Make a meal in a mug, in minutes!
Forget the mug cake - it's the turn of the gourmet mug meal. With 92% of households owning a microwave, a quick carbonara, speedy pork noodle soup or healthy bean stew have never been quicker or easier to achieve.
Chef Theo Michaels walks us through his favourite fresh, healthy recipes, all made from scratch in a microwave, in a single mug. It's a tasting, microwaving, extravaganza worthy of a Michelin star!
Recipes taken from Microwave Mug Meals by Theo Michaels
Asian-style pork noodles
Serves: 1
Cooking time: 1 ½ minutes (800w microwave) plus 1 minute standing time
Equipment: 300 ml/ ½ pint mug
Ingredients
10g vermicelli glass noodles, broken into 2.5cm/1 inch pieces80g minced or ground pork1 tbsp oil1 tsp cornflour20g beansprouts½ red chilli, chopped whole seeds included or ½ tsp chilli flakes1 tbsp nam pla fish sauce1 tbsp lime juicepinch sugar2 tbsp torn Thai basil leaves2 tbsp torn fresh coriander2 tbsp torn fresh mint leaves6 torn spinach leavesSalt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Place the noodles in the bottom of the mug, then add the pork, oil, cornflour and seasoning and lightly mix with a fork (the noodles won’t combine at this stage but it’s fine for them to remain at the bottom of the mug).
Place the beansprouts on top and microwave uncovered on full power for 1 ½ minutes.
Remove from the microwave, break up the meat with a fork and combine with the noodles and beansprouts.
Add the remaining ingredients to the mug – chilli, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, fresh herbs, stir well and leave to stand for 1 minute. Season and serve immediately. For added crunch add some crushed peanuts.
*This can be made with chicken, beef or fish
Carbonara
Serves: 1
Cooking time: 9 minutes (800w microwave)
Equipment: 500ml/17fl oz mug
Ingredients
60g smoked pancetta, finely diced½ clove garlic, left whole80g dried spaghetti, broken in half300ml/ ½ pint/ 1 ¼ cups water, just boiled15g Parmesan cheese, grated1 egg yolk1 tbsp chopped fresh parsleyGround black pepper
Method
Microwave the pancetta and garlic on full power for 2 minutes uncovered in a mug. Remove from the microwave, pour away the excess oil, discard the garlic and set the mug aside while you make the pasta.
Place the dried pasta and just-boiled water in a bowl and cook on full power uncovered for 7 minutes.
Add the Parmesan cheese, egg yolk and ground black pepper to the cooked pancetta in the mug and mix thoroughly.
Once the pasta is done, the cooking water will be very hot; remove from the microwave carefully, and slowly add 1 tbsp cooking water to the carbonara paste in the mug and combine.
Using a slotted spoon add the pasta to the paste and stir through (you want the pasta to still be a bit wet to thicken the sauce). Serve immediately garnished with a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley.
*If you can’t find pancetta you an always use smoked streaky/fatty bacon instead.
Stuffed chicken breast with chickpeas
Serves: 1
Cooking time: 6 minutes (800w microwave) plus 2 minutes standing
Equipment: 500ml/17fl oz mug
Ingredients
Pinch chilli flakes50g caned chickpeas, drained and rinsed90ml canned chopped tomatoes1 tbsp olive oil100-130g chicken breast, skinned2 tbsp cream cheese20g black olives, diced30 pancetta strips1 tsp chopped fresh parsleySalt and ground black pepper
Method
Mix the chili flakes, chickpeas, tomatoes and olive oil in the mug.
Prepare the chicken breast: using a sharp pointed knife cut into the side of the chicken breast to create a pocket; try not to pierce the other side. Stuff the chicken breast with as much of the cream cheese as possible and three-quarters of the olives, but leave enough room to just close the pocket.
Lay the pancetta rashers on a chopping board slightly overlapping to create a ‘sheet’ of pancetta.
Place the stuffed chicken breast on top of the pancetta with the incision going across the pancetta rashers. Wrap the pancetta around the chicken breast and trim any edges of the chicken that stick out (be careful not to cut into the pocket).
Rest the wrapped chicken breast on top of the chickpea and tomato mixture in the mug and microwave uncovered on full power for 6 minutes. Leave to stand for 2 minutes before garnishing with parsley.