Editor’s note: The theme of Gohan Lab is to help people make simple, tasty “gohan” (meals).

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The microwave oven is good at speed cooking since the electromagnetic heats the food directly.

This was how we introduced this feature of the microwave oven in a Gohan Lab article on warm vegetable salad that ran in July 2019. This time, we will draw upon this forte and also look for ways to overcome its weaknesses.

A shortcoming of the microwave oven is the tendency for the food to be heated unevenly, creating places that are heated too much or too little. According to Hidemi Sato, who oversaw the cooking science aspect of this week’s recipe, especially when a lot of food is heated at the same time, unevenness in heating tends to occur since the absorption of the microwave differs by ingredients (see illustration).

In this week’s recipe, pork is mixed with grated apple beforehand and the gaps are further filled with onion and diced apples. When the ingredients are mixed in advance, heat is transferred quickly to the adjacent ingredient even if the progress of heating differs by ingredients and the food can be heated evenly.

“Although it becomes harder for this to work when the amount increases, it is a convenient way to cook small portions without a fuss,” said Akiko Watanabe, who oversaw the cooking aspect of the recipe.

Q&A: TO COVER WITH KITCHEN WRAP OR NOT

Ingredients heated in a microwave oven tend to become dry as the water content evaporates. If you want the ingredient to turn out somewhat crisp, it can be cooked as is, but covering with kitchen wrap is a must if you want to retain the moisture.

In this week’s recipe, white wine is added as moisture content before the ingredients are covered with plastic wrap.

“It may make sense to cover with plastic wrap the dishes that you would place a lid on when cooking on the stove and not to cover those cooked without a lid,” advises Sato, who oversaw the cooking science aspect of the recipe.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

(Supervised by Akiko Watanabe in the cooking aspect and Hidemi Sato in the cookery science aspect)

* Ingredients (Serve two)

2 slices (total of 200 grams) pork loin (labeled “for tonkatsu”), 1/2 tsp salt, bit of pepper, 50 grams onion, 1/2 apple, 1 Tbsp white wine, 10 grams butter, bit of coarsely grated black pepper

About 345 kcal and 1.7 grams salt per portion

1. Finely slice onion at right angles to fiber. Peel apple and remove core. Grate half and cut other half into dices 2 cm on a side. Cut pork into pieces 3 cm on a side (PHOTO A)

2. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper, mix with grated apple and leave for 5 minutes.

3. Spread pork and grated apple on microwavable dish and fill gaps with diced apple. Dot onion with bits of butter and mix (PHOTO B) and fill gaps.

4. Sprinkle with white wine, cover with plastic wrap and microwave at 600W for 10 minutes (PHOTO C). Remove plastic wrap and sprinkle with coarsely grated black pepper. Sourness and sweetness of the apple will set off the pork and turn it moist and tender.

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Akiko Watanabe is a cooking expert specializing in Japanese cuisine.

Hidemi Sato is a visiting professor at Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University.

ARRANGED VERSION

Cinnamon-flavored mochi

The microwave oven is also good at steaming. The base of Japanese confectionery can be made readily. Mix 2 Tbsp “shiratamako” powder with 25 ml of water thoroughly in a deep bowl. Add another 25 ml of water and mix. Combine 30 grams of “joshinko” powder with 30 grams sugar and add mixture to bowl and blend. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 50 seconds. Remove from oven and mix with spatula to even out the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap again and heat for 50 to 60 seconds. Mix 1 Tbsp “kinako” (roasted soybean flour), 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon powder and spread out on parchment paper. Place mochi on top and flatten thinly with a rolling pin. Cut into 12 equal parts that are about 6 cm on a side and fold each in half.

COOKERY SCIENCE

The uneven finish of frozen food when microwaved is due to the big difference in the absorption of the microwave between water and ice. While the part that has turned into water heats quickly, the temperature of the frozen part does not rise as quickly. The “defrost” setting of the microwave oven heats the food slowly at low power and keeps the state of the entire food even.

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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Gohan Lab column