My first airfryer was a gift from my sister because she does not know how to make full use of it. My son was the first one who experimented cooking with it and I got hooked. When he moved out, I gave him that unit and got him to buy me a unit in larger capacity since I am cooking for three in the family.
Many people think that an airfryer is just a gimmick. I can only say that they are just not playful enough to create interesting fusion of Asian or Western dishes with it. I use my airfryer to:
-thaw and cook frozen food and ready to eat meals. -reheat food and continue to keep it warm by leaving it inside. -deep fry frozen food without oil. -toast my bread, pancakes, pizzas and wraps. -melt my butter. -make my deep fried food crispy again. -roast. -bake. -grill.
Any dishes you can cook in an oven can be cooked in your airfryer and in a shorter time too, even though you have not preheated it. It is more economical to use an airfryer, especially if, you have a smaller portion to bake. This video gives you a general idea how you can use the airfryer to cook which is possibly why you think cooking with it is such a hassle.
However, you may reconsider using an airfryer if you use the tips I shared below:
Try to avoid cooking food directly in its basket by using a metal container.
From the video you can see that the ingredients are placed on the basket to be cooked. I don't do that. I have many round stainless steel food containers with lids like these.
They are handy for storing food in the refrigerator and for steaming food over a pot of soup or in my airfryer. Most of my meat are marinated ahead and stored in such round metal containers. When it is time to cook, I just remove its cover and place the container on the basket to airfry. Once the meat has thawed enough, I separate them to cook further. By doing that I save the time and hassle of cleaning up a my heated airfryer to cook the next dish,
Spread oil in your metal container.
If I am cooking room temperature raw ingredients like meat or fish, I will spread garlic oil in the container before I place the food inside it to cook. The oil will prevent the ingredients from sticking to the container which will make it easier for me to turn them over to cook further.
To avoid burning raw minced garlic, use garlic oil instead.
I prefer my greens with sauce, so, I will not consider cooking them in an airfryer. Also, instead of adding minced garlic in to airfry, consider using garlic oil. You make it by deep frying minced garlic in a pot of oil. When it is time to cook, just place the ingredient in a metal container and spread 1-2 tablespoon of garlic oil over it before airfrying.
Use a piece of bread to catch oil drips.
It will be easier for you to clean your airfryer if you place a piece of bread below the basket to catch oil dripping out of food like bacon or fried chicken you are airfrying.
Don't wash the airfryer to cook the next dish.
You can use a piece of kitchen towel to wipe down and remove any bits of food still sticking to the basket. That will also help maintain the heat of the airfryer to cook the next dish.
You can easily find recipes for dishes that you can cook in your airfryer. Webspoon World shared 7 such recipes that have gone viral on TikTok that should interest you to try making.
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