Frozen Meal : Part 1

Teks : Nik Nurul Hana binti Hanafi


I was not feeling quite well these few days but being me, I just can't lay down and sleep. I rarely sleep during daytime simply because I can't force myself to sleep. I usually end up laying down and the mind start wandering and thinking about things I want to do and things I can improve.

Alhamdulillah, thank Allah I finally able to gather my strength to get up and do some chores and prepare some frozen meal from my menu list. I flipped through the list and  felt like eating grilled chicken. So I picked 2 of the menus and start preparing the ingredients. I chose to do only 2 menus as I still feel slight pain, and didn't want to make things worse. So I chose Chilli Grilled Chicken (Ayam bakar bercili)  and Honey Grilled Chicken (Ayam bakar madu). It is very simple to prepare but very delicious. You can eat it on its own, with rice or with vegetable salad. Here's the recipe :

1)  Chilli Grilled Chicken (Ayam bakar bercili)

What you need :
5-6 pcs chicken
5-6 small shallots
5-6 garlic
10 dried chilli (cili kering) - I like it very hot, you may reduce or increase as preferred
Brown or white sugar to taste
Salt to taste
Ziplock bag to store the chicken

Ziplock bag I bought at Daiso. Make sure it is suitable to store food/frozen as

there are also Ziplock bag which are not for food

Preparation method :

- Mashed (tumbuk pakai lesung je) shallots, garlic and dried chilli together until consistent. 

- Add sugar and salt as preferred. Let it set for few minutes
- Put chicken in the ziplock bag and put the mashed ingredients together.
- Let them mix well. Let it set in the fridge for few minutes before putting it in the freezer. You may grill or fry the chicken if you like.

2)  Honey Grilled Chicken (Ayam bakar madu)

What you need :

5-6 pcs chicken

5-6 small shallots

5-6 garlic

3 tbs oyster sauce

2 tbs honey or as preferred

Ziplock bag to store the chicken

Preparation method :

Pretty much the same with the first menu.

Almost done. Honey Grilled Chicken on the left, Chilli Grilled Chicken on the right.

I love using both menu because the main ingredients are almost the same, which has

save a lot of preparation time. Some tips you might need : 

- have a menu list for the desired days or entire week and go shopping for the ingredients

- menu which has almost the same ingredients or method will save preparation time

- assemble the ingredients based on your menus

- decide on containers / ziplock bag. If your freezer is large enough, using container looks neat than using ziplock bag but ziplock bag save a lot of space

- label them with menu name and date. You might want to write the cooking method if your family members cook them too. 

So why frozen meal? Here's why :

- save preparation time (obviously) so you have more time with the family 

- save energy especially when you are tired to cook but need to eat healthy home made food

- save money than eating out

- healthier (it is home made, not processed)

- save your time thinking about what to cook for  the family. I used to spend time wondering what to cook while driving from the office till I reach home!

Can't wait to cook the above menu. The smell of the ingredients already make me hungry. Tak sabar nak masak!