MICROWAVE COOKING TIPS
1. Arranging food:
• Place thicker areas toward outside of dish and the thinner parts in the centre and spread
them out evenly. Do not overlap if possible.
2. Cooking time:
• Start cooking with the shorter period of time and extend it according to the actual need.
Over-cooking may result in smoking and burning.
3. Cover foods before cooking. Refer to the recipe.
• Use paper towels, microwave plastic wrap or a cover to cover food to prevent spattering
and help food to cook evenly. (This also helps to keep the oven clean).
4. Partial shielding of food:
• Use small, smooth pieces of aluminium foil to partially cover thin areas of meat or poultry
in order to avoid over-cooking. Arcing can occur if foil is too close to the oven walls. The
foil should be at least 2,5cm away from the oven walls.
5. Stirring food:
• Stir from the outside to the centre of the dish once or twice during cooking.
6. Turning food:
• Food such as chicken, hamburgers or steaks should be turned over once during cooking.
7. Rearranging food:
• Change the position of the food half-way through the cooking process i.e. from top to
bottom and from the centre of the dish to the outside.
8. Allow standing time:
• After cooking, ensure adequate standing time. Remove food from oven and stir if possible.
Cover for standing time which allows the food to finish cooking without over-cooking.
9. Check that food is thoroughly cooked:
• Observe the food colour and tenderness to determine whether the food is cooked. Signs
include:
• Steam throughout food, not just at the edges.
• Joints of poultry move easily.
• Pork and poultry show no evidence of blood.
• Fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
10. Condensation:
• Condensation is normal with microwave cooking. The humidity and moisture of food will
influence the amount of moisture in the oven. Generally, covered foods will not cause as
much condensation as uncovered foods. Ensure that the ventilation openings are not
blocked.
11. Microwave-safe plastic wrap:
• For cooking food with high fat content, do not bring the wrap in contact with the food as it
may melt.
12. Microwave-safe plastic cookware:
• Some microwave-safe plastic cookware is not suitable for cooking food with high fat and
sugar content.
