I’ve been on the hunt for the best (but easy to follow) air fryer recipes since my sister told me last week that our dad’s giving us their unit because they’re upgrading. I’m super excited to try making food with it!
I think the hype on air fryers in the Philippines has died down a bit; its peak was in the thick of the lockdowns and quarantine periods. But as is usual for us, we take too long to ride on trends — we actually wait for the frenzy to fizzle out first.
We’re getting the Philips HD9200/91. It’s a bit small (4L), but it should be okay to start with.
If you’re new to it too, let’s learn recipes together! But first, here are some facts you may want to know about this cooking device that has seemingly taken the world over.
What can I cook with my air fryer?
The list of air fryer recipes is quite long! There are truly so many things you can cook in an air fryer. The first things that come to mind, of course, are those that we fry traditionally: chicken, pork, fries, and more.
But since this household appliance works similarly to a convection oven, the number of dishes that can be made with it becomes even lengthier. If you can cook it in a convection oven, you can cook it in an air fryer! Yes, even cookies, cakes and bread.
You can ‘boil’ eggs too!
What is the easiest thing to make in an air fryer?
I did take a stab at it while I was at my mom’s place sometime this month, and I can say the easiest is fries. It’s a no-brainer. But my sister has successfully cooked something simple as toast to one that’s a bit more elaborate like cordon bleu.
What foods cannot be cooked in an air fryer?
You’d want to avoid putting anything watery or liquid because the device has slots that helps ensure the food cooks evenly. Some say fresh greens are also not good to be cooked in an air fryer. So are cheese and raw grains.
Air fryer recipes — from chicken to dessert
Now that we both have a good grasp on what and what cannot be cooked, it’s time to plan things out! Here are some easy air fryer recipes I found — all easy to be made in the Philippines (no ingredients that are too foreign here; most of them are Pinoy-made too).
Fried chicken
Of course, we’ll start this list of air fryer recipes with fried chicken. Our daughter loves it. This is her no-brainer food. If we don’t have anything to eat, she’ll for sure ask for fried chicken. I don’t like ‘simple’ fried chicken though. I want it to have spices or at least herbs. My husband’s not a big fan of fried chicken because it tastes ‘fishy’ to him, so something that’s packed with flavor is what we need. This recipe’s for southern fried chicken, so it’s perfect!
Crispy pork belly
This will trick you into thinking you’re eating healthy even though it’s not. We’ve always found Panlasang Pinoy’s recipes to be reliable too, so I’m quite confident that this is good. Can’t wait to experience the crunch!
Crispy tofu
In my family, I’m the one who’s super into tofu. I always tell my husband, if we ever decide to go vegan again, I think I can sustain it with just tofu (and eggplant, tomatoes, leafy greens and rice, of course). So a tofu recipe is definitely on my list.
Baked tahong
If there’s one thing that’s stopping me from being vegan, it’s seafood. (Try pescatarianism maybe?) I love most types of seafood, even plain ol’ fish. But baked tahong is something we all grew up eating in gatherings. Growing up, we didn’t really have a working oven so this is my chance to live out my eat-seafood-often dreams.
Donuts
We’ve been meaning to buy an oven because our daughter’s shared an interest in baking (particularly so that she could try making the food in Genshin Impact). While we don’t have a proper oven yet, we could perhaps experiment with an air fryer. This recipe for donuts looks quite simple to follow — and the results look great!
How about you? What are your favorite air fryer recipes? Which of these will you be trying?