Nicker on 29/5/2025 at 03:53

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A Red Dead Reduction is crucial.



If it can reach an actual temperature above 400F, has a fast convection fan (2 speed) and a mesh basket, it will give you the same results as an air fryer, only on a slightly larger scale, depending on the size of the oven and the basket. It's probably not as efficient as an air fryer.

heywood on 30/5/2025 at 14:57

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I have a chimney starter that I use about once a year. I don't love steak like I used to, but my daughter does. So for her birthday meal, I use the chimney starter to make a blowtorch of sorts and sear the steaks one by one. Then I dump the charcoal in my kamado grill, set up for indirect, and let the steaks come up to temp slowly in low heat with some hardwood chunks thrown in for smoke. They finish at 130F. I've tried reverse searing several times and it does produce a slightly better crust, but the final doneness is a little more variable due to the carry-over, and at the end I've got a really hot fire going with nothing else to do with it.

I've always wanted to learn how to use a wok properly. I got an electric wok as a wedding present and that was garbage. Then I got a cast iron wok with flat bottom, and it cooked like a cast iron skillet. Over time I gravitated back to using my 12" Lodge skillet, which is what I use now. I love the idea of using a carbon steel wok, but I have an electric stove and without better heat control I'm not sure I'd get the best out of it.

Nicker on 31/5/2025 at 02:25

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You really need gas to wok well. Induction and electric elements don't heat the sides, which is critical. One of those portable butane cookers might be enough to see if you like woks. Cheaper than converting your whole range.

The nice thing about a flat bottom wok on an induction/electric hob is you can stir the contents vigorously without spilling.

heywood on 1/6/2025 at 11:57

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We have no gas infrastructure in my corner of the world, so I'd have to get a propane tank to use a gas range and I'd rather not.
This is what I use on camping trips, a little charcoal grill with a stainless skillet:

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f96c5e_035ab8bbfa16462692a15a940f3d901f.jpg

I also have a Trangia backpacking stove with butane burner that could fit a small wok, but with only ~7000 BTU I'm not sure it would be sufficient.

I can also do this at home for higher temp cooking, but when using charcoal as fuel source you can't modulate the heat:

(https://youtu.be/Y6ne8tgHWVQ?si=I7daj0QMdRyHDHcS) https://youtu.be/Y6ne8tgHWVQ?si=I7daj0QMdRyHDHcS

heywood on 2/6/2025 at 19:30

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I'm far from an expert since I just got my first rice cooker, but I did research the same question. From what I read, if you just want to cook rice, a basic rice cooker is all you need. So far, I've cooked Jasmine, Basmati, and whole grain rice in my $20 Aroma cooker and every pot has been consistently, evenly done. A Zojirushi or Cuckoo may produce a little bit fluffier rice, but the cooking time is longer. Spending a little more than I did will get you a lower temp setting for brown rice which is probably not necessary, and a plastic tray for steaming veggies and dumplings. Fancier rice cookers offer induction heating, special modes for special rice like germinated rice and sushi rice, delay timers, and extended keep warm modes. There are also rice cookers with pressurized cooking which is supposedly better at higher elevations and for cooking sticky rice.

I don't have an instant pot, but supposedly they make pretty good rice. So if you're looking for a rice cooker that will do better than your instant pot, maybe skip the basic models.