These days this handy kitchen appliance not only heats up food but also grills, sears and browns
With today’s technology the microwave oven does more than just heat up food, thaw frozen meat and steam cold rice. You can create many of your favourite dishes in a microwave oven. Even fried chicken. Look out for microwave ovens with ‘Crunch Mode’ or ‘Crispy Grill’ functions. These actually brown meat and other ingredients that have crispy, browned texture. You can have fried chicken or grilled fish fillets without the mess of deep frying.
Microwave grill technology works when the grill plate or rack provided with the oven interacts when the ‘Crispy Grill’ function is turned on. Instead of penetrating the plate, the microwaves heat the surface of the plate to a temperature hot enough to sear meat, grill a sandwich and brown bacon. Gone are rubbery meat and soggy crusts which regular microwaving often produces.
Taking it a step further into grill land, many grill microwaves can also be converted to convection ovens with the touch of a button, such as Teka’s microwave grill ovens. Since convection ovens cook and brown food through surrounding it with moving air, the microwaved food gets even crispier than when cooked in grill microwaves. Imagine creating party potato chips or nachos for dips.
Depending on your microwave oven brand that has grill mode, here are a few dishes you can create: grilled sausages and potato wedges, blueberry tart, honey glazed roast chicken, tom yam soup noodles, prawn and pineapple skewers, and eggs benedict.
Recipes
Eggs Benedict
Serves 2
2 slices bacon
1⁄4 teaspoon white vinegar
2⁄3 cup water
2 eggs
Salt to taste
1 English muffin, split and toasted
1⁄2 cup hollandaise sauce
Place bacon slices on the provided microwave-safe plate lined with paper towel. Cover bacon with paper towels and place in your Convection Microwave Oven with Grill and microwave on high for 2-minute intervals until bacon is slightly crisped. Take out and set aside.
Place half of the vinegar and water into each of two 6-oz custard cups. Break an egg into each cup and gently prick the yolks with a toothpick. Place cups in oven and microwave for 1 minute on high or until desired doneness. Set aside.
Place split English muffin on grill rack in the upper rack position and select the first Grill Combination and grill for 5 minutes. Place bacon on each muffin and grill for an additional minute. Remove muffin and top each with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. Serve immediately.
Paper Wrapped Thai Salmon with Asparagus
Serves 2
2 x 250g salmon fillets
4 asparagus
1 kaffir lime leaf, finely chopped
Pinch lemongrass, finely chopped
Pinch chilli powder
Pinch sugar
1 lime, thinly sliced
Dash of fish sauce
Salt to taste
Splash of water or white wine
2 tablespoons oil
Combine the oil, lime leaf, lemongrass, chilli powder, sugar and fish sauce and mix well. Pour this over the salmon fillets and marinade for 20 mins.
In microwave foil place the asparagus at the bottom, followed by the marinated salmon, and lime slices, sprinkle with salt. Drizzle in the water or wine, seal the foil and on rack. Select the required microwave oven mode. The cooking may take about 5 minutes. Alternatively, select conventional oven mode and bake for 15 minutes, open top of foil and bake another 5 minutes to brown the salmon skin.