After a long days filming the last thing I want to do when I come home is start cooking. In my humble opinion, slow cookers are one of the best inventions to hit the cookery world for eons. Chuck everything in, set the timer, and bingo! A hot, tasty meal is yours when you walk in the door. I’ve just tried the Sear and Stew model from one of my favourite brands, Morphy Richards, and to say I’m impressed is an understatement!

The main problem with slow cookers is akin to what people were like when they first bought a microwave, owners are frightened to experiment. So many still think that they are just for stews, casseroles etc, when there is virtually no limit to what these amazing machines can produce. I have just made the most sublime Kung Poa chicken in mine, and can’t believe how good it tastes.

Now, when I try new devices for the first time, I tend to cook things away from the norm, to give them a real test so to speak. Chinese dishes can either be very good or very bad depending on what they were cooked in, and this Morphy Richards model is the best I’ve found. The chicken was juicy and succulent, the sauce perfect. The fact that Kung Poa chicken is generally considered to be a stir fry dish gives even more kudos to this compact slow cooker and how well it handles even complex dishes.

This is due to the fact that as opposed to your every day slow cookers, which tend to stew all the meat, this one also has a sear feature. So effectively, you have one pot which sears, stews, and can be served from. To sear meat before you cook it, you simply lift the lightweight pot out of the cooker and place it directly on your electric or gas hob. When that’s done you pop it back in and add all your other ingredients. No more extra pans, or extra washing up, and the removable pot also gives you the luxury of putting your meal on the table and letting everyone help themselves.

It’s generous capacity easily feeds 4, and I’m talking good portions here. It’s also a bit like a tardis but despite its large capacity, it takes up very little space on your work top or cupboards with its ingenious packing design, you can pop the base plate and plug inside the pot along with the lid. This little bit of kit will be used weekly for anything from chilli con carne to my latest Chicken Kung Poa. If you’d like to see how I use the Sear & Stew, click my latest video for the recipe.

 

Sear and Stew Compact Slow Cooker

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