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I start work today at a new restaurant. One of my responsibilities will be to come up with daily fish dishes for the takeout counter servicing the lower echelons of office staff in our building. Easy, right? Not so much; these dishes will need to be easily reheatable in a microwave. Are there any recipe sites out there which focus specifically on meals which don't degrade when microwaved?

Alternatively, does anyone know of resources which discuss general principles for making food intended to be reheated in a microwave?

(NB: yes, of course, one solution is to make cold dishes. That isn't doable for ten dishes per week. The majority must be hot.)

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    Is the smell of the dish when reheated in the microwave a concern? Some fish dishes that I've made reheat fine, but I wouldn't want to do that to my co-workers.
    – justkt
    Nov 4, 2010 at 12:19
  • Odour is not a concern.
    – daniel
    Nov 4, 2010 at 12:31

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A few principles for re-heatable food that I've found over the years:

  • Things with or in sauces heat nicely
  • Dry things don't heat as well (plain rice, for example)
  • Liquid distribution in the dish is important for even heating
  • Dryer things like meats heat better when they have glazes or toppings (keep steam in)
  • Things you can stir up mid-heat are nice for even heating
  • Flavours improve over time, use this to make reheated dishes better
  • Food continues to cook in the microwave (and dry out), so avoid overcooked. This goes double for noodles (nothing worse than mushy noodles)
  • Thickened sauces (especially with flour) reheat thicker than when cooked
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  • It helps to understand how microwaving works, too. The microwave has plates that vibrate at a frequency that produces these (micro)waves, aimed at a centre point in the machine, which vibrates molecules it comes into contact with. Vibration already slightly heats things up, but it really heats up water molecules, because the frequency of the microwaves has been tuned to match the natural, resonant frequency of water molecules - that means the water in the substance (most food products contain at least some water) vibrate so violently so as to produce the most (heat) energy.
    – Ghoti and Chips
    Sep 20, 2017 at 7:11
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Your question isn't easy and I may need a few attempts to answer it.

I can come back with a few suggestions

  1. Teriyaki Grilled salmon http://www.ecofish.com/recipes/salmon_teriyaki.htm

  2. Steam Fish Fillet with Shallot and Ginger http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=783795

  3. Fish Curry with Rice http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fish-recipes/keralan-fish-curry

  4. Smoked Salmon Pasta

  5. Baked Tuna Pasta

I am sure you can google for the recipes of above. Also, I personally cooked all of them and I know for sure all of above are good for microwave reheat!

The good tips for all the fish dishes are to make sure of gingers and wine!

Additional Suggestions:

I saw some of the comments were about Odour and worried about the fishy smell.

Fristly, we should understand why Fish smells bad in dishes. The smell comes from the fat of the fish which changes for different species of fish. Therefore, it's not easy to get rid of the smell all together. That's why cooking techquie becomes important and the truth of all cooking is to reduce or 'mask' the smell.

  • White / Rice wine will take away the odor and smell of the fish. It enhances the taste and takes away the fishy taste. It's the most power method and people who don't like fishy taste will usually find this helpful.
  • Ginger / Garlic have the same effects, but it retains the fish nature favour.
  • Herbs will 'mask' the fishy taste and take over the favour of the fish. I would suggest you to put in Dill & Chives to enhance the favour.
  • If you have fish that are not so fresh, use them to make curries.
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  • Any casserole-type dish should reheat pretty well. (The problem, though, is that one fish-based casserole is much like another.)
    – Marti
    Nov 4, 2010 at 14:02
  • What common factors make these all good for reheating? (I know you said "make sure of gingers and wine" - but surely ginger doesn't have magical properties, does it?)
    – Cascabel ♦
    Nov 4, 2010 at 14:05
  • Cool. I was thinking more about the texture, which is why I figured ginger couldn't possibly do anything.
    – Cascabel ♦
    Nov 6, 2010 at 2:00

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