A Singapore fridge is about to die. What can be cooked that will keep?
July 12, 2020 4:21 AM Subscribe
My friend lives in Singapore and her refrigerator is about to go. The tech to fix it says he can't get there for a week. Which means she'll have to throw out all these meats, fish and other perishables. OR WILL SHE? What kinds of foods - jarred, jerky, kimchee - can she make with her foodstuffs that will keep in the locally high heat and high humidity.
Can she buy a cheap styrofoam cooler and refill with ice as needed for the week? Does she have neighbors that would be willing to store some food for her for the week?
posted by ShooBoo at 12:13 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by ShooBoo at 12:13 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is a stop-gap for beef as its not shelf stable but could more easily be kept in a cooler. Jangjorim (Korean soy braised beef)
posted by spamandkimchi at 2:34 PM on July 12, 2020
posted by spamandkimchi at 2:34 PM on July 12, 2020
Oh, and kimchi usually needs some fermentation at room temperature (2-3 days in this example), but a week would be too long.
posted by spamandkimchi at 2:38 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by spamandkimchi at 2:38 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yeah no way kim chi would stay shelf stable here. Unless your friend aggressively air conditions their house. Generally speaking, it's easy to underestimate the compounded affect of heat and consistently high (like 80%+, all the time) humidity on spoilage. Things get mouldy so fast. And I'm coming from Sydney Australia, so hardly a stranger to heat and humidity.
The other thing is, a lot of produce is imported, so it's not always super fresh by time you get it.
posted by smoke at 5:17 PM on July 12, 2020
The other thing is, a lot of produce is imported, so it's not always super fresh by time you get it.
posted by smoke at 5:17 PM on July 12, 2020
Does she know how to can? If shes willing to buy supplies and learn (its fiddly and requires patience but isnt hard) she could cook and can almost anything, including kimchee. As long as she follows food safety guidelines she'll be fine.
posted by ananci at 5:39 PM on July 12, 2020
posted by ananci at 5:39 PM on July 12, 2020
Talk to her neighbour is the best advice. Milk goes off after a few hours outside the fridge in my house, a relatively shady place. I would trust styrofoam cooler with ice or a big camping cooler (the big giant sells them cheap) for vegetables, butter, maybe cheese with ice packs. My mom used them for weeklong camping trips to the islands when I was a kid. But not for meat at all.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 9:36 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 9:36 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
This site claims that dry rendang can keep for weeks without refrigeration. Here's a recipe from a cooking instructor who now lives in Singapore, and which makes the same claim about refrigeration.
posted by satoshi at 8:34 PM on July 13, 2020
posted by satoshi at 8:34 PM on July 13, 2020
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Airtight containers are a key defence against Singapore humidity. Perhaps bakkwa, or traditional Chinese pork jerky slices (example recipe) which can keep at room temperature for about a week if they last that long outside your stomach.
Air-fried or oven-baked vegetable chips might work too?
posted by hellopanda at 9:21 AM on July 12, 2020