Japanese chef demonstrates how to quickly store food during the Spring Festival

During the Spring Festival, every household will prepare delicious food and put it on the table, but what worries housewives the most is how to safely store the leftover food. Japanese chef Guo Zongkun said that by using the right method and choosing the right tools, food can be easily put in place, making food preservation and storage more efficient. It can also allow your dear family to eat with peace of mind and have a happy new year!

Japanese chef Guo Zongkun said that the concepts of classification and packaging are used to handle large quantities of ingredients. (Photo courtesy of 3M Company)

Chef Guo Zongkun specially reminded that housewives often use plastic bags to package food, but in fact, when purchasing, special attention should be paid to the difference between food preservation bags and ordinary plastic bags, because many plastic bags are not specially used for food and may contain toxic substances that endanger human safety. When using them to hold food, safety must be paid attention to. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the outer packaging label. Don't think that as long as the plastic bag is clean, it can be used to hold food.

Vegetables, meat and fish can be packaged in “bags” to keep the whole family healthy

When preparing food for the Spring Festival, many people often buy enough for the entire holiday at one time, but it is not easy to prepare food for 9 days of the Spring Festival! If you just pile the purchased ingredients into the refrigerator, it will not only make the refrigerator overcrowded, but also make the food lose its freshness. Chef Guo Zongkun suggested that the concept of classification and packaging can be used to deal with large quantities of ingredients, and they can be taken out when needed to ensure the freshness of the ingredients.

To avoid contamination of food flavors, the recommended order of preparation is fruits and vegetables, followed by meat and fish. To prevent the loss of moisture in green vegetables, it is recommended that you spray a little water on the vegetables, wipe them with kitchen paper to drain the water, and then put them into a food storage bag without sealing it and refrigerate it. This way, they can be kept fresh for 3 to 5 days. For larger cabbages or long-lasting vegetables that are common during the Chinese New Year, you can choose to use larger, three-dimensional food storage bags. Not only do they have a larger capacity, the three-dimensional bag design also allows food to stand upright without falling over, making it super easy to store in the refrigerator without taking up space. Alternatively, you can blanch the vegetables first and then pack and refrigerate them to save space.

When freezing meat, it should be packaged in small quantities to avoid bacterial infection caused by thawing large pieces of meat too many times. It is recommended to flatten the food and pack it in fresh-keeping bags, which makes it easier to stack them and thaw faster. As for fish, they must be cleaned before freezing. After removing the internal organs and gills, you can apply a little salt inside the fish's belly, and then put it in a food storage bag and store it in the freezer to maintain its freshness and taste.

In addition, not only fresh ingredients need to be properly stored, but the safety and hygiene of leftovers cannot be neglected! Chef Guo Zongkun reminds that when dealing with leftovers, it is not recommended to use the original plate and cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it, because the plate is easy to tilt when taking things out, which may cause the soup from the leftovers to flow out and dirty the refrigerator. Moreover, it is impossible to completely isolate external pollution. To ensure food safety, it is recommended to pour out most of the soup first, and then transfer it to a food storage bag. This not only saves space, but also makes it easier for food to cool quickly in the refrigerator. You can take it out and thaw it when you want to eat it. To save space, if you can’t finish the rice, you can pack it in bags according to the portion and pour it out when you want to use it next time. In short, as long as you carefully choose the material of the plastic bag, you can avoid ingesting toxins, and the food will still be fresh and delicious even when you open it again.

Choosing the right tools to clean the kitchen saves effort

In addition to storage, cleaning greasy pots, bowls, and countertops after cooking is a problem that worries many housewives. However, for Chef Guo, who is both a famous chef and a new father, this is really a "piece of cake"! Master Guo said that in fact, as long as you choose the right cleaning tools, such as using a rag that can easily grab oil and does not leave lint to clean the sink and gas stove that are prone to stickiness, and choosing sponges of different materials according to the different nature of pots and pans, you can not only easily get rid of grease, but also extend the life of the pots and pans. Chef Guo also added that for the sake of the health of the whole family, we must be very careful in every aspect of the kitchen. It is best to use kitchen utensils with safety certification so that our dear family can eat happily and healthily!