Cooking Under Economic Hardship Part 6

Cooking Under Economic Hardship Part 6

On to part six... which is all about Ethnic supermarkets.

Seriously, do not underestimate the wonders you will find at the ethnic supermarket.

I really lucked out in having some amazing stores nearby. In one parking lot there is a Mexican market, and Indian market and an Asian market that has everything you could probably think of. Even better is that it's all on route of a bus route. Not that anyone really takes the bus system in L.A., but I'm just saying that it's a nice option.

One thing you should do is you should go into the local Chinese grocery store and buy a minced pork and dumpling skins in bulk. It'll only cost you a couple of bucks, but it'll be amazing for your weekend staying in.

You just spend an evening or two making dumplings with your buddies of your family. You'll net around 300-400 dumplings in around 2 hours on a weekend while watching a movie or just shooting the breeze. Just put them in the freezer and whenever you're hungry you just have to take a couple of them out and cook them. Cost you less than $20 for the lot and is a tasty emergency food in the event that you need it and it'll last you for months. 


If for some reason you just can't handle garlic cloves for the life of you, you are better saved scavenging up your change and buy yourself a tube of anchovy paste. $5 will get you a largish amount. What you do is you get a pan and heat oil in it, brown some garlic in that son bitch and then add the anchovy paste - a littl less than 2/3 tsp, or a couple twists of the tube. you now have an excellent base for sauces of all kinds. Some people will tell you to use anchovy silvers instead, but the paste stretches further and lasts longer.

Then again, you could just plant your own food...


On till next time.