Buy Some, Cook Some During an Extended MCO

I was taken by surprise by our PM's announcement of the easing of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to a conditional MCO (CMCO) with almost all business activities being allowed to open from May 4.  I'm just wondering if it's the right decision to ease the restrictions so soon as we certainly don't want to follow in the footsteps of the countries which did that resulted in a new wave of Covid-19 cases.

Since the MCO extension to May 12 had already been announced (and accepted) by the public, why not carry on until that date since the MCO was still in place.  The decision seems hasty to me as, after all, we have waited so long, we can certainly wait another week, right?

When I asked some of the eateries (where I'm a regular) if they would be entertaining dine-in customers (when they were allowed under the CMCO but before some State governments decided against it), some say they won't...at least not immediately.  They'll adopt a wait-and-see approach first.  Although restaurants do want to get back to business as usual, the owners are also fearful for the safety of their workers and customers.  I share the same sentiment as it's questionable if the public would (and could) comply with social distancing measures when they're in restaurants (or any other public places for that matter).  Moreover, most coffee shops are small and cramped with tables to maximise space, so the ability to space out tables might prove to be a challenge.

Although I miss dining out, I'm more concerned about safety for now, so I don't mind missing it for a little longer.  I was glad that some States (my State included) decided not to enforce the CMCO announced by the federal government.

So, whether it's the MCO (or the CMCO) and its numerous extensions, it means we have to continue to duduk diam-diam di rumah whereever possible...and eat in a lot more.

During the initial lockdown, it was cook every day...and every dish (for dinner).  But as time went on (and because of the numerous extensions), I found myself cooking even simpler dishes (canned goods to the rescue)! ;P

Since the third extension of the MCO, some of us were already beginning to get tired of cooking or sick of our own cooking besides running out of ideas of what to cook.  I'm one of the some...not a fantastic cook to begin with, an average cook at best, who has a limited repertoire of dishes and who chooses to cook simple dishes.

So, what now?  The best way forward is to find a happy middle ground....and, for me, that is the buy some, cook some concept! ;)  That way my family gets to eat something different, something I can't cook, something tastier (with shop-bought food)...and I can have a bit of a breather from cooking.  I don't know how our moms did it back in the day...cooking every meal, every day!  It certainly make us appreciate our moms' tireless efforts more now thinking back.

I buy most of my dinner dishes from a Chinese chap fan stall in a neighbouring housing area (that's because the few that open in my area aren't that good) and sometimes from a Malay mixed rice shop from my area (but that was before the fasting month when there was no crowd).  When it comes to noodles and roasted meat rice, there are plenty of options but, for some reason, most chap fan stalls chose to not open.  The reason I hear from other hawkers is that it's cumbersome and time consuming to buy vegetables (and meat) because of the crowd and the need to queue at supermarkets and wet markets.

Here are just some of my extended MCO-type meals, the lazy kind.

Buy some (fried nam yue chicken, pork curry, fish & chicken nugget) & cook some (stir-fry choy sum, omelette & salted egg)

Buy some (chicken curry, fried ikan bilis with potatoes, begedil & some kind of meat patty) & cook some (stir-fry baby bok choy & salted egg)


Buy some (marmite pork & cha choy minced pork) & cook some (pork ribs + braised peanuts & omelette)

Buy some (yong tau foo of fried beancurd sheet, fried sui kow & eggplant) & cook some (minced pork with potatoes + beancurd puffs & stir-fry Chinese lettuce)

And then, as the MCO days progressed, I started getting lazier cooking became a tiresome 'job'...so the "buy more, cook less" option seemed more suitable.


Buy more (sweet & sour pork, chicken curry & brinjal, long beans + carrot with minced pork) & cook less (fried eggs)

Buy more (fried nam yue chicken, fried fish, some fried stuff & loh hon chai) & cook less (fried eggs)

And as the lockdown days increased even further, it began to look more like a "buy all, cook none" kind of scenario.


Buy all (chicken curry, fried nam yue pork, fried ikan bilis with onions + chillies & mui choy minced pork) & cook none


Buy all (chicken curry with fried tofu, kobis masak lemak, begedil, some kind of corn fritter & ikan bilis with potatoes) & cook none (even the salted egg was bought...lol)! O_o

As the food operators adapt their business models by changing the menus (to more affordable meals), making an online presence, allowing for take-aways and deliveries, we, as homecooks, need to adapt too, right?  So, this buy some, cook some principle can also be applied to a single dish.


Like my Pork Ribs Pepper Soup with Pork Meatballs.  I just need to boil some pork ribs with lightly crushed whole white peppercorns (in my trusted slow cooker) and add in store-bought pork meatballs (at the end when the soup is almost done).


It makes for a delicious meat cum soup dish.  I was very pleased with the texture and taste of these store-bought pork meatballs (which come in two varieties, plain or with spring onions, RM11 for a box of 15).


If not for the MCO, I wouldn't have tried out these meatballs which I've since bought a couple more times (bought some for a sister-in-law of mine too)...and used them in other ways.  Great as an addition to any soup noodles (even instant noodles). ^_~


Or a Chicken/Pork/Vegetable Curry.  Since I'm too lazy + I had never cooked a curry from scratch, I'd rather buy ready-made chicken or pork curry and add stuff I like more than the protein itself such as potatoes, tofu puffs and even vegetables (there are never ever enough potatoes since most of them get picked out by customers).  Just have to scoop more curry sauce when I tapau...don't worry, the two places I tapau the curry from, they cook it with a lot of sauce, otherwise I wouldn't be so inconsiderate as to 'drain' the dish of its curry! :P


You can also do that with Stewed Chicken Feet with Dried Mushrooms.  Most chap fan stalls make this without Chinese dried mushrooms as they're considered expensive.  So, buy the stewed chicken feet (with sauce) and add in your own black mushrooms to stew.


Or how about Pork Ribs with Braised Peanuts?  Just braise the pork ribs in a soy sauce concoction till tender and add in a can of braised peanuts right at the end.  This turned out better than I expected.

So, what kind of meals will you be cooking from now on?  These simple suggestions of buy some, cook some kind of dishes are super easy to put together to relieve some cooking stress that you may be experiencing.  Whether you choose a buy some, cook some or buy more, cook less or buy all, cook none concept, you have to find your happy medium. ^_~

With the MCO possibly coming to an end on May 12 and perhaps an extended period of CMCO, it's foreseeable that many will still continue to cook at home.  Even with the relaxation of restrictions and allowing for dine-in in restaurants, some of us won't be confident enough to do so...at least not for a while until we're convinced that social distancing measures are safely in place.

We need to display the highest level of social discipline and social responsibility if we're to beat this thing and come out on top.  We need to practise a new normal way of life.

So, continue to stay home to stay safe.
Practise social distancing and sanitise your hands frequently if you need to be out.