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Posts: 2310

Shifu

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Q: Is a "left over" food really so bad ?

I am talking about the food , you cook at home, for family. Usually, is not easy to cook just exactly as much you will eat. Always there is rest of food. But chinese mainly think, to eat the food later, is bad for health and so on. Coming from Europe, we have always cooked full pot of soup or meat sauce , specially on weekends, to be sure no need make any new food in Monday again. even grilled chicken  is very tasty second day to take in a work place for lunch. My wife disagree, same as her friends or many internet topics.  

 

 I understand, if they do not have a fridge to keep it fresh for several next hrs, but throw every rest food is big waste since you can imagine some one can kill you for the rest from your dish just stop his hungry Smile.  

 

 What do you think about this ?

11 years 27 weeks ago in  Food  - China

 
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Posts: 6321

Emperor

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Next day cold chicken! Yum!!!enlightened

Nessquick:

sometimes is fine bro, and u always have the micro-oven 

11 years 27 weeks ago
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11 years 27 weeks ago
 
Posts: 796

Shifu

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Most Chinese do think it's unhealthy to have leftover food,but lots of them still eat it if the food is not over 24 hours after cooking.I just read an article a few days ago,it is indeed said to be unhealthy to have leftover food .Even if the food is kept in a fridge,we'd better eat it in 6 hours.

Nessquick:

yeah, its my basicly mean, lunch not finished, so dinner can get the rest with some fresh made one. 

 

 btw, in czech, is very popular the beef goulash, or cabbage/Szeged goulash , which are the finest second day, when the meat and taste are " settled" . 

 

And it is just because , that chinese way of eating - everyone lick the sticks and put in the dish together, so the microorganism from each other moth have own swimming pool, thats for sure and understand that i might be not good.

 surprise

11 years 27 weeks ago
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11 years 27 weeks ago
 
Posts: 497

Shifu

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I always "recycle" food when is left (if it is possible)...

in my thread about "expat cuisine" on one of the forums I gave an example of "reuse" of fried fish...

I also always pre-prepare meats for all week, preserving it with some marinades etc.

It saves time for cooking dinner when I'm back from work.

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11 years 26 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1420

Shifu

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Yes, I have to say that this something that I didn't run into until I came to China. We used to regularly eat leftovers when I was a kid. Ironically, my mother would tell me we had to eat it because there were starving children in China, and that made throwing it out somehow disrespectful. Anyway, I continued this habit as a college student, because learning how to saving money on a budget is arguably one of the reasons why its important to go to college. When I came to China I had to learn to compromise on this with my wife. Whenever I cook, we keep what's left of the food in the fridge overnight, and then eat if for lunch the next day. Whenever she cooks, we toss whatever we have left once we've finished eating. I'm still having trouble getting used to the absolutely staggering about of food waste (its like we're throwing money in the garbage,) and she's still having trouble not showing me every article written by some "health expert" that says what we're doing is bad for us.

Nessquick:

Seems like u r my brother maybe ? 

11 years 26 weeks ago
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11 years 26 weeks ago
 
Posts: 902

Shifu

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I hadn't come across this at all, my wife is the total opposite, as is her mother. What doesn't get eaten this time is put in the fridge for next time. And what about all those doggie bags people take home from restaurants, isn't that left over food as well. Provided you are sensible about the way you keep it there is no problem.

Nessquick:

yep, i  have bought lot of plastic or glass boxes with lid ( made in japan, if its true ) and this way is very fine to keep them.

11 years 26 weeks ago
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Posts: 49

Governor

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Boyfriend and his mother have no problem with "reruns" (as my own mother calls them). However, boyfriend's mom is helping her sister recover from an illness right now, and therefore does all the cooking and cleaning at her house. Auntie's kids (aged 17 and 23) REFUSE to eat leftovers, which actually caused a bit of a family feud last week because the kids are disrespecting their aunt's hard work by not eating what she puts on the table for them.
But in my house, growing up, leftovers were a regular occurrence, either reheated the next day or given a makeover. Roasted chicken the night before would turn into chicken sandwiches and soup the following day. Roasted potatoes would turn into hash browns or the base of a delicious frittata.

I've got ten years' experience in foodservice, and I'm qualified to teach food safety courses. I can tell you with 100% certainty that, if properly handled, leftovers are safe and healthy to eat. In fact, western restaurants will "recycle" their leftovers to make "specials" on a regular basis: it helps keep food costs down by reducing foodwaste.

To keep your food safe, just do the following. Cool your food quickly in a cool water bath if possible, and put them in the fridge. The maximum amount of time you should ever leave cooked food out of the refrigerator is 4 hours (and this is total time). Never reheat things more than once. Soup will keep for up to 5 days if properly cared for, other things for around 3 days.

The amount of food waste that goes on in China astounds me. I think that it's a weird side-effect of those years of starvation. On the one hand, they learned to eat everything, including chicken feet and things that really don't have a lot of meat. On the other hand, now that food is plentiful and affordable, they feel it shows a kind of rich lifestyle to be able to gorge themselves and not worry about keeping the leftovers.

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11 years 26 weeks ago
 
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