Tet Holiday every household stocks up on a lot of food, from raw ingredients to cooked dishes, and often stores them together in the refrigerator, which can easily pose a risk to users. Therefore, today, the Cooking Tips section of TasteVN will share with you a few tips for keeping Tet food fresh and safe for a longer time!
1 Chung cake, Tet cake
During the Tet holiday, Chung cake or Tet cake are usually kept in the refrigerator, however, when stored at cold temperatures, Chung cake and Tet cake can easily become “sticky rice,” so we should store them in a cool and airy place. To preserve the cakes well, you can do the following after boiling them.
First, you need to take the cakes out and wash the outer layer of leaves with cold water to remove the sap, then let them drain. After that, stack the cakes in several layers and use a tray or a heavy object to press down and squeeze out some water, which will help the cakes become firmer and have a flatter surface.
Finally, hang the cakes in a dry, dust-free, and non-humid place. If you accidentally cut them and don’t use them all, put them in a sealed box and store them in the refrigerator; when you want to eat, just fry or steam them again.
Refer to delicious ways to make bánh chưng and bánh tét
2 Sausage
Sausage should not be stored in the refrigerator because the fat in the sausage will easily solidify and taste bad. You should store the sausage in a rice container or put it in a box, basket… and place a bowl of wine in the middle; the smell of the wine will repel flies and ants while keeping the sausage fresh and delicious.
Fresh sausage should be kept in the refrigerator’s cool compartment, but if you want to store it longer, you can keep it in the freezer for up to a month!
Each time you eat, you should only take out a sufficient amount to prepare for the day; do not put it back in the refrigerator after processing as it will cause the sausage to dry out and lose its aroma.
Refer to delicious ways to make sausage
3 Various jams or dried fruits
Various jams or dried fruits are essential sweet treats in every home during the Tet holiday, however, they often leak juice and attract ants. Many people think that storing jam in the refrigerator is better, but the humidity inside will make the jam more prone to mold.
To properly store jam and dried fruits, put them in a glass jar and seal it tightly; take out only as much as you need and absolutely do not leave any leftovers in the jar after use.
Check out these delicious homemade jam recipes
4 Pickled onions and shallots
Pickled onions, shallots are delicious side dishes during Tet, helping you avoid feeling overwhelmed and preserving well for later use, you can do as follows.
When cutting the roots, you should avoid cutting into the bulbs and after washing, let them dry thoroughly; if they are damp, they will spoil easily when pickled. It is advisable to boil water to soak the onions and shallots, note to mix the right amount of salt, not too salty or too bland. When soaking, you can sun-dry the jars of onions or shallots to make them crispier and extend their shelf life.
You should leave the jars of pickled onions and shallots for about 2 days until the onions and shallots absorb the seasoning and reach a suitable level of sourness and sweetness. You can store the entire jar (if it’s small) or take the onions and shallots out and put them in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. This method helps the onions and shallots not be too sour while allowing them to be stored longer and adding a crispy texture to this dish.
Check out these delicious pickled onion and shallot recipes for Tet
5 Vietnamese pork sausage
Vietnamese pork sausage is the most perishable food, you can store it for 5 – 7 days in the refrigerator’s cool compartment or soft freezer, and when using, simply cut it to eat directly.
Additionally, you can also put the sausage in the freezer for longer preservation (from half a month to 1 month), however, after thawing, it should be boiled, steamed, or fried again before eating to ensure the sausage retains its original chewy and crispy texture.
If not, you can store it in a cool, dry place by removing the outer layer and covering it with a breathable basket, avoiding wind. This method should only be used within 1-2 days (depending on whether the weather is hot or cold).
Check out these simple ways to make Vietnamese pork sausage at home
6 Cooked food
For cooked foods such as braised pork, braised fish, bitter melon soup… let them cool down and place them in a tightly sealed container, then put it in the refrigerator’s cool compartment for storage. Cooked food that is tightly sealed will not dry out, will not mix odors, or transfer harmful microorganisms to other foods.
Check out how to make delicious braised pork for the Tet meal
7 How to store fried spring rolls
The Tet holiday is often busy, so you can wrap fried spring rolls (or egg rolls) before Tet and freeze them in the freezer for later use.
Once wrapped, place the spring rolls in a wide tray, making sure to keep some space between them so they don’t stick together. Then, place the tray in the freezer and freeze for about 40 minutes until the spring rolls are firm, then take them out and place them in a tightly sealed container, and return them to the freezer.
With this method, taking the spring rolls out to fry is very easy; they won’t stick together, and they’ll look better when fried. You can store the spring rolls for up to 2 weeks!
Check out these delicious ways to make fried spring rolls for your Tet feast!
8 Dried bamboo shoots
When you cook dishes with dried bamboo shoots, you should boil enough for 1 – 2 days. To store bamboo shoots for a long time and safely, you should do as follows.
Wash the dried bamboo shoots, place them in a pot and boil for 30 minutes, adding some salt and a halved chili pepper to help eliminate toxins in the bamboo shoots; make sure not to cover the pot while boiling. Then, take them out and rinse immediately with cold water.
Finally, just use boiled water or soaked rice water gradually, and you should change the water after 2 – 3 days. Additionally, after boiling or soaking in warm (hot) water, if you don’t use it all, you can put it in a container or zipper bag and store it in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 days.
Check out these delicious Tet dishes with dried bamboo shoots!
9 Fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are foods that help balance protein and fat intake during Tet, so they will be stocked up in the fridge. However, you should know how to choose and store fruits and vegetables during Tet.
Prioritize selecting fruits and vegetables that are still attached to their stems, fresh, with natural colors, and not bruised. Avoid buying root vegetables as soil clinging can create microorganisms that damage other vegetables.
When storing in the refrigerator, you should keep vegetables and fruits separate, so that if one spoils, it won’t affect the other. Only cut and peel enough fruit for one meal; do not peel too much, as this will cause the fruit to turn brown, wilt, and lose nutrients.
10 Fresh food
Fresh fish and meat need to be placed in a container or plastic wrap and stored in the freezer; if your refrigerator has a soft freezing compartment, store it there to save defrosting time.
When using these types of food, you need to ensure that fresh and cooked foods are stored in different compartments, and you should limit re-freezing food to once; frozen food should ideally be consumed within 4 days!
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Above is a compilation of information about food preservation tips during Tet to keep them fresh longer and very safe for your family. We hope that this article from TasteVN will be helpful to you. Wishing you always happiness!
