People who know me, know that I am no chef! But since being on board, I have had to learn how to cook and it's a skill I'm glad I learned/am still learning, even if its just making simple stuff like a salad, an omelette, stir-fry vegetables or baking banana bread.
Growing up in South East Asia, I can easily get by without knowing how to cook because I can eat out all the time. The food is good, there's lots of variety and it's cheap! In fact, its more expensive to cook at home, than it is to eat out. But being on a boat, we don't have that kind of luxury.
Here are some photos of our meals on board.
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| Yakisoba Noodles |
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| Stir fried Prawns with Rice |
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| Hainanese Chicken Rice |
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| Rissoles with Stir fried Veggies, Salsa, Guacamole & Sour Cream |
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| Bak Ku Teh |
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| What a Treat! Steak, Salad & Pumpkin soup for Christmas! |
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| Baked Chicken and Veggies |
Of course, most of the meals above were made when we were anchored or moored somewhere (where it's calm and sheltered). We usually make much simpler meals on passage e.g. salads, soups, pasta, one-pot meals. Not many have the stomach to slave in the galley to make fancy meals on passage (I know I don't!).
Provisioning
Before any passage, we stock up with as much fresh fruits and vegetables as we can for the estimated duration of our passage.
For fruits: we normally get apples, oranges and bananas, mainly because they're usually available everywhere, lasts well and are easy to eat.
For vegetables: we love salads, so we get tomatoes {oh wait! should tomatoes be on the fruits list? argh.. let's not get too technical here}, cucumbers, onions, garlic, snow peas, eggplants, carrots, zucchinis, pumpkin all of which lasts pretty well. What about leafy greens? Well, as much as we love eating them, they don't stay fresh in the fridge for long so we're better off not getting them on passages.
For meat: it's usually chicken/pork which we freeze in our mini ice box/freezer. We also try our best to fish underway and we do occasionally get lucky with a tuna or a spanish mackerel, but we can't always rely on it. I can count with my hands the number of times we've caught a fish on passage. And we've already crossed two oceans! We can't help but wonder if the oceans are fished out or if we need new lures or we're just not good fishermen! (tips on fishing are most welcome)
We also stock up on canned goods such as diced tomato, tomato paste, corn, peas, tuna, salmon, ham, soups, beans. You name it, we probably have it or once had it and we still have more canned goods than we need.
Our actual sailing time is relatively short compared to the time we are anchored or moored off shore somewhere. Our longest passage thus far was across the Atlantic Ocean, which took 18 days from St Helena to Angra dos Reis, Brazil. We've also sailed around Chagos islands in the Indian Ocean for over a month with no access to supplies and we've never run out of food!
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| Provisioning 😅 |
Would love to hear your thoughts on what and how you provision, as well as tips on food storage, fishing or recipes!
