Making the Sauces

I mentioned earlier that you need to buy the gravy sauces or prepare them traditionally before adding to the cooked fish, seafood, chicken or meat in the microwave oven.Meat or poultry will have to be marinated well and placed in the fridge at least one hour, better overnight, before they are cooked in the microwave so that they taste good.

So Zaty has to come home to make her sauces.Better still, I will prepare them earlier, freeze them in small microwave containers and she can bring them back to her apartment when she comes home for the weekend. But poor Ikmal,being a few thousand kilometers away, cannot come home for his supplies.He will have to prepare them himself the normal traditional way and freeze them for the times when he is too tired or has no time to cook as exams are coming.

I normally cook extra during the days when I am free and freeze the leftovers in small microwave containers.Whenever I find that I don't have much time to cook,i.e upon returning home near mealtimes when everyone is hungry, I will take out the leftover gravies and thaw them in the microwave oven.If their are leftover fried fish, I will add them to the gravy.If not, fresh fish is used after thawing and frying them seasoned with salt and turmeric.Small fish do not need thawing in the microwave as they thaw pretty fast when placed while still wrapped in plastic into a bowl of water.

Meat and chicken cook faster after they are thawed in the microwave before being added to curries and other gravies.

Making the different sauces:
You may need to vary the amount of ingredients to your taste.

1. Black Pepper Sauce

Ingredients
1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp black pepper powder, 2 tbsp corn flour, 2 tbsp soya sauce. 350 ml water, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 Knorr Stock Cube ( optional).

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Mix black pepper,cornflour, soya sauce, water and salt and add to hot oil.Stir thoroughly so that gravy thickens well and if it is too thick add more water.

If cooking in a microwave you can put all the ingredients, blended first, together and cook for about two minutes before stirring and letting it stand.

2. Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil,2 tbsp chilli sauce, 2 tbsp tomato sauce, 1 tbsp soya sauce,1 tsp vinegar,1 tbsp cornflour mixed in some water,1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar if desirable.

Method of preparation is similar to the black pepper sauce, either traditionally or by microwave. The water should be added gradually so that the sauce is not watery but slightly thick but runny. Adding pieces of pineapple slices makes a tasty addition to the sweet and sour sauce.The sauce mixes well with fried fish, chicken or meat.

3. Plum Sauce

Ingredients and cooking method are similar as black pepper sauce but add dried Chinese plums and use light soya sauce instead of dark soya sauce.Makes a lovely sauce for steamed fish.You can microwave the fish in a little sauce separately before adding to the cooked sauce.
The garnishing will include cut ginger slices, cilantro,celery, carrots or any vegetable of your choice.You may place the garnishing together in the sauce just before end of cooking time.
For a more elaborate sauce for steamed fish, see my earlier posting in May.
4) Chilli Sauce

Ingredients:
1 onion, 10 cloves garlic,cooked in a little oil before adding 5 tbsp chilli paste. Cooked the chilli well before adding 1 tbsp cornflour, 1 tsp salt, all mixed in some water and 4 tbsp vinegar. Add 5 tbsp sugar.You can add mashed papaya or mashed mango instead of sugar for a delicious flavored chilli sauce.You may need to adjust the water volume to get a saucy consistency.Add water little by little, not simply pouring it in one go.This sauce can also be used as dips for crackers or fritters.

As curries need a different cooking method,it will need a separate posting.Asam Pedas and Sambal has been included in earlier posts.

Microwaved Scrambled Eggs

I looked up Amy Beh's recipes in kuali.com and came across only one microwave recipe as below:

Scrambled Eggs the Microwave Way

Ingredients
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp butter
Method
Beat eggs with milk and add in salt and pepper. Put butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt butter on high for 30 seconds.

Add beaten egg mixture to the melted butter and microwave on high for 1 minute 15 seconds.

Remove bowl and stir or whisk the set pieces of eggs from the sides of the bowl in towards the centre.

Cook on high for a further 1 minute 15 seconds to 1 minute 45 seconds, stirring or whisking twice.

When the eggs are three-quarters cooked, you can still see a significant amount of runny egg in the bowl but when the eggs are cooked, they will be moist but not completely set. Leave to stand for one to two minutes, then remove the scrambled eggs and serve immediately with toasted bread.

I know Zaty has been cooking eggs in the microwave at home without using any oil.In the beginning during our experiment, the eggs were overcooked. However,cooking for about 15 seconds will result in half cooked ones.It is not wise to cook eggs in its shell as it may explode.But by putting it in a bowl of water, it may not explode if you cook it only for less than a minute.

Safety when Using the Microwave Oven

When using a microwave oven to cook food, one has to make sure the food is cooked thoroughly to destroy any bacteria that may be present.
You can cook pasta, rice, potatoes, meats, fish, poultry, vegetables, and any pre-cooked meals. Fruits and vegetables are more nutritious because less water is used and the shorter cooking time reduce nutrient depletion.
Food cooked in the microwave has to be laid evenly in a covered dish and added with only a little liquid if needed. The dish is covered loosely with a lid or plastic wrap; so that there is an outlet to let steam escape. The moisture created from the heat will help destroy harmful bacteria and ensure even cooking.
Large cuts of meat are not cooked on high power (100%). They are be cooked on medium power (50%) for longer periods. This allows heat to reach the centre without overcooking the outside.
Food cooked should be about the same size. This helps to distribute the heat more evenly and cook them thoroughly.It is better to cook the meat separately and added to the sauce which have been cooked earlier.
Stir or rotate food midway through microwaving to eliminate cold spots where harmful bacteria can survive, and for more even cooking.
Meats, fish and poultry can be cooked in the microwave, but it is important to check that it has been cooked until the inside is no longer pink or bleeding. Foods keep cooking after the microwave is off, so allow standing time.

Uneven Heating

Unwanted microorganisms may thrive in the food if it is not cooked evenly.
Manufacturers use stirrer fans and turntables and recommend standing times to help alleviate the problem of uneven heating. Many microwavable meal packs carry the instruction to stir the food part way through the cooking process. Items such as lasagne that cannot be stirred should be allowed standing time to allow the whole product to reach a uniform temperature.

It is better to divide large portions into smaller portions for reheating than to heat a large amount for longer.
Care should be taken that frozen food has been completely thawed. Water absorbs microwaves far more easily than ice does; incomplete thawing will result in uneven cooking and the potential survival of undesirable microorganisms in those parts of the food, which have been insufficiently heated.

You have to make sure that frozen food are thoroughly thawed before cooking.You can thaw it fast, though,using the microwave.Microwave ovens' safety feature is that food can be taken from the freezer, thawed quickly, cooked and served without it spending long periods of time in the danger temperature zone between 4°C and 60°C, which provides favourable conditions for dangerous microorganisms to thrive.

Accidents with the Microwave Ovens

Microwave ovens are less likely to cause burns than are conventional ovens.
Burns have occurred from the steam emitted from microwaveable popcorn bags and similar closed packages and from the boiling portions of foods, which heat unevenly. An example of this is a jam-filled donut; the jam centre may exceed the boiling point of water while the donut itself is only warm. Frozen macaroni cheese is another example as the cheese reaches a high temperature more quickly and retains more heat than the macaroni.

When warming up milk,test the temperature before drinking.You would not want your tongue to be scalded with boiling milk.

Always use oven gloves to remove items from the microwave oven to avoid unexpected burns.

Containers and Films for Microwave Cooking

Only utensils designed for the purpose should be used in a microwave oven.

I prefer to use ceramic or porcelain as opposed to plastics because plastics may migrate to the food at high temperatures and may be dangerous to imbibe on a long term basis as it can be carcinogenic.
Only those plastic containers, which have been specifically designed for microwave cooking, should be used, and they should be discarded when the surface shows any signs of breaking down.
When plastic films are used in microwave ovens, it is preferable that they are not in direct contact with the food they cover. Meals to be reheated on a plate may be covered with clean white absorbent kitchen paper to prevent spatter.
Frozen food containers which have been designed to package frozen or chilled foods such as ice cream or margarine, should not be exposed to high temperatures in a microwave oven. The low melt temperatures of these plastics may result in migration of undesirable contaminants into the food or in physical disintegration of the containers themselves.

Container shape may also influence the way a food reacts to reheating. Circular or oval containers help prevent edges of the food burning because energy absorption occurs evenly around the edges. Square containers tend to encourage burning on the edges of a product.

Asam Pedas (Hot and Sour Curry) in the Microwave.

Mix and strain to obtain tamarind juice:
2 tablespoon size tamarind paste, add more tamarind juice if it is not sour to your taste.You may also add a piece of tamarind skin(asam keping)
500 ml water

500g small mackerel(ikan kembong),cleaned, gutted and seasoned with a little salt and steamed or microwaved for a few minutes.
4 ladies fingers
1 tomato, cut into wedges
2 stalks lemongrass
2 sprigs polygonum leaves(daun kesum)
1 tbsp oil

Spices(grounded and combined)
6 shallots
3 cloves garlic
6 chillies, deseeded
2 thick slices galangal(lengkuas)
1 thumb size shrimp paste(belacan)
3/4 tsp turmeric powder

Seasoning
salt
1 tsp ikan bilis stock granules

Garnishing
1 tbsp finely sliced wild ginger or torch ginger flower buds(bunga kantan)

Put tamarind juice and lemon grass in a ceramic bowl and bring to the boil in the microwave oven.The bowl should be large enough so that the liquid does not spill over.You can cover the bowl loosely with a plastic cover while cooking.Add polygonum leaves and ground ingredients and cook again for a few minutes.
Add ladies fingers and tomato and cook for while before adding the fish and 1 tbsp of oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the fish is soaked with the gravy.
Stir in the seasoning, dish out to serve with a sprinkling of wild ginger buds as garnishing.You can also cook the wild ginger buds in the gravy if you prefer.

Microwave Cooking

Zaty only has the microwave oven in her apartment.The hotplate is not plugged meaning the landlord does not want the girls to be cooking on their own.Cooking could be a fire hazard if one is not careful.Or the landlord does not encourage excessive use of electricity.

After three weeks eating out, Zaty and her housemates are planning to cook.They have to plan their weekly budget well now that their sponsor has issued their scholarship for 6 months.I reminded Zaty that that should last 6 months and not 4 months or earlier.Staying on her own is a good practice for Zaty before she does likewise in a foreign land unlike her brothers who lived in a catered college environment where they need not worry what or where to eat for their next meal.

To cook with the microwave oven is easy.One has to learn to estimate the cooking time. It is easier if the microwave oven comes with a manual.Too long cooking time will make meat tough or bread hard as the microwave acts on the water molecules and dries the food.

The shortcut for Zaty to make dishes to accompany rice is to buy the sauces at the hypermarkets near her apartment or come home and make them, freeze and microwave when needed.The sauces can be added to steamed or microwaved fish, chicken, squids, prawns or meat.

Cooking vegetables would be easy too if you add a little stock to the cut vegetables.
You can use Maggi or Knorr cubes for stock.

The sauces you can buy or prepare before hand are:

Black Pepper Sauce

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Plum Sauce

Sambal Sauce

Asam Pedas ( Hot and Sour Sauce)and

Curry

Below is a simple recipe using asam pedas sauce bought at the supermarket.

Ingredients:

1 packet asam pedas

2 or 3 small fish (Kembong, bawal or selar.I am not suggesting the more expensive fish because it may be out of a student's budget). (You can get the fish gutted at the supermarket now)Clean and slit the fish on each side and season with a little salt.

3 or 4 okra or ladies fingers, cut into 2

1 onion cut into 4

Place the okra and onion in a microwave bowl or dish.You can use a ceramic bowl instead of the plastic microwave as the plastic will absorb colour with repeated use.Add the ready-made sauce.Microwave for a few minutes till the okra is half-cooked.Add the fish and cook for a few more minutes till the fish is cooked.

(Different ovens will cook at different rates depending on whether it is cooked at high or low.I prefer cooking at low.)

You can use the same technique for curries and other sauces.