# Cooking with a microwave **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 30, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865 "2024-01-30T13:44:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/41 "2024-01-30T19:53:03Z")
For future reference, I just looked and you can get a microwave on clearance at this moment for $23.99 at Best Buy. Maybe worth it for three weeks of use. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/42 "2024-01-30T19:57:51Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I cooked eggs exclusively in the microwave until I was in my 20s or so. It’s how my mom taught me to do it. We would use a Corningware cereal/soup bowl, spray with Pam, crack in 2 eggs, add milk or water, scramble, cover with wax paper and go. Come to think of it, it’s been too long now and I don’t remember if I started/stopped the cooking but that sounds kind of familiar. I don’t think they took longer than a minute total. > > Perhaps adding some cooking spray to your vessel would stop the souffle-ness? > > I like this method for making perfectly round eggs to place on a lovely bagel sandwich . Making little round scrambled egg ‘patties’ is what some of our local coffee shops do. Open a bagel or English muffin, throw on an egg ‘patty’ and cheese, call it a day. Yes, I spray the inside of the bowl before making scrambled eggs in the microwave. If left unwatched and unstirred, they’ll still puff right up nice and tall. My technique differs from the one you learned – three eggs cooked with less than full power. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/43 "2024-01-30T20:13:21Z")
These two short videos show different techniques for cooking scrambled eggs in the microwave. I do notice that both of these videos (and some other ones I viewed) show the microwaves at (apparent) full power, which differs from how I do it. The first one is close to my method, except he’s using full power. Also, the cook didn’t add any liquid to the eggs – and he chopped up the eggs into little pieces at the end with his whisk. But up until that point, this is more or less my method. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ir_kK8vq48w/maxresdefault.jpg "HOW TO MAKE SCRAMBLED EGGS IN A MICROWAVE") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir_kK8vq48w) The second video shows what I think is essentially @Thudlow_Boink 's method as described in post #24 above. Again, microwave on full power: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iCb8AJ6uNhY/maxresdefault.jpg "Recipe: one minute microwave scrambled eggs") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCb8AJ6uNhY) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/44 "2024-01-30T20:22:14Z")
Microwaves can also make decent poached eggs. I once had a microwave egg poacher for that purpose, which had six little bowl-shaped compartments and a cover, but I seem to have misplaced it. **[Here](https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/microwave_poached_eggs/)** are some suggestions for egg poaching without any special gadgetry (haven’t tried it myself). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/45 "2024-01-30T20:25:31Z")
This thing that I have recommended many times for hard boiled eggs also makes flawless poached eggs [https://www.amazon.com/Dash-Rapid-Egg-Cooker-Scrambled/dp/B00DDXWFY0/ref=sr\_1\_3?crid=1CWGFFCDTITXQ](https://www.amazon.com/Dash-Rapid-Egg-Cooker-Scrambled/dp/B00DDXWFY0/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1CWGFFCDTITXQ) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/46 "2024-01-30T23:42:00Z")
In addition to reheating, I use the microwave at home for steaming potatoes or other vegetables, making garlic butter, draining tofu, cooking small amounts of rice. At work, I make breakfast every day in the microwave - poached eggs, omelets, cooked oatmeal (not instant). ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/47 "2024-01-31T00:08:12Z")
They make a product for “baking” potatoes. It is a pocket, large enough to hold 2 or 3 small potatoes or 1 large potato, made of fabric quilted like an oven mitt. I think it traps steam, and keeps the outside from drying out, while the inside is still heating up. The key is to let it sit for a couple of minutes, and let the steam finish cooking it, after the microwaving is done. I will beat a couple of eggs with a lot of water, add diced ham and onions, cover the dish, and cook it for several minutes on half power. It’s not as good as a real frittata, but I can hit the Start button and go do other stuff, confident that there won’t be a disaster waiting for me when I come back to it. (And only one dish to wash!) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/48 "2024-01-31T00:18:14Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > They make a product for “baking” potatoes. It is a pocket, large enough to hold 2 or 3 small potatoes or 1 large potato, made of fabric quilted like an oven mitt. I think it traps steam, and keeps the outside from drying out, while the inside is still heating up. I actually like baked potatoes to be a little crispy on the outside. My usual method if I need them fairly fast is to cook them in the microwave for about 3/4 of the required time, and then finish them in the oven. Now that I have an air fryer I’ll probably finish them in there, but I haven’t tried that yet. As I mentioned elsewhere, air fryers – although a completely different beast from a microwave and in many ways pretty much the exact opposite – should be regarded in the same way in the sense of being very good for some things but not so much for others. I’ve learned that microwave ovens, conventional ovens, and air fryers all have their place, and beyond the obvious cases, in marginal cases only experience will tell you which one is best. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/49 "2024-01-31T04:53:28Z")
there’s even a plastic container for that ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/50 "2024-01-31T05:50:45Z")
The main thing I cook in a microwave that most people wouldn’t is pasta, usually macaroni. One time I just figured out how much time and how much liquid it would take to get soft noodles with no leftover liquid. It also used to be my primary way to cook rice, and I still occasionally use it for that instead of my pressure cooker. That idea came because non-instant flavored rice I bought had microwave directions. It was finding out I could cook rice in the microwave that led me to try noodles, in fact. However, while the noodles come out basically the same, the rice is slightly different. I heat up my turkey bacon in the microwave, because I just find it tastes better and isn’t any less crisp, unlike with regular bacon. I also heat canned veggies that way, since there is no difference. Basically anything that you can boil to cook, you can replace with the microwave, except eggs since they’ll explode. Though I have hard poached them in the microwave before. Finally, while this isn’t fully cooking, I will thaw meat in the microwave. What’s so weird about that? I don’t use the defrost setting, and let it cook the outside partly. I can handle one or two servings in 2.5 minutes, which is just incredibly convenient. It started because I forgot to thaw some fish ahead of time, and it works with tilapia, salmon, and chicken breast so far. (I do keep the fish in their plastic pouches, with one part cut open.) ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/51 "2024-01-31T06:31:22Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > In addition to reheating, I use the microwave at home for steaming potatoes or other vegetables, making garlic butter, **draining tofu** , cooking small amounts of rice. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. Our old microwave started shutting off unpredictably right before Christmas, so we bought a new one, and it turns out this one has a “soften/melt” setting. I used it to soften butter for several batches of cookies, and it works a treat! ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/52 "2024-01-31T12:57:52Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > apart from browning meat How does one “brown” meat in a microwave cooker? ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/53 "2024-01-31T13:15:09Z")
Like this: [How To Cook Ground Beef In Microwave- (In 6 Easy Steps) (microwavegeek.com)](https://microwavegeek.com/how-to-cook-ground-beef-in-microwave/) ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/54 "2024-01-31T14:06:39Z")
I guess that your definition of brown is different to mine. Talking about minced beef specifically, I would brown it in a pan - effectively caramelising parts of it. To me, browning is not simply changing it from raw pink to cooked. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/55 "2024-01-31T14:20:18Z")
The picture of the meat towards the bottom looks browned to me. I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible if the meat sits in its own hot fat. It should brown. Bacon definitely browns when I’ve made it in the microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/56 "2024-01-31T14:54:19Z")
Yeah, no one is advocating a microwave be used as one’s go-to for browning ground meat. It has the advantage of being able to defrost meat and cook it quickly, but haute cuisine it ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/57 "2024-01-31T15:20:58Z")
As I read, I see that I’ve forgotten some things I use the microwave for. I will never go back to boiling corn on the cob on top of the stove. Five minutes in the microwave…done. I haven’t “baked” a potato in years. I put oil, kosher salt, and pepper in a zip-loc, put the potato in and roll it around until its covered in oil, etc., take it out and put it on a plate in the microwave for about 7 minutes - deeeelicious. (Always prick holes in the potato) I have some soup mugs that are low and wide. They’re great for making eggs that I put on toast for a sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/58 "2024-01-31T16:53:53Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Microwaves can also make decent poached eggs. I once had a microwave egg poacher for that purpose, which had six little bowl-shaped compartments and a cover, but I seem to have misplaced it. **[Here](https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/microwave_poached_eggs/)** are some suggestions for egg poaching without any special gadgetry (haven’t tried it myself). A microwave egg poacher is a useless bit of single-task kitchen clutter. Try this for _soft boiled_ eggs which are similar but not quite the same. (I mislabeled the recipe as “poached” in that post and don’t want to misquote myself 🤪 ): > [@(OLD) The Dessert MMP!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-the-dessert-mmp/983106/8): > > Quickly Poached No-Fuss Egg(s): > > - Start with an individual ramekin or Pyrex bowl big enough to comfortably hold the cracked egg(s). I have some hemispherical dessert bowls ideal for this, but almost anything that size will do. > - Put ~1/2" of water in the bowl. A little less is better than a little more. > - Microwave the bowl+water on full power for 30 seconds to get the water good and hot. In the dead of polar winter you might need 45 seconds. No need to boil the water, just get it close. > - Carefully crack your egg(s) into the bowl of very hot water. A broken yolk means a disgusting but still nutritionally adequate result. > - Pierce each yolk with a toothpick, knifepoint, etc. CAUTION: Skipping this step results in needing to wash out your microwave. > - Microwave on 50% power for 50 seconds for 1 large egg, up to maybe 110 seconds for 2 jumbos. You’ll have to experiment with times versus your own microwave, size & number of eggs, etc. No need to cover the bowl with anything. CAUTION: Skipping the “50% power” part results in needing to wash out your microwave. > - Use a slotted spoon to carefully get under the cooked egg(s), then tip the bowl into the sink to drain as much of the liquid as you easily can. The bowl will be very warm to the touch, but not too hot to comfortably handle. No awkward mitts are needed. You’ll lose a bit of runny white in the water if the eggs are less-done. So be it. Rinse the slotted spoon and set it aside to dry. > - Eat the egg(s) with whatever toppings you enjoy. The bowl & spoon are the only utensils needing to be washed afterwards. > > My standard breakfast is one such egg, some dairy like cottage cheese or non-sweet yogurt, some fruit like berries or a tangerine / mandarin, and a small slice of low-carb bread with a thick smear of PB. Sometimes I skip the bread in favor of more fruit, but still eat the PB. > > During the ~2 minutes total that the microwave is running I can get out the bread & drop a slice into the toaster to warm, get out the PB, fruit, and dairy, and pull out the slotted & regular spoon. Plus a paper napkin to serve as a plate & placemat for it all. Before the spoon gets eggy, eat your serving of dairy out of the container, then spoon out a lump of PB onto the toast & spread it a bit with the back of the spoon. Then eat the egg, fruit, and toast together in whatever order. > > When you’re done, close up the napkin full of bread crumbs, dripped whatever, and perhaps fruit peel. Into the trash it goes after a quick face-wipe. Rinse the egg bowl & spoon & into the dishwasher they go. Done. > > With practice, you can put the whole thing on the table in 4 minutes flat. The key is to do all the non-egg prep work while the microwave is running. If the eggs sit 20 or 30 seconds in the cooking water before draining while you’re busy with other prep, they’ll continue to firm up a bit, but not too badly. This meal definitely takes longer to eat than it does to make. Clean-up is all but instant too. You’re welcome. And that is the one and only thing I cook (not heat/reheat) in a microwave. I used to do baked potatoes in there, but since finding a far superior oven method the nuked ones are too sucky to bother eating. For the folks who swear by microwaved corn on the cob, you might try steaming your corn rather than boiling (ugh!). I have a tall narrow asparagus pot which also works great for corn. Shuck the corn, trim the stalk end close, then put up to 4 ears of corn stalk-end down in the basket in the pot in about 3/4" of water. Put on the stove, set the burner to high, and 10 minutes later the corn is cooked to perfection and not soggy. Do not forget them on the stove; the pot will boil dry at about 15 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/59 "2024-01-31T17:32:02Z")
I grill corn on the cob. Pull down the leaves, remove the silk, put butter and seasoning on the cob, pull the leaves back up, wrap in foil, toss on the grill. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865/60 "2024-01-31T17:53:55Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > **draining tofu** , > [@InternetLegend](#): > > Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. See [The Quickest Way To Drain Moisture From Tofu](https://www.tastingtable.com/1191330/the-quickest-way-to-drain-moisture-from-tofu/) . I set the tofu in a bowl with the tofu resting on some old used plastic lids to raise it up off the bottom. I set another bowl on top of the tofu to weight it down. Then nuke for a minute or two and repeat until it’s drained enough for me. It’s amazing how much liquid comes out, even from extra-firm tofu. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-a-microwave/996865.md?page=4)