Marie out of the rice cooker you could make meat puddings or desert puddings, I use a Bain-Marie for scrambled eggs, it takes 3x as long but youu get amazing scrambled eggs.