A4 Box Induction Cooker

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

Whew, I'm safe! Price is back up to $249. Even with free shipping that's enough to remove temptation...but I'll be following this topic with interest. 🙂

 

 

How much was it before?

 

[Vapre]

5 hours ago, Anna N said:

Well all ye naysayers.... @Kerry Bealsort of took one for the team as you asked her to but it’s now occupying space in my kitchen!  It was purchased while we were up in Manitoulin in July and shipped to a Buffalo address and only now was Kerry able to get down there to retrieve it.   For me it is like Christmas in September.

 

 

Here it is with all five  interchangeable cooking surfaces:  plain grill pan, takoyaki pan,  wavy grill pan,  ceramic deep pan and six disc pan. For those who think that the only thing you can make in a takoyaki pan are takoyaki there’s a whole book devoted to things that you can make that are not octopus-based.  Look up The Little Book of Takoyaki on Amazon. 

 

Also included in the package is something called a shovel which is basically a silicone spoonula,  tiny fingertip protectors, a tablespoon and a teaspoon measure which click together, and the most intriguing of all:  

 

 

 A number of these resealable plastic bags. I am a verbal person not a visual person so I am still struggling to interpret what they are intended for. My first instinct of course was to assume they were used for sous vide.   Nothing in the instruction manual nor anywhere in their advertising material do I find any reference to these.   Marinade bags maybe?  That’s my best guess.

 

Here is the website for the manufacturer:

Click.  

 

Try scanning the QR code in the upper left corner, some phones have this built into the camera app, others need a QR scanner app installed. I tried scanning the pic but didn't have any luck.

Edited September 21, 2019 by Vapre (log)

[Smithy]

46 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

How much was it before?

 

 

I don't remember, but there was a "special price" deal going on for a while. Seems like it was under $100 then. Maybe someone else remembers?

[Kerry Beal]

No - just $50 off when I bought it. There was on Facebook a time when it was 30% off.

 

 

[KennethT]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

 Me too and I would’ve left it at that but it seems to be almost a recipe.  If you look very closely in the upper right hand Square there is a notation of 30 min. In the next square there is a notation of 4 min. So I am wondering if it is actually the recipe with most of it written in Japanese?

hmmm... unfortunately, Japanese is not anything I have attempted to learn (yet)... but it seems that the recipe is to marinate in the bag for 30 minutes, then drain on a rack for 4 minutes, then brush with the marinade...

 

Where are the Japanese reading folks when we need them?  @Duvel ??

[Anna N]

24 minutes ago, Vapre said:

 

Try scanning the QR code in the upper left corner, some phones have this built into the camera app, others need a QR scanner app installed. I tried scanning the pic but didn't have any luck.

 

 Scanned in the QR code and it took me to a page full of lovely Japanese characters (the written kind not the human kind)!  

[Anna N]

6 minutes ago, KennethT said:

hmmm... unfortunately, Japanese is not anything I have attempted to learn (yet)... but it seems that the recipe is to marinate in the bag for 30 minutes, then drain on a rack for 4 minutes, then brush with the marinade...

 

Where are the Japanese reading folks when we need them?  @Duvel ??

 Yep. I was able to figure out that much. 

[Duvel]

32 minutes ago, KennethT said:

hmmm... unfortunately, Japanese is not anything I have attempted to learn (yet)... but it seems that the recipe is to marinate in the bag for 30 minutes, then drain on a rack for 4 minutes, then brush with the marinade...

 

Where are the Japanese reading folks when we need them?  @Duvel ??

 

It’s a recipe for marinated “five flower meat” aka the expensive version of pork belly.

In goes honey, garlic, gochujiang and “cooking wine”. Marinate and massage for 30 min. Grill for 4 min, then brush with the remaining marinade and grill until done. Serve on a large salad leaf ...

[Kerry Beal]

2 minutes ago, Duvel said:

 

It’s a recipe for marinated “five flower meat” aka the expensive version of pork belly.

In goes honey, garlic, gochujiang and “cooking wine”. Marinate and massage for 30 min. Grill for 4 min, then brush with the remaining marinade and grill until done. Serve on a large salad leaf ...

Sounds good!

[Anna N]

 So I took the A4  for its maiden voyage this morning.  As I mentioned to @Kerry Beal, its name  sounds like a British highway!  

 

 

Mis was mushrooms, a sausage, split in half, an egg and a slice of  buttered  rye bread. 

 

 

 I preheated the flat grill plate for two minutes at medium heat (between 320/392°F 160/200°C)  then added the mushrooms and the sausage.  I covered the unit with the lid for five minutes.  I turned over the sausage and the mushrooms and cooked them for a further five minutes.  I added the bread and the egg and continued cooking until I was satisfied that everything was done to my liking. 

 

 

It made making breakfast a bit more fun than it usually is. There is really nothing to clean up other than the grill plate which is just going to be wiped down with a paper towel I think and then a damp cloth over the unit itself for any grease splatters . 

 

 I particularly enjoyed the roominess of this configuration as against a round frying pan.  

 

 Stay tuned for further meals on the A4.

 

[lemniscate]

It's looks like nice even heating end to end on the griddle in the pics.   Does the lid fit over the griddle when cooking in case one would want to "steam"  the top of a sunny-side-up egg?   

 

EDIT:  I reread and see that you did indeed use the lid over the griddle, so question answered.

Edited September 21, 2019 by lemniscate (log)

[Anna N]

So some further play time with my new toy. 

 

I had some green beans that needed using up, half a chub of kielbasa, and I knew I had seen a can of cherry tomatoes and a tetra pack of Pomi tomatoes  in the pantry.  With those I thought I could pull together a meal.

 

 Using the ceramic dish  I  sautéed some onions and some sliced kielbasa.  

 

I added the can of cherry tomatoes and was about to add the can of Pomi tomatoes when the best-before-date caught my eye.  Hmmm.  May 2017.  But what the heck. They were in a tetra pack. They should be safe to eat.  I opened the package carefully and poured out some of the contents into a saucer. Glad I took this precaution. They no longer resembled tomatoes. They were almost the colour of dark chocolate.  A tiny taste convinced me that they were not going in anything that I wanted to eat. Had this been a can of evaporated milk I would’ve had a lovely supply of dulce de leche!  

 

 But this left me somewhat short on liquid. So I quickly supplemented with some  Better Than Bouillon vegetable stock and water. 

 

 I added the green beans put the lid on and let whole thing come to a boil before turning it down to a slow simmer and letting it do its thing for about an hour.

 

 

 Made a perfectly satisfactory dinner with some orzo and a piece of garlic naan.  

 

I had to be careful and eat around the tomatoes as they are currently having a quite unpleasant effect on my system. (For those who don’t know they are a natural diuretic.)

 

 This morning, while checking all the various news outlets that I follow on my iPad, I found a grilled cheese sandwich recipe offered by the Washington Post.  I am not generally a grilled cheese fan. But this one offered miso butter and caramelized onions.  That is my language they are speaking. The Washington Post is behind a pay wall that didn’t stop me finding the recipe!   Anyway I could’ve figured it out all by myself if I was so inclined.

 

While I attended to my morning chores (that would be the ones that should’ve been done last evening), I caramelized two small onions in a mix of oil and butter  on the plain grill plate of the A4 box. 

 

 

 

 

 I made up the spread which was a mix of miso, grainy mustard and butter and spread it on some rye bread.  Then I assembled the sandwich with cheese and onions.   The outer side of the bread was spread with plain butter as the miso would certainly burn.

 

As luck would have it my bacon press fits my new toy like a glove. (So I have a panini press as well as all the other functionality of the A4 Box.)

 

 Grilled cheese sandwich with Seriously Sharp Cheddar, caramelized onions and miso-mustard butter. The rest of you can dip your grilled cheese sandwich in ketchup if that’s what you want, mine was dipped in mango chutney.

 

 One thing to think about when using the box is that’s the lid is going to be dripping condensation so you need a parking spot for it. 

 

 I think I’m going to find this toy much more than a toy. So far it has proved capable of meeting my requirements.

 

I am guessing there are some things I can bake in it but at the moment I’m not quite sure how to approach that. Any thoughts anybody?

[lemniscate]

I'm getting pretty excited about this appliance as you cook.  

 

I noticed the A4 Facebook page has some videos of uses and recipes, especially for the takoyaki pan.  Also a pizza.  And a rice burger(?!?).

[gfweb]

But, but....isn’t this just an electric frying pan without a handle?

Edited September 22, 2019 by gfweb (log)

[rotuts]

but w inserts.

 

if it passes the  @Anna N  testing

 

I can see this might have a place in a small apartment.

 

not a college dorm.

[Kerry Beal]

38 minutes ago, gfweb said:

But, but....isn’t this just an electric frying pan without a handle?

 

And it’s induction!

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

So some further play time with my new toy. 

 

I had some green beans that needed using up, half a chub of kielbasa, and I knew I had seen a can of cherry tomatoes and a tetra pack of Pomi tomatoes  in the pantry.  With those I thought I could pull together a meal.

 

 Using the ceramic dish  I  sautéed some onions and some sliced kielbasa.  

 

I added the can of cherry tomatoes and was about to add the can of Pomi tomatoes when the best-before-date caught my eye.  Hmmm.  May 2017.  But what the heck. They were in a tetra pack. They should be safe to eat.  I opened the package carefully and poured out some of the contents into a saucer. Glad I took this precaution. They no longer resembled tomatoes. They were almost the colour of dark chocolate.  A tiny taste convinced me that they were not going in anything that I wanted to eat. Had this been a can of evaporated milk I would’ve had a lovely supply of dulce de leche!  

 

 But this left me somewhat short on liquid. So I quickly supplemented with some  Better Than Bouillon vegetable stock and water. 

 

 I added the green beans put the lid on and let whole thing come to a boil before turning it down to a slow simmer and letting it do its thing for about an hour.

 

 

 Made a perfectly satisfactory dinner with some orzo and a piece of garlic naan.  

 

I had to be careful and eat around the tomatoes as they are currently having a quite unpleasant effect on my system. (For those who don’t know they are a natural diuretic.)

 

 This morning, while checking all the various news outlets that I follow on my iPad, I found a grilled cheese sandwich recipe offered by the Washington Post.  I am not generally a grilled cheese fan. But this one offered miso butter and caramelized onions.  That is my language they are speaking. The Washington Post is behind a pay wall that didn’t stop me finding the recipe!   Anyway I could’ve figured it out all by myself if I was so inclined.

 

While I attended to my morning chores (that would be the ones that should’ve been done last evening), I caramelized two small onions in a mix of oil and butter  on the plain grill plate of the A4 box. 

 

 

 

 

 I made up the spread which was a mix of miso, grainy mustard and butter and spread it on some rye bread.  Then I assembled the sandwich with cheese and onions.   The outer side of the bread was spread with plain butter as the miso would certainly burn.

 

As luck would have it my bacon press fits my new toy like a glove. (So I have a panini press as well as all the other functionality of the A4 Box.)

 

 Grilled cheese sandwich with Seriously Sharp Cheddar, caramelized onions and miso-mustard butter. The rest of you can dip your grilled cheese sandwich in ketchup if that’s what you want, mine was dipped in mango chutney.

 

 One thing to think about when using the box is that’s the lid is going to be dripping condensation so you need a parking spot for it. 

 

 I think I’m going to find this toy much more than a toy. So far it has proved capable of meeting my requirements.

 

I am guessing there are some things I can bake in it but at the moment I’m not quite sure how to approach that. Any thoughts anybody?

I know I had a Dutch Oven cookbook at one point - it had stovetop baking in it

 

Edited September 22, 2019 by Kerry Beal (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The problem, as I see it, is you can cook with only one insert at a time.  Necessitating an A4 of each color.

 

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

The problem, as I see it, is you can cook with only one insert at a time.  Necessitating an A4 of each color.

 

And you’ve arranged to have my other ones delivered when?

Edited September 22, 2019 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

5 hours ago, gfweb said:

But, but....isn’t this just an electric frying pan without a handle?

 

 Methinks  you are desperately in need of remedial training in the joy of kitchen toys.  

[Anna N]

 So, you know how it is when you have a shiny new hammer – – – everything becomes a nail.

 

 

 I discovered a bone-in strip loin steak in the freezer yesterday and so I gave it a sous vide treatment and then seared it on the grill pan of the A4 box.   I was able to put the box on top of my induction range bringing it under my range hood so that I did not set off any smoke alarms because it certainly did get hot. To my horror this morning I found the rest of this steak sitting on my counter where it had been all night long. Braver souls than me might’ve eaten it.  The corn is dressed with Trader Joe’s chili onion crunch.  The jury is still out on this. 

 

Yesterday @Kerry Beal grabbed me some sweet potatoes at a farmers’ market. I had seen a recipe for a sweet potato, jalapeño and corn bisque and wanted to give it a try. Well I was defeated almost immediately when I could not find the jalapeño peppers that I know are somewhere in the freezer. Then when I began to peel the sweet potatoes I realized they were not what I was expecting. 

 

 

 As you can see these are the Japanese style with almost white flesh. But I  soldiered on.

 

 

 Once the sweet potato was tender I removed the corn cob pieces and then put the rest into the Thermomix.   I added the corn and the molasses but when it came time to add the additional seasoning – – cayenne, salt, pepper and cinnamon- - - I opted instead to use some guajillo chili powder.   This somewhat improved the colour. 

 

 

  With a naan it  made a perfectly adequate lunch. 

 

 

[rotuts]

Nice  @Anna N

 

""  I removed the corn cob pieces and then put the rest into the Thermomix. ""

 

so what happened to them in the TRMX ?

 

you didn't grind them up ?  if not , did you choose to

 

discard the well washed SP skins ?  why not add them to ThePot and

 

discard alter ?

 

nice 

[Anna N]

 Tonight it was not shrimp on the barbie it was shrimp in the box!

 

 

 

 

 and served over instant noodles.

 

 

 I could have also have cooked the noodles in the ceramic insert if only @JoNorvelleWalker had arranged for the shipment of my other boxes.😂 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

On 9/22/2019 at 11:50 AM, Anna N said:

 Methinks  you are desperately in need of remedial training in the joy of kitchen toys.   

 

Bingo!

 

Suddenly I found myself singing

"Oh give me a pot,  and a heat source that's hot,

and I'll cook you up a good meal.

Don't confuse me with toys

They're for all you smart boys,

and for me, they are breaking the deal..

 

With apologies, I gotta go start dinner.

 

 

Edited September 26, 2019 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[Anna N]

 

 

 

 

Onions and mushrooms sautéed in the Box, piled onto a toasted English muffin, showered with some grated cheddar and broiled until the cheese melted. Nothing missing in the umami department!

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2019 by Anna N
To remove an extraneous photograph. (log)