21 replies to this topic

[Hiroyuki]

Toaster ovens are called oven toasters in Japan. (Don't ask me why.)

Many Japanese including me shy away from using an oven. For example, my father had an oven installed for my mother when he had a new house built around 1970, but she would not use it.

On the other hand, Japanese like cooking with a toaster oven. The purpose of this thread is to show you some examples of using a toaster oven.

But first, one clarification.

By toaster ovens, I mean small-sized ones with a wattage of about 1,000 or less. Mine is rather old, 830 W, bought about ten years ago, measuring about 31 (width) x 19 (depth) x 24 (height) cm in outside dimension. Currently popular ones are, I think, slightly larger models with a wattage of about 1,000 and capable of toasting a pizza 20 cm in diameter.

Now to the main issue.

1. Toasting mochi

How do you toast your mochi? I think mochi can be best toasted with a toaster oven.
Let me give you a tip for toasting mochi with a toaster oven so as not to let the mochi stick to the grid of the toaster oven when it expands.
Pour some soy sauce in a small plate, dip your finger in it, and apply a dab of soy sauce (about a 2-cm dia. circle) to the center of the top surface of a piece of mochi. Put the mochi in the toaster oven and turn it on. This way, you can make sure that the mochi expands from the top, not sideways or underneath. This is a tip I learned from the TV show, "Itouke no Shokutaku" last month.

Edit to add photos:

Edited by Hiroyuki, 07 January 2005 - 09:20 PM.

[torakris]

I don't own an oven toaster (oops toaster oven) but I have to admit they are really good for making mochi and pizza toast!

http://www.hsmarktpi...izza_toast1.htm

[torakris]

and you can get a Winnie the Pooh toaster oven that will leave a picture of pooh on your toast:
http://www.zojirushi...nware/ETNL.html

or Mickey Mouse:
http://www.zojirushi...nware/ETNJ.html

or the Disney Princesses:
http://www.amazon.co...4447255-1334740

and what about Hello Kitty:
http://www.pn-shop.com/kt/kt__.html
3rd one down

[Hiroyuki]

2. Grilling fish

Toaster ovens are also great for grilling fish, especially fish slices. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the tray and then slices of fish such as salmon. Put the tray in the toaster oven. Set the timer for 7 to 8 minutes. Then forget all about it until the timer rings.
Sometimes the slices stick to the foil. You may want to spread some oil before placing them to prevent this from happening. But our solution is simpler. Just let them cool for a few minutes, and they are much easier to remove.

One important disclosure: We don't have a fish grill!! (This is because of our special situation that we live in a resort condo. Most Japanese houses are equipped with a fish grill and even an oven.)

We used to grill fish with an electric fish grill. It was really hard to clean! Then one day, we realized that we could grill fish with the toaster oven just as well. Now we almost always use the toaster oven to grill slices of fish. When we grill a whole fish, we still have to use the electric grill, though.

[Norio]

My dad used to make salmon kasuzuke. He would cook it in our toaster oven.

[smallworld]

OK. I can see how if your gas burner doesn't come with a fish grill, and if you don't have a convection oven, a toaster oven might come in handy. But if you've got both I still don't see the point.

The only good thing is the timer. Might save me from burning the toast (on those rare occasions that I actually make toast).

Then again, I'm not likely to forget about, and burn, stuff in the fish griller. Because when I'm grilling fish or mochi tuna melts or whatever I'm usually cooking other stuff too, and I'm right there in front of the griller.

So I'm still not convinced. Even if I had a big western-sized kitchen with generous conuter space I wouldn't buy a toaster oven. I would have a gas oven and a four-burner stove with a fish griller (do they even make stoves with four burners here?) and a toaster. I mean a real toaster, not a toaster oven. And life would be good.

[Hiroyuki]

3. Aluminum foil grilling (or simply foil grilling)
I don't know whether this is correct English. The Japanese name is alumi foil yaki アルミホイル焼き or simply foil yaki.

Foil grilling can also be done best with a toaster oven.
The possibilities are limitless with foil grilling. Just about everything can be cooked this way. Just wrap all ingredients and seasonings in a sheet of aluminum foil, place it on the tray, and put it in the toaster oven.
Some examples:
Salmon
http://rumoi.walker.jp/recipe/04.html
Chicken
http://www.remus.dti...uma/sub641.html
Sausage and vegetables
http://www.hankyu-de...e/0105/5-7.html

My son and I went mushroom gathering on October 23rd.
I took some pictures of mushrooms just before putting them in the toaster oven. I turned on the oven, and about one minute later, that big earthquake took place!!


We managed to eat the mushrooms the next day.

[Hiroyuki]

4. Concurrent cooking!!

Helenjp wrote elsewhere as follows:

You're overlooking the central function of a toaster oven. It has a TIMER. It just turns off when small kids distract the toaster oven owner, instead of burning the house down! 

I have one, so that I can simultaneously cook breakfast toast, zap rice for lunchboxes in the microwave, and use the gas range to grill fish for ditto, and boil the lunch spinach and fry the breakfast eggs. Life would just be too lackadaisical entirely without an oven toaster.

Another point in their favor is that they are so simple that they are practically indestructible. The bottom may rust out of it, but it will still toast your toast...

It doesn't take up counter space. The toaster oven sits on top of the microwave, and I then balance saucepans full of boiling soup etc on top of the toaster, to free up gas rings...

Helen put it really well. Really, really well.
(This is the very first time I have used this pink one .)

When you have a husband and two hungry boys, almost every morning is a busy morning. If you have a toaster oven, you can do acrobatics just like Helen does.
What do you say?

[Hiroyuki]

5. Making one more extra dish quickly

Suppose you want to offer just one more extra dish. Three dishes for supper instead of four. This can make a great difference.
For example, I sometimes want to feed my two kids with some French fries, together with the main dish, one or two side dishes, a bowl of rice, and a bowl of miso soup for supper. I peel a potato or two, cut them into sticks, and put them in the microwave until done. Then I put them in the toaster oven (sometimes with some oil sometimes without it) to remove extra moisture.

torakris,
talk to the landlord and get a fish grill!! You can do it!

Edited by Hiroyuki, 09 January 2005 - 02:27 AM.

[Hiroyuki]

6. Reheating tempura, korokke, and other deep-fried foods crispy

Look at the following questionnaire results:
http://www.himawarin.../enqdata26.html
(Japanese only)

32% of the respondents said they reheat tempura with a toaster oven, 30% a microwave oven, and 7% a grill.

I usually place a sheet of paper towel on the tray and then tempura to remove the extra oil. Some people recommend placing crumpled sheet of aluminum foil. Sometimes I place a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the tempura to prevent burning, especially when the tempura is thick.

[Hiroyuki]

I found an interesting way to make hard-boiled eggs with the toaster oven!

Wrap an egg in aluminum foil, put it in a toaster oven, and heat for 8 minutes.

from here
http://mbs.jp/hiden/magic/42.html

What do you think?

[torakris]

I found an interesting way to make hard-boiled eggs with the toaster oven!

Wrap an egg in aluminum foil, put it in a toaster oven, and heat for 8 minutes.

from here
http://mbs.jp/hiden/magic/42.html

What do you think?

this is the kind of thing I don't really understand about those urawaza (tricks), I mean is it really so difficult to hard boil the egg in water???
I once "hard-boiled" egg on a grill (with a fire, outside), I thought they might have a smokey flavor but they tasted no different than when I did them inside....
I think I prefer boiling because I know exactly how long to do them to get the texture I like.

[Hiroyuki]

Oh, come on, torakris, can't you see? 8 minutes vs. 14 to 15 minutes (in the case of boiling)!! That's a great difference!!

[torakris]

wow! you boil for a long time...
I bring the eggs and cold water to a boil, then turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes (L) or 8 minutes (MS).

[Hiroyuki]

I found an interesting way to make hard-boiled eggs with the toaster oven!

Wrap an egg in aluminum foil, put it in a toaster oven, and heat for 8 minutes.

from here
http://mbs.jp/hiden/magic/42.html

What do you think?

this is the kind of thing I don't really understand about those urawaza (tricks), I mean is it really so difficult to hard boil the egg in water???
I once "hard-boiled" egg on a grill (with a fire, outside), I thought they might have a smokey flavor but they tasted no different than when I did them inside....
I think I prefer boiling because I know exactly how long to do them to get the texture I like.

I tried this method of making hard-boiled eggs this morning. It didn't work at all. Only the outer part of the white turned white while the rest was still raw. What a silly urawaza (trick)!

[Hiroyuki]

This morning, I made cornbread-like bread, using a can of creamed corn. (I cannot get cornmeal yet.) I put the dough in the toaster oven and it was successfully baked in about 8 minutes.
The texture was just like that of pancake.
I know this is not real cornbread, but all my family liked it.

[helenjp]

The only advantage I can see in "roasting" your hardboiled eggs is that the toaster oven has a timer which switches off, preventing distraction from causing a fire!

For that reason, I used my toaster oven to foil-bake rainbow trout for my sons, who each needed to eat dinner while I was out ferrying the other son. Switch it on as I leave the house, tell child when it's going to be ready, phone child to drag him out of book and remind him to eat dinner...what could be simpler?

Creamed corn cornbread. Sounds interesting. I've never tasted "real" cornbread, so I have no trouble being convinced.

By the way, I use my current (only 10 years old) toaster oven more than the previous one, because it is a bit more powerful - 950w or 750 watt settings.

Are everybody else's toaster ovens of a similar wattage?

Edited by helenjp, 19 February 2005 - 08:10 PM.

[Hiroyuki]

By the way, I use my current (only 10 years old) toaster oven more than the previous one, because it is a bit more powerful - 950w or 750 watt settings.

Are everybody else's toaster ovens of a similar wattage?

I'm afraid your question will never be answered. Mine has a wattage of 830, as I mentioned in my first post on this thread.

I made the cornbread by following this recipe
http://www.h2.dion.n...hiro/corn00.htm
(Japanese only)
except that I halved each ingredient except the egg and used a toaster oven, not an oven.
This original recipe calls for 30- to 40-minute baking, which seems an eternity to me!

Here is another, simpler recipe
http://cookpad.com/g...76456&Mode=full
(Japanese only)
which also calls for 30-minute baking.

[helenjp]

I was just thinking about exactly how I use my toaster oven more than I used to...the old one took over 5 minutes to make toast, so it wasn't very useful for grilling - things dried out before they cooked.

I use the toaster oven even in summer, when nothing could persuade me to turn my tabletop convection oven on (these are especially hot in small Japanese kitchens without big extractor fans, because they tend to be around waist-height).

Yesterday I used my toaster oven to grill sardines on toast for breakfast, grill one piece of fish for a lunchbox to save cleaning up the fish grill under the gas range and grill whole eggplants, because they are too thick to fit in the fish grill, and used the lowest heat setting to roast some garlic.

Unfortunately I forgot to slash the garlic and one exploded all over the inside of the toaster oven, so it will be a long time before I bake anything sweet in it!

And that's a pity, because my kids enjoy a (slashed first!) grilled banana now and then!

[Hiroyuki]

Unfortunately I forgot to slash the garlic and one exploded all over the inside of the toaster oven, so it will be a long time before I bake anything sweet in it!

And that's a pity, because my kids enjoy a (slashed first!) grilled banana now and then!

I never tried this tip, but placing a sheet of aluminum foil, putting some green tea grounds on it, and turning on the toaster oven will eliminate the odor.

[smallworld]

Hiroyuki, this is for you!
Not really related to Japanese food, but I found an article in the New York Times about how much toaster ovens have improved. The other cooked a complete meal using one.

No One Ever Slaved Over a Hot Toaster Oven (free registration required)

[Hiroyuki]

A few months ago, an unthinkable thing happened to me. My toaster oven broke. So, I bought another one with a wattage of 1,000 watts for 1,770 yen. It doesn't have a wattage selector, but considering the price, it was a good buy.

I use my toaster oven to roast corn.

Recently, I made two apple pies with my toaster oven.

For a description of other items in this photo, see this post:
http://forums.egulle...ndpost&p=996114

Edited by Hiroyuki, 25 August 2005 - 03:36 AM.