Frying in a microwave?
So I like to eat a cooked lunch, but my work break room only has a microwave - incapable of producing the Maillard reaction and only good for reheating decaying food into a disgusting, soggy pap.
I understand that oil doesn't warm up in a microwave because the electrons don't resonate at the right frequency, unlike water.
However... a mixture of water and oil would transfer the heat to the oil, right? So all I need do is mix together water and oil in a cup, microwave on full power till all the water is gone and the oil is at 100C, then add my stir fry ingredients.
Has anyone tried this? Will it work?
Best Answer
While creative, this sounds like an especially poor idea, fraught with disaster.
- If the water turns into vapor at 100 C, it certainly would not transfer all that heat to the surrounding oil before leaving as steam, so I'd think you would never reach your desired oil temperatures if your goal was 100 C. Plus, as pointed out, in another answer, your food would be in this cold soggy mixture of oil and water until it reached it's maximum possible temperature. And then, once the water is gone, the oil would immediately start losing that peak temperature as it heats the food and gives up it's own energy, with no way to replenish it, except maybe the container getting very, very hot.
- If it did heat the oil to a hot enough temperature, and the water wasn't instantly evaporated, which seems physically impossible..... well, what happens when even a droplet of water hits any amount of hot oil? That kind of volume of water and hot oil seems explosively dangerous. Plus, it would make an awful mess out of the microwave, potentially.
- If you can get the oil heated to 100 C..... then what? Even a "low" frying temperature is going to be well in excess of 150 C. At 100 C I'd imagine the result would be a soggy, greasy, inedible abomination, not much better than the decaying pap you are trying to avoid.
- You're going to deep fry in a microwave at work? Aside from the mess, is your breakroom really set up to manage the waste oil after you are done? This all seems to be somewhat inconsiderate to your co-workers. Wouldn't it be better to re-heat leftovers or made-for microwave meals instead of trying to cook raw foods?
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Quick Answer about "Frying in a microwave?"
Please do not fry oil in a microwave. It ruins the microwave. As a property manager, we see several microwaves a year that "leak" oil. This is from frying oil in the microwave.Can you fry things in a microwave?
Yes, you can stir-fry in the microwave oven. But no, don't treat the microwave oven like a wok. In a wok, food is seared by very hot oil and must be stirred constantly for even cooking. In a microwave oven, microwaves travel about 1 1/2 inches into food.How do you fry in the microwave without oil?
Yes, you read that right; you can use your microwave for much more than just reheating food items. Take a microwave-safe plate, place the fryums with some distance between them and pop it in for a few seconds. That's it, no oil, not even a drop and it will be ready in 30-60 secs depending on different textures.Can you fry fries in a microwave?
Place 3/4 cup of frozen fries in a single layer on a microwave crisper pan or microwave-safe plate lined with a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil or vegetable oil on the fries to give additional moisture and help the fries retain their crispiness. Microwave on high power for 2 minutes.Can I fry meat in microwave?
Meat can be cooked safely in a microwave oven, but it can cook unevenly and leave cold spots where harmful bacteria can survive. For this reason, it is important to cover the food, rotate or stir it once or twice during cooking, and make sure the meat reaches a safe internal temperature throughout.I FRIED CHICKEN IN THE MIRCROWAVE!
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Answer 2
It won't work. Water doesn't heat past 100C for one thing, which it too low for frying. Yes, if water boils it can impart a lot of energy due to the latent heat of boiling, but it's also going to want to vaporize, taking that energy with it. If you have the oil mixed with the water well then the oil comes with it and makes a huge mess.
Also, the water is your enemy when it comes to crispness. Imagine if you put water in the pan when you try to make a grilled cheese sandwich, the water is going to soak into the bread and make it nasty. You wouldn't get good results if you put water in the pan with bacon either.
Your best bet is to choose food that reheats well in a microwave, and there's plenty of that. Soups, stews, chili, pasta dishes, curries, most Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese leftovers. Anything that's been fried previously is a bad choice though, breaded chicken or french fries come out soggy.
There isn't much you can cook (as opposed to reheat) that well in the microwave, but there are opportunities. Potatoes bake in minutes, and you can supposedly cook bacon as well, although I've heard varying stories of success there.
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