Microwaves deserve more love! A few more notes on the subject:
David Chang and Priya Krishna’s 2021 cookbook, Cooking at Home, has an entire section on microwave cooking, and it is very good.
Everyone should know how to fiddle with the power settings on their microwave. It is actually very easy to microwave soup (and other goopy things, like lentils) without it exploding. To do so, microwave it at 40-50% power for 5-6 minutes.
I like steaming vegetables in the microwave if I’m then mixing them into other foods like pasta or butter chicken. To steam vegetables, put them in a covered bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of water at the bottom, and microwave on high heat for 5-8 minutes depending on the size of the vegetable. Let it rest a few minutes to cool down. Be careful when removing the cover, as the steam that escapes will be very hot.
I have never managed to poach an egg outside of the microwave but I have poached hundreds using one. When you do so with a new-to-you microwave, you explode two to three eggs as sacrifice to figure out what to dial in, and then you can enjoy perfectly poached eggs going forward. Best of all the only mess you make is a mug that you put in the dishwasher.
With my current microwave the setup is: 1. fill a mug (ideally one with a narrower, curved bottom) halfway with water and microwave it on high for 2 minutes. 2. take egg from fridge and crack it into the hot water. swirl it around a bit to avoid it sticking to the bottom. 3. microwave at 5 power for 55 seconds. 4. let it cool/continue cooking in the mug for 2 minutes.
Microwaves deserve more love! A few more notes on the subject:
David Chang and Priya Krishna’s 2021 cookbook, Cooking at Home, has an entire section on microwave cooking, and it is very good.
Everyone should know how to fiddle with the power settings on their microwave. It is actually very easy to microwave soup (and other goopy things, like lentils) without it exploding. To do so, microwave it at 40-50% power for 5-6 minutes.
I like steaming vegetables in the microwave if I’m then mixing them into other foods like pasta or butter chicken. To steam vegetables, put them in a covered bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of water at the bottom, and microwave on high heat for 5-8 minutes depending on the size of the vegetable. Let it rest a few minutes to cool down. Be careful when removing the cover, as the steam that escapes will be very hot.
I have never managed to poach an egg outside of the microwave but I have poached hundreds using one. When you do so with a new-to-you microwave, you explode two to three eggs as sacrifice to figure out what to dial in, and then you can enjoy perfectly poached eggs going forward. Best of all the only mess you make is a mug that you put in the dishwasher.
With my current microwave the setup is:
1. fill a mug (ideally one with a narrower, curved bottom) halfway with water and microwave it on high for 2 minutes.
2. take egg from fridge and crack it into the hot water. swirl it around a bit to avoid it sticking to the bottom.
3. microwave at 5 power for 55 seconds.
4. let it cool/continue cooking in the mug for 2 minutes.