A microwave oven is a commonly used appliance in our lives. It cooks food quickly, doesn't produce smoke or fumes, and leaves the kitchen clean and tidy after use. Here are a few tips for using a microwave oven.
Tip 1:
Food should be arranged evenly, not piled up, so that it can be heated uniformly. Small pieces of food cook faster than large ones, so it's best to cut food into pieces smaller than 5 cm. The more regular the shape of the food, the more evenly it will be heated by microwaves. Generally, food should be cut into appropriately sized, uniformly shaped slices or pieces.
Tip 2:
If food has a hard skin or peel, it must be removed before cooking.
Tip 3:
A microwave oven doesn't easily brown the surface of food. You can apply seasonings to the surface of the food before cooking to give it a browned color.
Tip 4:
Food heated in a microwave oven can become extremely hot and easily lose moisture. It's best to cover it with heat-resistant plastic wrap or a heat-resistant glass lid to retain moisture. Areas like chicken wing tips, chicken breasts, fish heads and tails, or the corners of cakes tend to overcook. Wrapping these parts with aluminum foil can help them cook more evenly.
Tip 5:
At the end of the heating cycle, letting the food stand for a while or adding some seasonings (such as pouring emulsified oil or sauce over cooked poultry and then sprinkling with chili powder, breadcrumbs, etc.) can achieve a satisfying result that microwave heating alone cannot.
Tip 6:
The higher the initial temperature of the food, the shorter the cooking time. Heating times are shorter in the summer than in the winter. Dense, thick foods take longer to cook than porous, light ones. Foods with high water content generally absorb more microwaves and therefore have shorter cooking times than foods with low water content.
Tip 7:
When cooking in a microwave oven, it's better to undercook than to overcook. Re-cooking in the microwave will not affect the color, aroma, or taste of the dish.
Tip 8:
When cooking in a microwave oven, you should try to reduce the amount of salt used. This can prevent the outside of the food from being cooked while the inside remains raw.