Hello.
My microwave died in spectacular fashion today. It was the lifeblood of my kitchen. I’ve had it so long I’ve forgotten how to cook without one. And I can’t afford to buy a new one. I was going to post in eatcheapandhealthy but that place looks as dead as my microwave. I don’t know what I’m going to do.
Jamie Oliver often went on about cheap recipes… that required 30 ingredients and a bunch of equipment I don’t have. These are not helpful. I need recipes that are cheap to shop for, cheap on electricity usage, easy to prepare with limited equipment, and it would be a bonus if they are healthy and tasty. I know I’m being picky, but I don’t have much to work with.
I figured this would be the community to ask because to cook well, you need to know stuff that a bad cook wouldn’t know. I hope I can get a few useful ideas. Thanks.
If anyone is interested in stir frying correctly you should read The Wok which goes over the technique and recipes. The short summary is high heat and short time and make sure everything is prepared ahead of time.
I made a quick vegetable stir dry last week with broccoli, mushrooms and beans (the only three vegetables in the fridge). The entire thing was 10 minutes on the pan from frying the mushrooms for 1 minute before adding the broccoli and beans and cooking for 30 seconds. I added salt along the way and finished with cooking wine and soy sauce for a sauce for 1 minute. Everything then sat in the wok off the heat for 5 minutes while I cleaned and plated. The vegetables were cooked but still had a snap and it was delicious. When used correctly its the perfect pan for everything
Depending on the wok construction sometimes they work really poorly with electric stoves, getting super hot right at the bottom and not so much on the sides. Generally though they are quite versatile. One of my favorite tricks is using one to fry an egg to keep the yolk centered
Don’t anything nonstick. Pretty much ever. I got a nice carbon steel one for my birthday that I love. Our nonstick works okay on our electric stove but the carbon steel gives much better flavor.
Nonstick has two very specific use cases: Eggs and cheese. If you’re ever cooking either one of those, nonstick is often the best option. But for pretty much anything else, cast iron or carbon steel will be a better bet.