Microwave Cooking Techniques
How do I make sure that my food is cooked evenly?
I feel that Food - I don't think it's just a feeling, it's actually knowledge - cooks best in the microwave most evenly when the thickest part of it or the hardest part of it is towards the edge of the dish and the rest of it goes towards the inside.
How can I cook large quantities in the microwave?
There are various ways of cooking more than dinner for one which is an easy thing to do and also very convenient. I get lots of readers who are single either they have never been married, their partner or spouse has died, they have never been a cook and this way they can have good homemade food for themselves so it cooks very well for one which is a valuable thing. But when you want to cook for more than one, then use a bigger dish, use a platter. Make sure that you follow the recipe and the instructions for putting the firmer foods around the outside and the softer foods in the middle and you can go for two, four, six…I made risotto for eight in the microwave oven. There is another way of doing it but you have to have a special piece of equipment and it's simply a free-standing little rack made of plastic and you can put one plate of top of it and one plate underneath it and then halfway through the cooking time switch the two plates.
How do I cook more than one dish in the microwave at the same time?
It is not a good idea to try to cook different kinds of food at the same time in the Microwave oven - the timing is different; one tends to block the rays from the others. It's perfectly alright to cook meals for multiple people that have multiple parts - fish with vegetables, risotto with all the trimmings. But it is not a good idea to try to cook your broccoli in the Microwavethe same time as your chicken unless they're in the same dish and you know what you're doing.
Can I brown or sear food in the microwave?
Browning food in the Microwave is a bug bear. There used to be, and I don't know if there are, browning dishes. And they had like a metal film with holes marked in it on the bottom. And you could preheat those and you could sear food in it. You can of course burn food in the Microwave oven. Which will turn it brown, but not necessarily in the way you want. Frankly my dear, if you want brown food, choose another method.
What foods are best suited for the microwave?
The vegetarian food is a terrific solution in the Microwave. Fish is a great solution in the Microwave. Dinner for one or two and how many times are you going to give large parties at which you wish you want to cook the side of an ox.
What foods are not well-suited for the microwave?
I would never cook a good piece of steak in the Microwave oven. It doesn't do it well, why try? That was one of the mistakes that the oven manufacturers, it seemed to me, made when the ovens first came out. They said, "It did everything!" It doesn't do everything, but it makes one terrific ear of corn, or several ears of corn, which are more easily shucked after it's cooked. Best asparagus in the world, best artichokes in the world, fabulous fish. So a lot of things that a Microwave oven cooks brilliantly, there are as many that it cooks in a disastrous fashion: don't do it.
How should I cover my dishes to make sure they cook evenly?
To cover dishes to Cook evenly, which is very important, there are two options. One is a tightly fitting lid, its not my favorite option because some steam does escape, so you don't get that lovely pressure cooker effect but you do get the evening out of the heat. My favorite way to do it is to cover the dish with microwavable plastic wrap making sure that it doesn't touch the food.
How do I stir my dish while it's cooking?
If you need to stir your dish while it's cooking, it's best to make a dish that doesn't need to be covered, then you simply turn the oven off, or stopping the cooking time. Stick your wooden spoon in there, stir, and continue. If you need to do it, and it has plastic wrap on top, then make a slit in the plastic wrap, stick the spoon through the slit, stir, and then take another piece of plastic wrap and use it like a patch on the knees of small boy's pants, and that will give you your seal back. If you're using a lid, open it carefully and open it away from you because you don't want a face full of steam.
Can a recipe for microwave cooking be multiplied?
Multiplying a microwave cooking recipe, ie; for more people. Is not a lot of fun. And it's not easy. It doesn't go times two, times three, times four. It's odd. And every time I made a different size dish, or a different portion. I had to test and retest, and retest, till I got it right. And I think it is rigid, there's no doubt about it. But that's one of the reasons people like my book, is that they know if they follow it, they'll get a good result.