We all have our own microwave cooking horror stories: Yeah! gray meat, limp vegetables, awful mashed potatoes. Maybe that's why many of us turn to this gizmo only for reheating . But that's a mistake. Fish is one food that the microwave oven actually cooks better, faster, and neater than its conventional counterpart.
Calling the microwave an oven has been the mistake. Instead of heating from the outside in, as a conventional oven does, a microwave heats internally. Household electricity converted to high-frequency microwaves excites the moisture and fat molecules in food; the resulting vibrations create friction that produces internal heat. Therefore, what you cook and how you cook is quite different in the microwave oven. A little knowledge should help you produce great results with your next piece of lingcod or salmon, or lowly rockfish like those we caught today.
Why does fish steam so well in a microwave oven?
Fish benefits from quick, moist cooking. Its tender tissues don't need extended braising to break down the fibers. The moisture in fish helps the microwaves generate rapid heat inside. The enclosed heat and moisture in turn create steam to gently cook the fish in a fraction of the time it would take with regular steaming or baking.
Why does fish sometimes take so long to cook?
You may be overloading your oven. The rate at which a microwave oven cooks relates to how much food it must heat. Whether you steam two or six fish steaks over simmering water, the cooking time is about the same. Not so in a microwave oven. The motto of microwave cooking is "more mass, more time." Also remember to rotate fish to achieve even results for large quantities.
Why more and more I use the microwave with fish ?
I'm lazy... and sensitive to the delicate, the fresh and the exquisite. I Finland I taste their national dish, a small mountain of 
small fish with nothng but a dash of salt and pepper. Delicious because freshly caught., mostly. I caught a smallish bottom dweller this morning that I could have thrown back to the sea. It was too small to fillet so I put him whole in the microwave for 50 seconds and ate it in melted butter spiked with just a teaspoon of white wine, salt and pepper. . My fork pulled it apart and ....brought to my mouth an experience that I would rate as an 11 on a scale of one to 10. The spine pulled out with one tiny tug extrating all its little bones. It was a passionate embrace, a summit in my 64 years on planet Earth. Please do the microwave if you are having fish for dinner. Write for recipes. And post your results with your own recipes here too.
