Can I defrost chicken curry in the microwave?

In this article, we answer the following question: Can I defrost chicken curry in the microwave? We give you instructions on how to best reheat or defrost food, with or without a microwave.

Can I defrost chicken curry in the microwave?

You can defrost chicken curry in the microwave, but there is something you have to keep in mind: once the curry defrosts, you have to eat it immediately. If you put it back in the refrigerator for some vicissitude of fate you could cause some harmful bacteria to grow on the meat.

Using the microwave is the fastest way to reheat food, especially if we want to reheat a single serving of food. The first thing is to choose the appropriate heating program.

If you have doubts about setting the time or power, try with lower values, because it is always better to reheat the food than to check that it has been dried due to the intensity.

Besides, we must use a suitable container, covering it slightly. The best option is to protect what we will heat with a special microwave lid with small holes for air to circulate. If we are going to use a plastic container, it will be important to make sure it is suitable for the microwave. Look at the base or lid, where a symbol representing it should appear.

Apart from the sign that indicates that they are indeed microwave-safe, we can heat food in glass containers and any type of pottery without metallic decoration.

First of all, you have to stir the food well, to ensure that it does not get caked. Midway through the heating cycle, food can be mixed to ensure that it is adequately heated. One trick is to add a few drops of water or a jet of oil so that the food does not dehydrate during heating.

How to reheat or defrost food without a microwave

Reheated foods tend to be better if we use the stove. This means a little more time, and dirtier because we will need pots or pans, but the result will be more delicious.

Also, if it is a question of reheating several servings of food, in the end, it will compensate us because it will be much faster and cheaper to heat everything in a pot than to reheat two or three dishes in the microwave.

The idea is a bit that: if the objective is to reheat a single dish, the microwave will be the most practical, but if we are already talking about reheating several servings, it will be worth using the kitchen.

And here’s a tip: so that we do not multiply dirty dishes, when storing food, try to do it with a little vision and being very practical. For example, if the leftover food will be to reheat at work, then a casserole with a lid is perfect.

But if we want to heat the leftover stew the next day, it is best to leave it in the fridge in the same pot, and not transfer it to a tupperware, and then have to use a saucepan to heat it again.

To reheat food on the fire and give it touch so that it does not lose flavor, a good trick, whether it is a stew, a puree, rice, or pasta, is to add a small cup of water. When it gets warm, our food will run out of the water, so nothing better than adding a little water or broth if we have it, so that it does not lose its consistency and does not stick to us.

Another good ally is olive oil. Splashing the dish that we are reheating in the pan is always going to be welcome. If it is carbonara pasta, lasagna or cannelloni, a good trick to reheat the dish is to add a little milk or butter.

This way, we will prevent it from sticking, and we will give it creaminess. And if they are pasta with tomato or some meatballs in tomato sauce, then do not hesitate to add a splash of fried tomato to intensify its flavor when reheated.

Other ways to reheat/defrost food: the oven and the water bath

It is also interesting to learn how to reheat food in a classic way. Regarding this issue, a water bath is an excellent option.

It will consist of putting a container with the ingredients to be cooked inside another larger box that contains water. When placed on the fire and the water takes heat, it will give indirect heat to the smaller container’s contents, cooking it evenly.

We can cook in a bain-marie in the kitchen or the oven. Reheating in the oven is another way to reheat food. The most suitable foods to heat in the oven are stews, meats, or fish in sauce and dishes made with dough, such as pizza.

The disadvantage of using the oven is that it uses a lot of energy, and it takes a lot of time, since the oven has to start and is slower than the other options that we saw of microwaves or using the fire in our kitchen.

Again, it will depend on whether what we want to reheat is a lot or a little.

Can food be reheated more than once?

Once food has been reheated, it is best not to reheat it again. Therefore, it is best to reheat only the amount of food that we are going to consume.

And if we calculate that we are not going to consume a specific cooked dish within four days, it is best to freeze it.

Other FAQs about Curry that you may be interested in.

What meat is best with green curry?

What meat is best with red curry?

Which is hotter: red, yellow, or green Thai curry?

Conclusions

In this article, we answered the following question: Can I defrost chicken curry in the microwave? We gave you instructions on how to best reheat or defrost food, with or without a microwave.

The bottom line is that you can defrost chicken curry in the microwave, as long as you know you will consume it immediately. Other ways of defrosting/heating food mentioned in this article are the oven, the skillet, or the water bath.

If you have any questions or comments on the content, please let us know!

References

food.com

Who.int

Foodsafety.gov