Obviously great for heating up leftovers, frozen meals, etc, but it generally gets a bad rap in the culinary world. However, I’ve noticed more chefs using the microwave when cooking - David Chang is a big fan of them. Many use them to help with prep.
As a home cook, I find that it saves time. I will often pre-cook veggies in microwave before putting them in a pan with oil. This works really well with Brussels sprouts. I’ve also microwaved a whole head of cauliflower before drizzling it with oil and spices and blasting it in a hot oven to get color on the exterior. Potatoes are also great in the microwave.
Do any of you use the microwave when cooking?
Edit: I forgot to mention one of my favorite uses for the microwave in cooking - for frying shallots and garlic!
https://www.seriouseats.com/fry-garlic-shallots-in-microwave
You already mentioned them but potatoes are damn decent if you don’t want to take 40+ minutes to oven bake one. Also I find it hard to balance crisping the outside while not turning the inside to mush in an oven. Microwaved potato skin doesn’t crisp but it stays soft and very easy to cut through.
I’m also guilty of using it to defrost meat when I forget to thaw it overnight.
Mmmm microwave potatoes yes. Haven’t had one in ages. So good with butter
Yes, it’s way faster than the oven! If you have an air fryer, you can put a bit of oil on the potatoes after microwaving them and pop them in the air fryer at a high temp til crisp.
Something I like to do sometimes is to microwave the potatoes, break them apart into chunks, spritz with oil, season, and air fry to brown them and get them crispy.