After reading this article, you will be able to cook not only according to recipes adapted for a multicooker. You can transform any recipe into a slow cooker yourself!
This happened to me too. The first multicooker appeared in my kitchen when my baby was about a year old and I thought that I wanted to make homemade yogurt, steamed vegetables, tender meatballs and other dishes for baby food, but there was no room for a yogurt maker, a steamer, a kettle and other gadgets. I’m not here, so I started looking for an alternative.
All my expectations resulted in the purchase of a multicooker with a wide range of functions, after which another multicooker appeared, which was more compact, but with fewer functions, it helped us out a lot on trips and in the country. And now my child is going to school, and the multicooker occupies one of the leading places in my kitchen. Why do I love her so much and what nuances have I learned over the years of coexistence with her? Let's figure it out.
Chakhokhbili chicken in a slow cooker
What to cook?
With the advent of the multicooker, I did not fanatically cook everything in it, but there are some dishes that turn out much tastier in the multicooker. This includes roasts, stewed cabbage, stewed meat, vegetables, stews, pilaf, vegetable caviar and even stewed fish.
Therefore, I came to the conclusion for myself that the most popular programs are steaming, baking, stewing, pilaf , I use other programs much less often, or I could even do without them.
Many multicookers are equipped with the “Multicook” program, which allows you to choose the temperature and cooking time at your discretion, but I use this program extremely rarely, since I am satisfied with the basic set of programs.
Conclusion: if you often cook roasts, stews or pilaf, it makes sense to buy a multicooker. When choosing, pay attention to the presence of programs such as steaming, baking, stewing, pilaf - they must be present.
Quick dinner in a slow cooker - how to make it?
The reason why most housewives love a multicooker is the reduction in time spent on cooking, but not everything depends directly on the method of heat treatment: preparing food can also take not 5-10 minutes, but much more. If it’s important to you that it takes as little effort and time as possible to create your dinner, use the following tips:
- Stewed vegetables are the fastest dish, the responsibility for which lies almost entirely with the multicooker: you only need to peel and cut the key products into equal pieces (large or small, it’s up to you to decide).
- Choose recipes in which all the ingredients are added at the same time or almost immediately after each other - you will not have to stand at the multicooker for a long time and control the process.
- Pay attention to recipes in which there are no particular difficulties with the formation of parts of the dish: for example, you do not need to spend a long time and painfully filling vegetable boats or dough with filling.
Another important nuance: if you do not want to mix the side dish and the main part (for example, meat), cook the cereal in a steaming bowl, and below, where the liquid should boil, simmer the meat or fish. This way, both parts of the dinner will reach the desired condition almost simultaneously.
Rules for cooking in a slow cooker
Almost any recipe can be adapted for cooking in a slow cooker, but there are certain rules for preparing dishes in this device. They need to be taken as a basis, but otherwise experiments are welcome.
Rule #1. Any multicooker takes time to warm up to the desired temperature, so you need to take this into account and add the heating time to the total cooking time. Some multicookers heat up much faster than their “brothers,” so this also needs to be taken into account.
For example, my Philips multicooker heats up faster, and many of its programs differ in time from programs in other multicookers. Therefore, I focus specifically on my device, and not on the time indicated in the recipes.
Conclusion: adapt any recipe by adding a few minutes to the cooking time indicated in it, which is necessary for your multicooker to warm up.
Rule #2. Do not fill the multicooker more than 2/3 of the volume , so that during heavy boiling the liquid does not splash out onto the heating element. And it’s easier to stir a dish in a hot bowl if it’s not filled to the top.
Conclusion: when adapting a recipe for a multicooker, consider the volume of products. What fits into a five-liter saucepan will not fit into a multicooker bowl designed for two liters.
Rule #3. When laying a dish, it is better to place vegetables on the bottom and closer to the side walls, and meat in the center of the container, only after that the dish is filled with water or broth.
Chicken and vegetable pilaf in a slow cooker
Rule #4. again during cooking
Towards the end of cooking a dish, I stir it several times or check that the liquid has not boiled away and that the dish is not burning, even if this is not recommended in the recipe. For the same reason, I try not to leave the slow cooker unattended for a long time, because I don’t want to come back from a walk and find a burnt roast.
Multicooker recipes: recipes with photos
Me and the slow cooker: a love story
For as long as I can remember, I have always dreamed of organizing proper and healthy nutrition at home. However, I managed to do this only now - in my sixties. Precisely because this wonderful stove appeared in my kitchen - the Zojirushi NP-HBQ10 multicooker.
If you're reading this blog, you're probably also looking to make food more than just filling, but more important to your health and well-being for both you and your children. Especially for children. After all, we don’t just feed them, we lay down their eating habits and traditions for life.
I always wanted my family to eat fresh hot porridge in the morning. But in the morning, to prepare breakfast, you have to get up before dawn. Considering that city dwellers usually go to bed late, getting up early and preparing a fresh breakfast is difficult. And in the morning - getting ready for work, getting ready for school, keeping an eye on everyone, cleaning up after everyone in the bathroom, walking the dog... What kind of breakfast is that? Sandwiches, sandwiches and sandwiches. Sandwiches in the morning, they are at work, and a full lunch in the evening. And considering that you have to cook it after work, it’s late in the evening. That is, for the night. Who is not familiar with this picture? And as a result - excess weight, poor health. And I would be glad to change something, and you know how to do it right, but how to organize it, where to get the energy and time?
But then this miracle stove appeared in my kitchen, and a hot breakfast of freshly cooked porridge became a common occurrence in my family. Using the slow cooking mode, I put food in the slow cooker in the evening, and in the morning I calmly go about my business, knowing that breakfast is waiting for me in the kitchen. Beauty! I only regret one thing: that I didn’t have this wonderful device earlier, when the children were small. How he could help save time and effort, and therefore health!
Sometimes you hear the opinion that, well, why cook in a slow cooker if you have to stand next to it, like at the stove? But it is not so. Even if you cook a complex dish in several stages using different programs, you can still be distracted at each stage without worrying about burning or running away. But, most importantly, the quality of the food is different. Products retain many of their properties, as when simmering in a peasant oven. Many, of course, are interested in recipes based on the principle of set it, turn it on, leave it. There are those too! These are simple recipes and if you are a fussy eater, you can use them often. The food will at least be simple, fresh and healthy. I will publish such recipes in the section Simple recipes for a slow cooker. I rarely use them, only if circumstances force me to. I prefer to tinker - but to cook not only efficiently, but also tasty. Although many simple recipes cannot be called tasteless.
Another aspect that makes a multicooker irreplaceable is its portability. You can take it to the dacha, on vacation, or going to the sea. After all, in fact, it is good not only for cooking cereals, but also for frying, baking, and stewing. You can do almost everything in it. I enthusiastically began looking for recipes for the slow cooker or adapting dishes that I had loved for a long time for cooking in it. And in general, nothing is impossible: indeed, you can prepare a dish of any complexity.
I also really like the timer function. Sometimes I load the ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning, turn on the timer so that the dish is ready when I arrive and - lo and behold! – dinner is waiting for me, hot, fresh and tasty, with virtually no effort on my part. Of course, this applies to simple dishes, but which of us would refuse a simple dish in favor of standing at the stove after work?
In general, I think that there are still many possibilities for this miracle stove that I have not mastered and which I am extremely interested in mastering. As well as sharing the results of your research on this blog. Therefore, you are welcome. Read, prepare and leave your reviews. Together we will learn healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle - together with a slow cooker.
Secrets of cooking meat
If necessary, I can fry meat in a multicooker, especially if I don’t have a frying pan at hand, but at home I fry the meat in a frying pan before placing it in the multicooker bowl. This applies to cooking pilaf, potatoes with meat and other dishes when you need to quickly “seal” the meat and retain all the juices. According to my observations, in a slow cooker, while the meat is being fried, a lot of juice manages to come out, so the meat is immediately stewed, and it is problematic to remove liquid from the hot bowl.
Conclusion: it is better to fry meat in a frying pan than in a low-power multicooker.
While the meat is frying in the pan, I fry the vegetables in the slow cooker, which significantly reduces the cooking time. Or you can divide the amount of meat into two parts, fry one of them in a frying pan and the second in a slow cooker.
With this method (when there is not a lot of meat at the bottom of the bowl), much less liquid is released, and it is much easier to achieve the desired crust. If the multicooker is low-power, then frying large quantities of meat in it until golden brown is a long and sometimes useless process.
Canned stewed meat
If I want to achieve meat falling apart into fibers in a dish , then first I simmer it in a slow cooker on the “Stew” mode along with carrots and onions with a small amount of liquid, and then add potatoes, vegetables or rice and set the “Pilaf” program I need or "Roast".
Cutlets
As for the cutlets , I either bake them or lightly fry them first, and then cook them until cooked using the “Steam” mode. I like this method the most, since all the excess fat flows into the water, and the cutlets themselves turn out to be tender and more dietary.
Holiday dinners
Guests are already on the doorstep, but you haven’t decided what to treat them with yet? A slow cooker will help you quickly prepare a delicious holiday dinner. You will find numerous recipes for quick holiday dishes on our website. With them, even everyday dinner will turn into a holiday. Baked fish, meat in sauce, mushroom dishes - all this can decorate your table for the holiday. You can see the delicacy of these dishes from the photos that depict the preparation steps and the final result.
You can also cook a delicious sweet dinner in a slow cooker and arrange a holiday for your kids. You can rely on the cooking instructions included with the device, or you can play it safe and find cooking methods on our website.
We will tell you step by step how to prepare dinner correctly so that it turns out tasty and appetizing, and its preparation does not take you much time. Here you will find a variety of dishes from a wide variety of products, so everyone can find something to suit their taste. Moreover, all recipes are accompanied by step-by-step photos that will help you achieve the desired result.
Cooking vegetables
To ensure the vegetables cook evenly, I try to cut them into small pieces of approximately the same size. Most often I cook vegetables using the “Frying” or “Stewing” mode, as well as steaming.
I no longer need a steamer; the small basket that comes with it is enough for me. The most delicious vegetable stews, stewed potatoes and stewed cabbage with sausages are made in a slow cooker. With its appearance, I decided to get rid of the extra cauldrons in which I had prepared these dishes before.
Culinary secret: if the multicooker does not have a “Frying” mode, and this especially often happens in cheap models, then you can fry vegetables or meat in the “Baking” mode.
Braised pork ribs in a slow cooker with tomato crust
For tender meat with a crispy, caramelized crust, cook the ribs for 6 hours in a slow cooker, and then brown under high heat for 3-5 minutes. Recipe:
Slow Cooker Braised Pork Ribs with Tomato Crust
Cooking porridge
Porridge "Friendship" on water in a slow cooker
Porridge in a slow cooker turns out the same as it was previously cooked in the oven. And all thanks to the fact that the lid fits tightly and does not allow steam to escape, and the cooking temperature is lower than on the stove.
Milk porridges are best cooked in milk with the addition of water (approximate proportions 4:1). To prevent the milk porridge from “running away,” the edges of the bowl should be greased with butter 2-3 cm below the top edge. By the way, the same rice can be cooked in several programs.
For example, the “Porridge” program will bring the dish to readiness, but the “Rice/pilaf” program will also lightly fry the dish at the end. Therefore, the pilaf program produces excellent potatoes, which acquire a crust, and navy-style pasta, which is lightly fried and becomes like a casserole.
When preparing porridge from wheat cereals, you need to be especially careful, because... it can produce quite a lot of foam, so you need to remove the valve and cook the porridge without it.
When the porridge is ready, you can leave it for a while on the “Warm” mode, it will become even tastier, especially buckwheat.
Roast pork in a slow cooker
A hearty dish for lunch or dinner. On a regular stove, the roast should simmer for several hours. In a slow cooker, the cooking process is reduced to 60–80 minutes.
Ingredients
- 500 g pork pulp;
- 5 medium potatoes;
- 1 large carrot;
- 1 large onion;
- 1 glass of water;
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste;
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil;
- salt, ground black pepper and bay leaf - to taste.
Preparation
Peel the onions and carrots. Cut the first into half rings, the second into circles or cubes. Grease the multicooker bowl with vegetable oil. Add onions and carrots to it and fry for 15 minutes ("Fry" mode).
At this time, rinse and cut the meat into cubes. Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes. Dissolve tomato paste in a glass of water.
When the onions and carrots are fried, add meat and potatoes to them, pour in tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and add a bay leaf. Stir and set the “Stew” mode for 1 hour.
Soup mode
It’s definitely better to cook soups in a saucepan rather than in a slow cooker. This is the only way to maintain the correct mode of planting vegetables and heat treatment. But sometimes you need to cook soup urgently. Then we close our eyes to the correct process and turn on the multicooker.
Soup in a slow cooker can be cooked according to this scheme: fry vegetables, pour in hot water and add the rest of the ingredients. Or you can add all the ingredients at once and add liquid.
Not all multicookers have the “Soup” function, so you can prepare the first dish in the “Stewing” or “Simmering” mode. The soup will be thick and rich.
Boiling soup with meatballs and noodles in a slow cooker
Culinary life hack: to speed up the process of preparing a dish using the “Steam” or “Cook” mode, I always pour hot water into the bowl, because an electric kettle will handle this much faster. The same applies if you need to add water to any dish being prepared (meat, pilaf, roast, etc.)
Steaming
You can steam vegetables for salads; they will not fall apart and retain maximum benefits. This mode is also simply ideal for cooking fish. To prevent the juice from going into the water, you can make something like foil envelopes and put them in a basket.
Canning
It’s no secret that a multicooker also comes in handy when you need to make preparations for the winter. Some models have a “Jam” function, but if it doesn’t, there’s no reason to be upset. The “Extinguishing” mode is also quite suitable for you.
Culinary life hack: to prevent your future preparations from turning out liquid, it is better to cook them with the lid open.
By the way, due to the fact that the cooking temperature is lower than on the stove, there will not be such abundant bubbling and foaming in the multicooker. Preserves, jams, sauces, squash caviar, vegetable mixtures - all these dishes can be prepared without much difficulty using this “miracle pot”.
Most multicookers can cook not only porridge and pilaf, but also homemade yogurt, so you can save on buying a yogurt maker, and you never run out of space in the kitchen.
Care Tips
And a few more words about leaving. The multicooker bowl has a non-stick coating, so you need to try not to let anything burn in it. If this happens, then you need to fill the bowl with hot water and let it stand. Do not use abrasive detergents, as well as hard brushes and sponges. Otherwise, everything will burn and stick to the bowl.
Conclusion: I wash the bowl with a foaming detergent and a soft sponge. I very rarely use a gel-like product for more stubborn stains.
And the most important thing: do not leave a dirty bowl unwashed for a long time, as this will make it even more difficult to wash. It is also not recommended to store food in the multicooker bowl, although some multicookers now come with removable lids for the bowl. It is better to transfer the still warm dish into a container or saucepan, and immediately soak the bowl or wash it and wipe it dry.
Important: under no circumstances should you pour cold water into a hot bowl, as this may damage its coating.
Getting rid of odors
Sometimes, after cooking dishes with a pronounced smell, the entire multicooker smells like cabbage, garlic or fish. To eliminate this smell, you need to pour a liter of water into the bowl, add half a lemon and turn on the “Steam” mode.
Fifteen minutes is enough for the foreign smell to go away. After this procedure, it is necessary to drain the water and wipe the inside of the multicooker lid, also paying attention to the valve, rim and drip tray.
Oh yes, and another important point! If you want your multicooker to last as long as possible, I advise you to immediately remove the spatulas that usually come with it. They mercilessly scratch the surface of the bowl. Silicone and only that. Fortunately, now there are not only spatulas, but also ladles made of this material. And also tongs and mini-potholders, which will also not be superfluous.
Learned something new from this article? Please write about this in the comments! Your attention is the best gratitude to the author for his work 
