[Eng Sub]一周午餐一次搞定——真的能做到吗？prepare lunch boxes for all workdays at once（meal prepQ&A）丨曼食慢语

0:00 Hello everyone, it is Amanda here~ I recently started to pack bentos during work I barely ate out when I was working So, I will share with all of you I am sure that when you are preparing bentos You'll face some problems but I can fix them for you today Ms. Amanda, I want to pack bentos every day but I don't have time, what should I do? Refer to the 7-days bento video that I made last time

0:25 I am sure it will give answers to your problem Will it be fresh even though we will be preparing a bunch of food? I am sure a lot you will worry So, I will be sharing with you a whole new storing method In fact, a lot of food can be stored for a long period when it is frozen Will it be possible to change the side dish every day? Yes, it is possible! Is it possible to change up the flavors?

0:40 Of course I am a beginner. Will I be able to meal prep as well? Sure I want my bento to be pretty, I want to show them to my friends First, we will be needing a container free to store in the freezer Prepare an air-tight container, a zip-lock bag, and so on Something that can endure low temperature and last long I even prepared containers for kids like this Although I am not a kid If you want to freeze your side dishes, it is important to divide them into portions

1:10 If you freeze in bulk, it will be uncomfortable to take them out Small containers like these contain around 100-200ml Just right for a single meal It is eco-friendly because we can use it multiple times If you want a balanced meal, there have to be different side dishes ready I will first cook some rice Half a cup of millet, one cup of brown rice, one cup of white rice, three cups of three-colored quinoa It is healthier to mix white rice with other grains

1:31 But be sure to soak other grains 2 hours ahead After it is all soaked, incorporate the white rice and cook The soaking time has to be different for white rice and other grains That is the key to keep the texture After the rice is done, put the rice into portions in plastic wrap and freeze I divided into portions good for a meal Steam the potatoes for 30 minutes and peel the skin off

2:01 I know it is hot but bear the heat Put the butter while it is hot Salt and warm milk goes in At this point, you will be wondering why am I mashing the potatoes In fact, potatoes cannot be frozen directly It will taste funny when the moisture inside the potato freeze as well Whereas, when you mash it up like this and freeze, the flavor will stay the same Place the mashed potatoes inside a zip-lock bag and freeze them

2:30 Cut it in half using a chopstick It is handy when you do it one by one A lot of people wished to have different side dishes every day I will make 5 different side dishes For frozen side dishes, you'll have to give up some type of dishes Dishes that include meats and veggies (No) Dishes that are watery(No) Meats that have great texture(No) These side dishes fit all these conditions Just like the New Year dishes To reduce time, perfect preparation is needed

3:02 We will need carrots that are cut in different ways White mushrooms, onions Garlic, grated ginger, ginger, green onion, dried chilly, broccoli And soaked shitake mushroom Next, the salmon needs to be marinated in salt for a while It have to be cut into bite sizes Pour in the water of sweet wine, soy sauce, salt, honey, and spring onion

3:32 And marinate in salt for 1 to 2 hours Dice the cartilage of a pork You can use ribs as well But the cartilage has more meat than bones So that doesn't take much space Mix it well with Ginger, spring onion, and chaxiao paste It is best to use homemade chaxiao paste, but I know you don't want to Get one from the store Marinate for 1 to 2 hours Thinly slice the beef

4:04 This is about 300g Cut the rest 200g whatever you want Marinate the beef with backing soda and water for 30 minutes Mix it the same way you did with others If you use baking soda to marinate the meat, nutrients can be destroyed Especially, Vitamin B But it is good for storing in the freezer Because it will bring back the texture when you defrost it Thus, you decide whether you want to choose nutrition or texture

4:35 The leftover 200g Will be going in a food processor with the pork To make beef meatballs, of course, a bit of pork adds the flavor When you use only beef, there isn't enough fat and there are not enough textures Add salt, ginger, egg, carrots, onion, and flour Mix To form meatballs If you have some oil on your hands, you don't need to add the oil to a pan

5:07 Pop it in an oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees While waiting for that to cook, we will saute the onions Saute the onions in medium to low heat until it is golden brown I sauteed about 200g, I will take out half of the portion Then add ketchup, tomato paste Water, salt, and sugar and boil The meatball is ready as we speak Take them out and pop it into the boiling sauce

5:38 Bring it down to a simmer and we have tomato beef meatballs! I didn't even use the diced up pork It goes well with sauteed mushrooms First, fry the pork and ginger and add onions Add shitake mushrooms, star anise, bay leaf, spices, Chinese yellow wine With soy sauce, sugar, water, and spring onion

6:08 Cover the lid and cook for another 30 minutes Rinse the beef that was marinated in baking soda To the point where we can't feel the backing soda Two tablespoons of oil and add soy paste and grated garlic I know it takes much work But the fragrance will be much better And it will take away all the negative thoughts Bring it down to a cool and add your beef Add soy sauce, sugar, and filtered sweet wine

6:38 Marinate for about 30 minutes Bring your marinated pork Add them to a flat pan like this and pop them inside the oven You can use a foil instead Cook for 90 minutes in 120-degree oven The meat gets tender when cooked for long hours in low heat We still need time for the meat to cook We will now move on to the veggies Add plenty of salt into the water

7:09 One more tablespoon from when you think it is enough I will simply blanch the broccolis So, you'll need plenty of salt to make it savory 10 seconds are enough We are not done yet Only the ingredients that met fire can go inside the freezer The mushroom meat dish is ready Use fermented soy sauce to give them more color Add salt to taste Take out the spices Bring it down to a simmer Until the pan has just oil left without the stock

7:44 Beef marinate is ready Sprinkle rice flour evenly into the beef Until we can't see the flour and until it doesn't have any water We can make the rice flours at home But it is not a must Place two big leaves on a plate Add the beef one by one on the plate Into the oven for 30 minutes We will continue with the veggies, honestly, we don't have to be picky about selecting the veggies

8:16 Most veggies contain lots of water so it is hard to freeze Some can go right into the freezer or to our mouth Most of them are not so we have to search for what is freeze-able Veggies that are good to go after frying for about 9 minutes Add oil, fry the garlic, and add mushrooms Most of the mushroom has lots of water so fry them until it is brown Add carrots, corn, and peas Salt and oyster sauce to taste

8:47 Here we have a very simple stir fry veggies We have rice flour fried meat Cabbage is a great choice too since the texture doesn't change after freezing Cut the cabbage. We will fry the leaves as well I will move on to other parts later Place oil and add in your garlic and chilly Add fried mushrooms, cabbage leaves, and salt

9:19 Don't add in water and fry them slowly on medium to low heat, the key is to do with less moisture as possible Add pepper and sugar Now we have a cabbage fry that has good texture and flavor The cartilage has to be cooked to be soft enough to stick a fork in Take out the ginger and spring onion and cover it up Place it inside the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees Chashu pork cartilage is ready

9:50 Lastly, we have here is the salmon, take out the marinated salmon and drain excess water Place the salmon on a baking paper and brush it with oil Cook for 10 minutes in a 180-degree oven We have fried salmon We have rice, meat, and veggies, but don't you think we are missing something? It will be nice if we have an appetizer Sprinkle some salt and marinate over the leftover cabbage and carrots

10:22 Marinate until the veggies are soft and drain the water and place it inside the container Add sugar, vinegar, and dried chilies Into the fridge and it is good to go for a week Take out little portions whenever you want to eat Try this when you don't have an appetite My one week rice and side dishes are ready Two types of rice, five meat dishes, and three veggie dishes It seems enough for a week, right?

10:54 Now shall we plate it? I showed this container from the start of the video This is for kids so the material is different But it doesn’t matter These zip lock bags are more than enough If you want something better, place it in an airtight bag I will tell you more about other methods later For today, these containers will be enough This is the best way to keep the mashed potatoes Because you can take out a single chunk whenever you want it

11:26 Pop it into the freezer I like to use plastic wrap to put it into portions And then into the zip-lock bag Salmon gets dry and firm when you freeze them Thus, it doesn't get all mushy after you take them out inside the oven The chashu pork cartilage has lots of fat So, I will place them in a glass container This one is similar to the Italian tomato meat stir fry that I made earlier But meatballs are better looking

11:58 You will enjoy the meatballs in your lunch box The meat used baking soda So, it has to defrost right away to maintain the texture I will place it in a small container like this The mushroom meat stir fry is from Taiwan originally It is the star of the bento It goes well with any bentos And with any food The flavor doesn't change in any heat It tastes exactly the same from when you first cooked

12:31 Broccoli is hard to keep inside the freezer You don't have to cook all the way through It will be hard if you eat it right away You have to dry them completely before freezing Keep it in a plastic bag We diced up the veggies for our stir fry So, it is best to fill in the gap Because we are putting different side dishes inside our bentos

13:03 Place them where it is empty We are done so I'll go and freeze It is heavy, can't believe one can eat this much in a week The night before Take the rice and dishes to the fridge and defrost overnight And place the dishes in the bento box the next day

13:39 Now we have my one-week bento Monday, I had mushroom meat stir fry, rice, broccoli, and pickled carrot Tuesday, I had salmon with fruits on the side With mashed potatoes and stir-fried veggies Wednesday, I had fried beef, cherry tomatoes, rice, and fried cabbage Thursday, I had rice, chashu pork cartilage, broccoli, fried cabbage Friday, I had mashed potatoes and cherry tomatoes on the side I put cheese over the meatballs

14:20 I am now having my Friday lunch I put cheese over before I came out It is melted inside the microwave and it is much better After this video You will have questions I will answer them How long did it take to finish all the dishes? About 3 to 4 hours Is it good for one people? I was okay with it, if you are hungry take two! How much does it cost per bento? I am not sure about the math but it is somewhat similar to what they sell

14:48 But you can choose your own ingredients For how many people were the dishes? The dishes that I made just now Is for two to finish all for 5 days I don't have space at home for all this food Use five containers! Can I take them inside a small container right away? Theoretically, yes! Won't it look weird to use a kid’s container at work? Does the flavor change after microwaving the frozen food? Most food, yes But the dishes that I showed you today, I've tried it and checked it doesn't so don't worry

15:18 Will it have all the nutrition? If you freeze it right away, yes! The vitamins can be destroyed for the veggies though It is not big of a deal, but if you are worried How about eating food that is full of vitamins for breakfast and dinner?