Musui–Kamado Series: Sear & Braise
Sear and Stir-Fry Superpower
The Musui’s excellent heat retention allows proteins and vegetables to be perfectly seared, sautéed, or stir-fried without the temperature dropping during cooking. Additionally, the Musui's heat capabilities paired with the Kamado's precise heat control make the Musui–Kamado an ideal tool for low-and-slow braises and stews. With the Musui–Kamado, ingredients can first be seared or sautéed to build flavors and then simmered or braised—all within the same pot. Once it's set, you can walk away and let the Musui–Kamado do the rest using its timer function, ensuring tender, juicy, and flavorful dishes. In this blog, we will introduce you to cooking tips and the benefits of using the Musui–Kamado to sear, stir-fry, braise, and stew.
Perfect for High-Heat Cooking
Searing:
The Musui–Kamado can reach a temperature of 445ºF, which is exceptionally high compared to other multi-cookers or slow cookers on the market. By uniting the excellent heat retention properties of cast iron with the uniform heat distribution realized by three-dimensional induction heating, the Musui–Kamado can keep the pot at a constant high temperature, making it ideal for searing and browning. The high heat caramelizes the surface of the meat quickly—creating a beautiful sear that is delectably crisp on the outside and perfectly tender within. The golden crust locks in umami and adds depth to the flavors and textures of completed dishes.
Stir-frying:
Because the Musui–Kamado can maintain a high temperature and distribute heat evenly, the pot evaporates excess moisture from ingredients quickly as you cook. Stir-frying with the Musui–Kamado allows ingredients to retain their texture without becoming soggy, all while intensifying their natural flavors. With the Musui–Kamado, you can easily make perfect, restaurant-quality stir-fries at home.
Cooking Tip:
For high-heat cooking, preheat the pot using MED heat before adding ingredients. After about 3 minutes, a GRILL OK sign will appear, indicating that the pot is preheated at 445ºF and ready to cook.
Try our Japanese Sesame Chicken or Ham Fried Rice recipe to master searing and stir-frying with the Musui–Kamado.
Game-Changing Braise & Stew
The quality of braises and stews cooked with the Musui–Kamado is at another level. Here's why:
1. High Heat
As explained above, the Musui–Kamado can generate high heat and keeps the pot at a constant temperature, which helps perfectly sear your ingredients. Searing ingredients before starting a braise or stew builds flavors, adds depth in taste, and makes a big difference in the final dish that must be tasted to appreciate fully.
2. Precision Seal
Spices and seasonings play a significant role in braises and stews, and the Musui pot’s precision seal is here to help. The precision seal retains the aroma of spices and intensifies the flavors within the pot. In addition, the precision seal helps contain moisture and juices within the pot, so you can keep braising liquid to a minimum. By reducing the amount of liquid, you will retain more flavors and nutrients.
The precision seal helps trap steam to create steam convection. The Musui’s heat retention combined with the Kamado’s even heat distribution helps cook food faster and more efficiently. Compared to slow cookers, the Musui–Kamado can reduce simmering time by half or more. What this means is you can always tenderize meat without diluting any flavor. And unlike pressure cookers, the Musui–Kamado does not force food to cook faster, leaving the texture and flavors of each ingredient intact.
Cooking Tips:
1. Sear to build flavors
Before braising or stewing, sear the proteins. For searing, preheat the pot on MED heat. The preheat is complete once the GRILL OK sign appears.
Make sure to wipe off excess moisture from the ingredients. Before cooking, pat dry the surface of fish and meat using a paper towel. Excess moisture is the enemy of caramelization and a beautiful sear.
Sear by pressing thick-cut meats down against the bottom of the pot. The key to searing evenly is pressing down until the sizzling sound stops. Once seared, the meat should effortlessly come off the bottom of the pot.
2. Keep braising liquid to a minimum
Make sure to keep braising liquid to a minimum, as the precision seal helps contain moisture and juices within the pot. Cover the pot with the lid when braising and stewing.
3. Reduce cooking time
The Musui–Kamado cooks food faster and more efficiently compared to slow cookers. You can start by following our recipes to familiarize yourself with the relevant cooking times for braises and stews.
Braise ＆ Stew Recipe: Hungarian Goulash
Try this tasty traditional beef stew. The cast iron’s exceptional heat retention gives this dish a deep, hearty flavor.
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ lb beef short ribs, cut into 1 ½” pieces
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ medium onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ⅔ cups (400 ml) chicken broth
3 tablespoons ground sweet paprika
2 tablespoons dried marjoram
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 bay leaves
2 medium carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
DIRECTIONS
1. Season beef with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Preheat the pot with [MED] heat. Once [GRILL OK] sign appears, spread olive oil evenly and sear the beef for 10 minutes or until golden brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate.
3. In the same oil, sauté onions and garlic over [MED] heat for 10 minutes or until onions are caramelized. Add in tomato paste and sauté for another minute.
4. Add in red wine vinegar, sugar, chicken broth, spices and stir once. Then add in seared beef, cover and braise over [LOW] heat for 90 minutes.
5. Add in carrots and braise over [LOW] heat for another 30 minutes. Serve warm.
See other Braise & Stew recipes here.
