Kitchen Gadgets

I went kitchen appliances shopping last week. I love buying cooking gadgets because they make my life stress-free.

As you know, the Epperson’s are big on home cooking. Every member of our family knows how to cook (except my three-year old for now). Tom and I make sure our kids learn to cook to empower them to take control of what they eat plus, it’s fun!

Time to go shopping!

Imarflex Rotating Waffle Maker

For Easter Sunday, I wanted to make waffles instead of our signature Buttermilk Pancakes. I realized though that we didn’t have a waffle maker. Boo.

I bought the Imarflex Rotating Waffle Maker from Anson’s, Makati. It was around P2K+.

I never knew about rotating waffle makers until I saw it on Martha Stewart’s show. Cool.

What is a rotating waffle maker? Most traditional waffle makers were made of steel, aluminum, iron etc. But these were heavy and hence difficult to use as well as clean. Outdated waffle making containers were used to cook waffles on flame or stove unlike today’s contemporary and best waffle maker. Rotating waffle maker is most preferred as waffles get cooked properly in the same. In cast iron makers, the waffles might not cook uniformly which is one drawback of such waffle makers. Rotating devices possess two holders which can be used to flip over the heated part once one side of waffle is cooked. Source

In a nutshell, a rotating waffle maker helps in spreading the batter evenly over the surface of the waffle maker, which allows the waffle to cook evenly. Personally, I think that the flip-action handle is just more fun!

Let’s make yummy Belgian waffles, shall we?

Luto naaa!

Feel free to smother butter and maple syrup

What makes waffles perfect? Two words: whipped butter

Easter brunch with the waffle heads

Now that I’ve blogged about this, I can finally peel off the damn sticker off my rotating waffle maker!

Philip’s Airfryer

The moment that Philip’s launched their AirFryer, everyone wanted one. Unfortunately, it came with a hefty price tag (approximately P24,000-25,000+).

Last Sunday, I noticed that the Airfryer was on sale at 50% off! I didn’t think twice and got one for myself. After I bought it, I immediately posted it on Twitter and Instagram which caused a bit of panic amongst my friends and shoppingeras alike. In fact, my DM inbox on Twitter was loaded with queries. I also received tons of text messages. UBUSAN!

(Photo taken using Instagram)

Q. How can you fry something without oil?

A. You can’t. The device uses a combination of fan-forced hot air and a grill plate to heat food through. In effect, it’s like a very small fan-forced oven with a pull-out basket with a handle for the food.

The Airfryer comes in two colors: black and white

The unit is large enough to dominate the space in our kitchen. I have several kitchen aides so storage is a problem.

The AirFryer comes with a divider which is quite useful if you want to cook two different meals.

The metal basket is large enough to cook a meal for 3-4 people. You can fit a small whole chicken in it.

My AirFryer recipes:

Since a lot of my friends and readers bought the Philip’s AirFryer because of my recommendation online, I’ve got some recipes and tips on what and how to cook them.

Ingredients:

Chicken (w/ bones)
Marinade: Light soy or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos and fresh calamani juice

Easy peasy:

Marinade chicken in light soy, garlic and calamansi juice for 20-30 minutes. Stick them in the AirFryer for 10-12 minutes, 180 degrees.

Tip: Take out the garlic bits before cooking the chicken to avoid the burnt garlic flavor. Check the chicken after 8 minutes of cooking. The AirFryer is quite powerful that cooking it too long can dry out the meat.

When you cook “airfried” food using the AirFryer, the meat doesn’t come out as golden as it would when deep fried in cooking oil. But it is as crispy if not crispier than cooking it in oil.

Tip: If you want the golden brown color, marinate your meat or fish in light soy sauce.

I’m not a fried chicken kind of girl except if it’s KFC’s Hot & Crispy. My husband and daughter though loves it. According to Tom and Aryanna, the chicken cooked in the AirFryer is the best they’ve had. It’s crispy on the outside and super moist and tasty on the inside.

Tip: For my AirFryer Chicken recipe, I just marinated the chicken in Liquid Aminos (you can use light oil), garlic and fresh calamansi juice. I did not use any oil.

Potato Chips

While the Airfryer comes with a recipe book, there’s little doubt that cooking fries is its main target. On that note, let’s make some potato chips!

Do yourself a favor and cut your own potatoes. It’s healthier. Frozen ready-made fries are easy but most of the grocery bought ones have a light application of oil compared to  plainly sliced potatoes.

Tom sliced the potatoes (with skin) thinly and seasoned it with only fresh ground pepper (you can salt it after cooking). He cooked it in the AirFryer at 180 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

The result is amazing! Super crispy potato chips and flavorful even without oil! You can also get the same results using an oven but the AirFrayer makes it more convenient.

Tip: When cooking fries, don’t over stuff the basket as the bottom pieces don’t come out as crispy. Stick to thinly cut fries than wedges if you want crunchy potatoes. For added flavor, add 1 tbsp. of oil to the raw potatoes then cook it as directed in the cookbook.

These hand cut “airfried” potato chips without oil get two legs up from me and my family!

Dinner is served.

Lumpiang Shanghai

Yes, you can cook lumpia, cheese sticks, turon, and different kinds of spring rolls using the AirFryer.

Ingredients:

Lumpia wrapper
Lean ground beef
Carrots, finely chopped
Onions, finely chopped
Cayenne pepper
Salt & pepper to taste

Easy peasy:

Mix all the ingredients then wrap them in lumpia wrapper

I cooked the lumpia for 7 minutes only. The wrapper came out a bit anemic in color compared to the usual golden brown when cooked in oil but it was super crispy. Keri na!

Tip: Less lumpia filling, less cooking time.

Tip: Don’t overcook the lumpia as it dries the beef filling. Again, I cooked this with no oil.

“Airfried” Steak

We usually cook our steak pan fried style using a cast iron. This time, I used the AirFryer and I was blown away by the result!

I set the temperature at 180 degrees and cooked it for 10 minutes.

Tip: The AirFryer cooks food fast and I’m just learning that I can’t follow the suggested cooking time if the cookbook. I usually go 3-4 minutes less than the suggested cooking time.

I wanted a medium cooked steak but I think I slightly overcooked it by 2 minutes. Anyway, the meat was still juicy and so tasty! Impressive!

Overall, buying the AirFryer for P10K (at 50% off) was worth every penny.

Why I love this gadget:

• You can “airfry” food without using oil.
• If you do decide to use oil, it takes very little (suggested use is 1 tbsp.) to make it golden brown and to add more flavor.
• If you fry food regularly, using the AirFryer is a healthier choice. My helpers also fry a lot of their food. Now, they only use the AirFryer using zero oil and it’s healthier too.
• No more oil splatter mess.
• When used right (you have to experiment on the temperature and cooking time), food cooks crispier and tastier.
• It’s compact. If you live in a small unit without an oven and want something that can move house when you do, it’s the best gadget to have.

How to clean the AirFryer?

• You can easily wash the basket with scrub, dishwashing soap and water.
• The exterior can be wiped down easily too.
• If you cooked fish or anything smelly, my advice is to stick a small dish of baking soda inside the basket and close it.
• Leave it in for half an hour. The baking soda should absorb any smell. I won’t advice cleaning the electric heating plate.

I highly recommend this kitchen gadget for convenience and health reasons.

Shoppingero/shoppingera, run, don’t walk! Get the Philip’s AirFryer and Imarflex Rotation Waffle Maker now!