Making pasta in the microwave?

[mathsnerd]

Hello all!

I'm hoping to pick to your collective brains in the hopes that someone has the answer to this question. I have recently acquired a 20L microwave/grill/convection oven and am now facing the cold hard truth that I don't know how to use it other than re-heating things. (Oops.)

The weather here in Germany is getting colder, and I am craving PASTA! Hence, my question to you all: how can I cook pasta in a microwave? What kind of dishes/equipment do I need to purchase? (I have, quite literally, nothing.) Are some sorts of pasta going to be harder than others? I do own an electric hot water cooker, so I can boil water ahead of time, if that helps.

In other important information, I share a tiny room, have next to no storage space, have almost no prep space, have a sink, share a tiny under-the-counter-fridge, do NOT have a freezer, have two hot plates but do not use them (hence the microwave/oven) due to fear of burns, do not currently have any storage containers but can get some when I get cooking dishes/equipment if it's recommended.

I am disabled, hence the not cooking on hot plates, use crutches and hand/arm braces, and have reduced motor skills in my hands/arms/legs. Spoons vary wildly by day and time of day.

I need to eat more and eat warm food. I turn to you in hopes of being able to start having pasta. If I can cook pasta, I can make a batch and refrigerate it, and then re-heat it and make sauces or dress it as my stomach permits (I have weird food things due to a chronic illness) and a lot of things would be better. At least one of my closer friends and her mother would stop bitching (they bought the microwave).

I thank you all in advance and look forward to being able to have pasta! X-posted to cookability

Comments

[momijizukamori]

I actually do this a lot, because it's just me in the house and unless I'm making tons for leftovers for lunch it's way too much energy for me to keep checking stuff on the stove. Also kind of time consuming.

I don't have really exact measurements because I kind of eyeball this, but usually I fill a decent-sized container (as others have said Pyrex is best, but I /have/ done it in good quality microwave-safe tupperware containers many times with no problem, and they are much lighter). Basically, I take one of these, fill it maybe about half way with water, dump in some pasta - I'd say a cup-ish of dry pasta? but like I said, eyeballing, and then just nuke it on regular power for eight minutes or so. If it's still a little too chewy, I do another three minutes after that, but I like my pasta kind of firm so eight is usually fine. Generally I err on the side of too much water, and just drain the excess, either via colander, or by holding the container lid on loosely so there's a teeny gap for the water to drain out.

It may take you a try or two to get the amount of pasta and the cooking time right, but it's luckily fairly simple. It's only about a minute or two of cooking to reheat it, though I generally sauce it right away and then refrigerate it with the sauce, as I find that gives me less little chewy edges after reheating.