In today’s fast-paced world of endless responsibilities towards other people (kids, spouse, parents, in-laws, siblings, friends, relatives, colleagues, bosses, neighbours, societies, etc… not necessarily in that order, but also kind of in that order 😂), time is extremely valuable! Hence, I’ve made a habit of picking up any easy cooking hacks I come across, so I can whip up delicious meals with minimal effort while keeping my sanity!
These clever shortcuts not only save time but also streamline the cooking process, making it accessible to both novice and seasoned chefs alike. I will continually add to this list as I discover more easy cooking hacks, so whether you’re a busy professional, a cooking enthusiast, or just someone who wants to simplify meal preparation, bookmark this page to stay up-to-date as I try to make life a little easier and make cooking more accessible for everybody! So let’s get to it!
Air Fryer Poached Eggs
Chalk another one up for the magic that air fryers can perform! It’s truly one of my favorite kitchen appliances ever!
Air Fryer Poached Eggs
Equipment
- Air fryer
Ingredients
- cooking oil
- eggs
- water
Instructions
- Take a small dish, put oil and boiling hot water in, crack the eggs in.
- Put it in the air fryer for 6 minutes at 200°C.
- Take it out and drain the water (be careful, it’s hot!).
- Serve and watch that delicious egg yolk flow! It’s that easy 🙂
5-Minute Poached Eggs
Here’s another poached egg hack in case you don’t have an air fryer, where all you need are some silicone molds!
Failproof Poached Eggs
Equipment
- silicone molds
Ingredients
- eggs
- cooking oil just a dash
- salt to season
- pepper to season
Instructions
- Place silicone molds in a pan, drizzle some oil, then crack the eggs in.
- Pour in boiling water and heat up the stove to medium-high heat.
- Season the eggs with salt and pepper, then wait until the water bubbles before closing the lid.
- Set the timer to 4 minutes, then take out the eggs. Carefully remove the silicone mold and serve!
Level Up Your Instant Noodles
This is one of the viral trends on social media that forever changed my late-night instant noodle sessions!
Level Up Your Instant Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 packet Shin Ramyun
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp garlic
- Some Japanese mayonnaise
Instructions
- Make the soup base with Shin Ramyun’s packet seasoning, garlic, egg yolk, and Japanese mayonnaise. Mix it well before adding in hot water.
- Cook the noodles as usual to your desired consistency.
- Add the noodles into the soup base, and top up the water to your liking.
- Garnish with Shin Ramyun’s packet of dried veggies and enjoy!
Silky Smooth Porridge Hack
Here is an amazing hack for velvety smooth porridge in a rice cooker that only takes 30 minutes to cook, with minimal stirring! I never make porridge any other way since discovering this hack, and you can tweak the consistency and flavors to your liking!
Silky Smooth Porridge Hack
Equipment
- hand blender
- Rice cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 6 cups water
- salt to tasste
- pepper to taste
- light soy for garnish
- spring onion for garnish
Instructions
- Use a cup to pour rice into the rice cooker bowl, and wash the rice as usual to reduce the starch content.
- Using the same cup, pour in water at a rice:water ratio of 1:6. Then add some salt to taste.
- Let it cook in your rice cooker with porridge settings like you normally would. My rice cooker doesn't have a porridge setting, so I let it cook for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, open the lid and use a hand blender to puree the porridge for a few seconds until it turns murky. Then let it cook for another 5 minutes to get the desired consistency.
- Drizzle with light soy, garnish with spring onion, salt and pepper, then serve!