10 Cheap 3 Ingredient Chinese Dinners for Seniors Living Alone

There's a pot of rice sitting on a lot of kitchen counters tonight. Cooked yesterday, lid on, meant to last the week. It feels like the thrifty choice. It isn't. And the fix costs nothing at all. In this video, Auntie Lee shares 10 cheap, three-ingredient Chinese home dinners made for one person cooking alone. Tomato and egg pulled from the pan at just the right moment, so the eggs stay soft. Eggplant torn by hand and steamed instead of fried, finished with sizzling garlic oil. Napa cabbage with a splash of black vinegar on the hot edge of the pan, the northern way. Golden pan-fried tofu, Shanghai scallion oil noodles made from a tired bunch of scallions, silky steamed egg custard, and leftover-rice fried rice done safely. Cantonese steamed pork seasoned with nothing but a salted duck egg, steamed chicken with dried shiitake, and a freezer congee that turns an hour of simmering into twenty minutes. None of these need a long shopping list. They need a little know-how: when to add the cornstarch, why to cover the custard, how to cool rice fast enough to keep it safe, and why the mushroom water and cabbage stems are too good to throw away. Cooking for one isn't family cooking cut down to size. It works when you portion before you cook, not after. Cheap isn't buying less. It's wasting nothing. If you cook for yourself these days, this video is for you. And if someone you love does, it might be worth sending their way. Tell us in the comments: what's the one dish you still make just for yourself? We read every single one. Subscribe to Auntie Lee's Kitchen and turn on the bell for more simple, practical home cooking.