Starting a new family requires some planning. The couple should help each other out in many activities they may have never done before entering marriage.
One important matter is eating and cooking. Unmarried folk may not need to care much about making their own meals. Their apartments may have nothing related to cooking except probably a coffee maker and a microwave oven, for heating up store-bought foods.
Many single people cannot even cook. Apparently it's a skill they don't need, as many dine outside, or live in their parents' house where all the meals are readily prepared. Those who need to travel frequently for their work have even less time to think about cooking. A lot of people live in temporary residences like an apartment with no cooking area.
When two people are married, it is essential to sit down and eat together in their home -- it's a private and warmhearted atmosphere you shouldn't miss.
If you can manage, it's best to have breakfast together. Starting off fresh with the most important meal will prepare your body and mind for the rest of the day. Having lunch together is impossible for couples working in different places. And the traffic is unpredictable in the evening, so it's not everyday we can have a proper family dinner.
Weekends are perfect for a meal at home, as you have time to help each other and there's no need to rush.
I'd like to make suggestions about arranging your kitchen, planning your cooking and what kind of food to cook.
Let's talk about setting up a good kitchen. Most household kitchens were not properly designed due to many reasons. Sometimes we didn't really think about it in detail, or just want to save money.
One of the most basic necessities is the power socket. Usually there are not enough or they are placed in awkward spots. A well-equipped kitchen needs quite a lot of electrical appliances -- refrigerator, microwave oven, rice cooker, coffee maker, and so on. Pay extra attention to lighting, as the kitchen is one specific place that needs proper lighting.
Another thing to consider is the kitchen cupboard. Usually, the kitchen area is limited or simply too small, sometimes even too narrow. Such limited space forces the cupboard, something you use regularly, to be small too. I suggest that you spare some space for a large cupboard. You will definitely need quite a lot of storage space for pots, pans, mortar and pestle, chopping boards, knives, and much more. Also, you need somewhere to put utensils that you don't use on a regular basis, but need them in the kitchen, like the food processor, coffee grinder, plates, bowls, cutlery and glasses. And who knows what else you are going to buy in the future?
Your cupboard also needs to store dried foods and seasonings such as rice, canned food, flour, cooking oil, a variety of sauces -- these items need to be arranged so that they are easily reachable.
You can consult a reliable professional craftsman for the design that would fit your house, or check out the built-in kitchen furniture.
Now the cooking part. Today you can easily get cooking ideas from various sources. A cookbook is a good place to start. There are many different types to choose from. Detailed cookbooks give you basic information to decide what kind of food you want to make, and if it is suitable for you.
no need for culinary genius: A sample of the simple dishes you can make at home. Suthon Sukphisit
The second source for cooking ideas is YouTube. I find YouTube channels created by westerners very interesting for breakfast ideas and various ways to use fruits. I also check out the videos created by Thai cooks. You need to find channels with a professional cook as the presenter if you want reliable, easy-to-understand tips and techniques.
Once you have decided which dish to make, you move on to buying the ingredients. When you purchase fresh food, whether it is ground pork, chicken fillet or pork loin, it is helpful to portion it out into boxes or plastic bags for each use.
When buying fish, there's no need to worry about filleting. The fishmonger (both in fresh markets and supermarkets) will clean and fillet the fish for you. You only need to slice and portion it out for each use, just like you do with chicken and pork.
Pork ribs are great. You slow-cook them with garlic, coriander root, peppercorn and salt. In the end you get both flavourful stock and tender ribs for making kao tom graduk moo (rice soups with pork ribs), tom yum graduk moo (hot and spicy soup with pork ribs) or various gaeng jued (clear soups). Again, you can arrange the ribs in individual bags for separate use.
It's convenient to keep some dried foods on hand. Some useful kitchen staples are gun chiang (Chinese sausage), moo yong (pork floss), sun-dried snakehead fish, salted dried fish, salted eggs and fried bacon.
Regarding vegetables, it's useful to have a tom yum set (galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves), coriander, green onion, celery, sawtooth coriander, red holy basil, ginger, bird's eye chilli and lime.
The best way to extend veggies' shelf life is to wrap them in banana leaf or newspaper.
Another tip is to have all your meals planned in advance. This way you will find it is much easier when shopping for fresh food and ingredients.
Western-style breakfasts are fast and easy: eggs, bread, ham, bacon, sausages and fruits. For lunch, I suggest a one-dish menu like rice soup with pork ribs sprinkled with sliced fried egg, rice soup with fish, fried rice with ham or chicken, or fried rice with chilli paste sprinkled with fried Chinese sausage.
The popular kaprao moo sab (stir-fried ground pork with holy basil and chilli) with fried egg is still a very good choice for lunch.
For dinner, it's better to eat more fresh vegetables than carbohydrates. Nam prik gapi (shrimp paste chilli dip) and other nam prik dishes are delicious.
Making nam prik is very easy, especially nam prik gapi. Use garlic as much as you like, bird's eye chilli (depending on how spicy you need), and equal portions of shrimp paste and palm sugar.
You pound the garlic with chilli (divide into two portions) and shrimp paste. Pound until the mixture is smooth. Garlic helps mask the odour of the shrimp paste. Add some sugar and lime juice to make it pleasantly sour and equally sweet and salty. Add the reserved chilli and lightly pound to mix. You may add some makau puang (Thai eggplant) for texture.
The chilli dip helps you eat a lot of fresh vegetables. It's a balanced and nutritious meal. If you have any leftovers, whether it is the chilli dip or accompanying fried pla too (Thai mackerel), it's good for next day's lunch. You can make fried rice with mackerel, or fried rice with nam prik gapi. Sprinkle some pork floss on top for a better flavour.
Making easy, inexpensive and nutritious dishes to enjoy together on the weekend is priceless. Another obvious benefit is that you will learn to accept your partner's cooking.
Nobody makes a perfect dish the first time. It's best to help each other cook and clean. And isn't that a good sign for a happy and long-lasting marriage?
