Microwave Recipes for College Students Who Can’t Cook
The ultimate beginner’s guide to microwave meals for when your budget is starting to look like “we’ve got food at home.”
(Katie Liao via Washington Square News)
by Katie Liao
This story was originally published on New York University’s Washington Square News.
If you’re wondering how you’re supposed to survive with a kitchenette and some frozen tofu from your local dining hall without spending every last penny on DoorDash, you should learn how to use your microwave – properly.
One of my biggest regrets from my first-year at college was only using the microwave for heating leftovers and instant ramen. I believed that the only thing wasting my time, money and health was the lack of a kitchen, until I actually got a kitchen the next year. That’s when I realized the problem was never the microwave — it was me.
So here it is: the official breakup cookbook with depressing reheated meals and the beginning of our microwave era. Try these five easy microwave recipes, with accessible ingredients that can be bought from either H Mart or Trader Joe’s, and break the ice with your microwave. When done right, microwaving proves to be efficient and effective for busy students who can’t cook.
Coke-Braised Pork
Ingredients:
- 200 grams pork belly chunks
- 1 stalk of scallion
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup mirin
- 7 tablespoons Coke
Korean Steamed Egg
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 2 crab sticks
- 1 teaspoon of chicken powder
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of sesame oil
- 1 cup of water
- Some chopped scallion
Spaghetti Napolitan / Japanese Ketchup Pasta
Ingredients:
- 80 grams of spaghetti
- 2 sausages
- 1 green bell pepper
- ¾ cup of water
- 1 teaspoon of chicken powder
- 3 tablespoons of ketchup
- 1 tablespoons of shredded cheese
Chocolate Cupcake
Ingredients:
- 30 grams pancake mix
- ¼ cup milk of choice
- 5 grams chocolate – dark chocolate recommended
- 1 tablespoon of sugar – depends on personal preference, but I recommend less if your pancake mix and/or cocoa powder contains sugar
- 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
French Toast
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 7 tablespoons of milk
- 2 slices of white bread
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
Read the rest of the story at Washington Square News.