You’ve stocked your kitchen with commercial cooking equipment and now it’s time to start preparing a variety of delicious dishes to serve your customers. There are a variety of ways you can use your commercial food equipment to create delicious meals, including vegetable-based ones. While some still believe that vegetables must be steamed in the traditional way to prevent overcooking, using the right cooking technique you can prepare popular vegetable dishes, such as asparagus, quickly and easily in your microwave.
Preparation Stage
Fresh asparagus: Choose bright green, fresh-looking stalks from your local market. Asparagus spears come in thick and thin sizes, so try to find stalks that are consistent in size to ensure even cooking. Thicker spear will take longer to cook than thinner spears.
Rinse in cold water: Clean the spears using cold water. Because asparagus is grown in sandy soil, you must remember to thoroughly clean the tips under running water to remove any hidden dirt and sand. Once the spears are clean, pat them dry with a paper towel.
Remove the base: You can snap off the woody base with your hands or cut them off with a knife. The woody base is usually 1-1.5 inches long, but you can find where the base ends by carefully bending the spear close to the bottom. The most easily bendable part near the bottom is where the edible and tender portion of the stalk begins.
Peel off the scales: If desired, use a vegetable peeler to remove the scales that grow along the stalk. This is mostly aesthetic to give the asparagus a clean, attractive look.
Cooking Stage
Use a microwave-safe dish: Place the asparagus in a microwavable dish. Because the tip of the asparagus cooks faster than the stalk, arrange the spears so that the tips point towards the centre of the dish, if you’re using a circular dish. Because microwaves cook from the outside to the inside, the centre cooks last and this arrangement may help prevent them from becoming overcooked. If you’re using a rectangular dish, be sure to line up the asparagus stalks evenly. The best cooking vessel to use in a commercial kitchen is a high-heat pan with a lid and false bottom. This type of pan will elevate the asparagus from the bottom so the steam from the liquid rises to surround the spears. This will help them cook even faster.
Add liquid: Add 60mL of water to the dish. You can also use orange juice or white wine for extra flavour. Add a sprinkle of salt, if desired.
Microwave: Depending on the strength of your microwave and the thickness of the asparagus stalks, you should microwave the dish for 4-7 minutes. If you’re unsure how much time you need, cook it for 4 minutes, then check on the dish. If it’s not done, microwave the stalks for 1-minute intervals until they’re cooked to your desired tenderness. If you’ve decided to microwave cut-up asparagus instead of whole spears, cook the dish for 3-5 minutes. You can also pause the microwave at the half-way point and stir-up the dish to promote even cooking. (Note that this timing is based on 1000 watt oven, and a higher wattage microwave will take less time to cook).
Serve hot: Let the asparagus cool down for 5 minutes before serving. Once cooled, transfer to individual serving dishes and add some butter, garlic, or seasoning to enhance the flavour.
Get the High-Quality Commercial Food Warming Equipment You Need for Your Kitchen
If you need powerful commercial cooking equipment for your kitchen, Celcook has a wide selection of powerful commercial microwave ovens that will enhance your business success. Celcook microwaves were launched by Celco, Canada’s leading distributor of commercial food equipment. You can find Celco and Celcook products being used in reputable commercial kitchens across Canada, including in the healthcare market, many fast-food chains, fine dining restaurants, convenience stores, hotels, pubs, golf courses, schools, and government institutions. Explore Celcook’s commercial microwave oven range and contact us if you have questions or would like to order a Celcook product for your kitchen.