3 Tips for Cooking in College

Out of the 8 semesters in NUS, I spent 7 staying on campus. Among the indispensible items in my room, you'll find a heavy frying pan and tongs, and two knives. If you are someone who loves food, enjoys cooking a meal, and finds the food in the dining hall a tad unappealing sometimes, do read on! Preparing your own lunches can help you to save money (depending on how much you spend on the ingredients, and how lavishly you want your lunches to be), and very likely be healthier as well. Here are three tips that I thought will come in handy when you need/want to fix a meal in college.

Beef Bowl: recipe for this in the next post!

1. Get the right equipment (from IKEA!)

The pantries in the residential colleges are the only places that you can cook in, and they only have one induction cooker per pantry. So, that means you will need pots and pans that allow you to cook using induction heating. Depending on what you prefer to eat, choose either a sauce pan or a frying pan. The pans and pots from IKEA are affordable, and the frying pan has lasted me for a good long while and is still going strong, better than the more expensive Tefal pans that I have used before. Yes, they are heavy, but they really do allow for more even cooking, especially if you are looking into preparing steaks and chops in college.

For the frying pan, I used this: http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/50292100/
And the sauce pan. I recommend this: http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/30256749/

Besides the pots and pans, a good all purpose knife (Santoku or 6-inch Chef's Knife) and a sturdy chopping board will make all the prep work much easier. For the board, the plastic IKEA ones work well. For the knives, check out KAI at the major departmental stores. KAI is a manufacturer for the professional knives used in commercial kitchen. They have very good steel and can retain sharpness for a long time. Highly recommended!

Want something more fancy? If you are not lazy to go the extra mile to make perfectly cooked meals, and if you can afford it, a sous vide circulator will take up little space in the already small room that you have. I am using the Anova, which is retailing for US$199. On top of that, I use a 20l food grade plastic tank, which was sold for about SGD25 from Temple Street in Chinatown. But, this is on top of the knives, pots and pans mentioned above. So, it's something additional and I'd only recommend it if you can see yourself using it at least once every two weeks, and continue using it after graduation. It costs a lot, so weigh it out carefully.  

2. Invest in a small fridge
Almost always, you'll only have time to shop for groceries over the weekend. Besides, the common fridge in the pantry usually smells, and you run the risk of having your items stolen by other residents. To prevent all those, spend a couple of hundred dollars for a fridge to put in your room. The one time cost is high, but think of spreading it over 4 years. It's actually not a lot to pay, and you can have the convenience of storing properly packed meats, vegs, juices and milk right in your room. 

3. Simple recipes can taste great too
One of the easiest things to cook with the limited resources in college is (trust me) steak and mash. You do not need much, but a good cut of meat, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a frying pan. But you get my point, you do not have to go all out to prepare complex dishes that requires baking (you can't bake in college!), too many ingredients and too many steps. Remember, the simpler the recipe, the faster you can prep and enjoy your food. Thus, some of the most convenient and easiest thing to prepare is a portion protein (fish, chicken, pork or beef), salad, and carbs (instant mash is easy, or instant rice that you can just heat up in the microwave oven).