In the current Cafe Society thread about doing things the old-fashioned way, kunilou talks about making rice in the microwave. I’d like to know how to do that, too, so I invite you, kunilou, to tell us how.
Here’s my time-saving microwave recipe: I cook short pasta in it. For one generous serving, put one-half cup of bow-tie pasta in a big pyrex glass cup, add 1.5 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Microwave on high for 14 minutes. Drain out the water, and dress it right in the pyrex cup with butter or garlic-y cream and add some parmesan and cracked pepper. Voila, the carb course for the husband (since I’m avoiding carbs) without getting a big pot and colander dirty.
I invite anybody who has some good time-saving microwave tips to post them here.
Other than reheating stuff, I mainly use the microwave for steaming vegetables. Much easier than dirtying a bunch of pots.
Sometimes I’ll cook a scrambled egg in the microwave if I’m in a hurry and don’t want to bother with a frying pan.
Get a small dish (I use a mini food prep bowl that probably holds about 1/3 cup - kind of like these) and spray the inside with cooking spray (e.g. Pam). Break an egg into the bowl and scramble with a fork. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and then microwave more in about 15 second increments, stirring briefly each time, until cooked. (It’s easy to overcook if you just put it in for a longer time and you don’t stop it when needed).
The egg comes out of the bowl formed in a little patty shape that works well on bagels or english muffins, or in a breakfast burrito.
I don’t have a family recipe or secret. The following directions were included with the microwavable rice steamer I got at Wal-Mart.
Rinse the rice to get all the gunk off it. I generally rinse three times. Rice Purists like to rinse until the rinse water is clear.
Drain as much of the rinse water as possible from the rice, then add the prescribed amount of water. This is not an even ratio! Generally you want approximately 1/2 -3/4 inches of water higher than the rice. Some people fill the steamer with water one knuckle higher, some use two fingers, etc. If you’re making a whole lot of rice, you may want to increase to an inch higher.
If you have a full-power (1,000 watt) microwave, reduce power to 65-70%. If you have a compact (650 watt) model, use full power.
Microwave approximately 11-12 minutes for one cup of white rice, and add approximately 2 minutes for each additional cup.
If you’re using a covered dish instead of a steamer, be sure to leave a vent.
Let stand for at least five minutes to allow the rice to soak up the rest of the water. The rice should double in volume (one cup of uncooked rice should make two cups of cooked rice.)
You’ll probably have to adjust both water and cooking time depending on conditions.
This is for long grain white rice only. Brown rice takes longer. Medium grain rice tends to get mushy. According to my wife, Minute Rice is not rice and she won’t let it in the house.
Rice is cheap. Don’t worry if you ruin a few batches. If it’s too dry, try a little more water. If it’s too wet, decrease the water and/or increase the cooking time. If it’s dry and crunchy, add water. If it’s wet and crunchy, increase the cooking and steaming time.
Or, do like my wife does, skip the microwave and get an automatic rice cooker.
According to a post on Trashy Eats (a LiveJournal community) you can mix some cake mix and water and microwave it in a small dish for mini-cakes. This would be great for portion control, or to avoid food waste- you can reseal the box of mix and use the rest later, but cake is harder to keep fresh long enough unless you’re feeding it to a large group. It’s also a lot cheaper than buying those “mini delights” microwavable things.
I haven’t tried it yet, but the comments are all positive.
We don’t really eat potatoes much anymore, but when we did, I’d poke the potatoes with a fork and put them in the microwave for 10 or 15 minutes to get them to just about cooked, then I’d finish them on the grill or in the oven. And I also use it to steam veggies.
Damn straight.
Mama Plant, may her memory be blessed, fed me that when I was a sprout. Along with Tuna Casserole Lined With Soggy Potato Chips and Spaghetti made with tomato soup instead of paste. Yes, she added the can of water. It’s a wonder I’m alive to post.
If you can cook it in a EZ Bake oven, you can cook it in a microwave.
Actually my microwave came with a recipe that turned out OK for brownies. Betty Crocker has microwave deserts like brownies and cake mixes.
After making the macaroni you can make the sauce for macaroni and cheese. Put about equal amounts of american cheese and milk in a bowl. Microwave it until all the cheese is melted. Stir it a couple times as it starts melting. Dump in the drained macaroni when the sauce is ready. You have two dirty bowls only.
Use it to make cooked jello pudding. I will come out perfect.
My big thing with microwaves is using the Power setting properly: turn it down! This allows the generated heat to penetrate food, and you don’t end up with dry, dessicated food on the outside, and just warm on the inside.
If you get a prepared microwave meal (for example) with instructions that tell you to cook for 3 1/2 minutes, try instead cookiing it for 5-6 minutes on Power 6 (of 10). And do let it sit for that recommended minute at the end. That Stouffer’s Mac & Cheese (or whatever) will be heated evenly, instead of burnt on the outside and cool in the middle. And if you turn down the Power, you mostly don’t need to stir your meal (or at least it’s not as crucial to do so), especially if you have a spinning plate in the microwave (and every microwave seems to have one now).
Also: use the power cycles if you have them! For that 3 1/2 minute meal, try this:
Power 6 for 4 minutes
Power 0 for 2 minutes <-- the heat from step one slowly penetrates
Power 10 for 30 seconds <-- melt the outside a bit, so its steamy good
And it often comes out perfect. Yes, your mileage will vary – only you know your microwave’s ‘real’ power and idiosyncrasies. Experiment!
ETA: this approach is especially recommended for leftovers. That lovely leftover marinaded perfect porkchop from last night will turn to leather on Power 10. Use Power 4 sparingly for a while, and its just right and tough and rubbery.
I had forgotten, when I started this thread, about a trick I recently saw on America’s Test Kitchen: Halve or quarter some new potatoes, toss them in a glass bowl with a bit of oil or melted butter, and microwave them for a minute or two, or until they’re about 3/4 cooked. Then dump them into a hot skillet to finish their cooking and to give them a brown crust. I tried it last night as a side dish to pork chops, and it cuts the potato cooking time down tremendously. They were very good, too.
Jello[sup]TM[/sup] is a brand name. They make a sweet gelatin dessert (aka jelly to Brits and I guess Aussies). They also make a milk pudding dessert, which has both “no cooking needed” and “needs to be cooked” types. The latter is what’s being microwaved.
