Wouldn’t it be interesting if someone with little cooking experience tries using our superheated steam oven?

That was the start of this time’s article. With almost no cooking experience over the last two decades, I was chosen as the one to take on this challenge.

Although I do know the spec of our latest superheated steam oven as knowledge, my best effort at cooking recently was using the microwave oven. Still, since I like pursuing the details once I work on something, first I would like to review the features of the product and check on what I will need to prepare.

Superheated steam oven <AX-XW500> for Japan market

Key features: voice communication and auto cooking

Voice communication and auto cooking are some key features of the superheated steam oven <AX-XW500>.

enables easy settings and recipe consultation by talking to the device. This is possible by connecting the device to the internet and using Sharp’s AIoT cloud service COCORO KITCHEN *¹ function.

*1 COCORO KITCHEN is a kitchen service app based on our vision “people-oriented AIoT” that combines AI (artificial intelligence) and IoT (Internet of things), connecting everything to the artificial intelligence of the cloud.

  For example, if you want to bake a pizza you bought from a supermarket, you need to read the instructions on the box and operate each preheating and cooking orders as instructed. But using this device, you just simply say “bake pizza” and the settings to bake pizza will be preset automatically. Then you just place the pizza inside and push the START button, and you get a well-baked pizza automatically. Voice communication enables various settings so you do not have to remember many operations.

Auto Cooking realizes more freedom than ever before. Choose any food – meat, fish, vegetables, in any volume*2, no matter frozen, chilled, or room temperature. Just lay it out on the square tray, and choose the cooking method (grill / fry / bake / stir-fry / steam / boil). The oven will do all the cooking  from there.

*2 Results vary with types and shape of food. Total capacity weight of food is to be about 1kg.

Pre-settings: Connecting the oven to the internet

In order to use the COCORO KITCHEN service, you need to connect the device to the internet first.

Following the operation manual of <AX-XW500>, select maintenance setting -> wireless LAN ON/OFF -> ON -> OK -> Next and “Agree”  to register to Sharp’s cloud service by pushing “push button connect”.  The display will show “connecting…” and by pushing the connect button on your router, a connect lamp will appear on the oven display, and settings are complete.  When the screen changes, the connect lamp on the upper right will change to orange.

By pushing the connect button on the router following the screen and voice guidance from the oven, you can easily connect the device to the internet.

Operation screen connecting to wireless LAN
(left) connecting (right) settings completed

*Broadband internet line is required. WPS / AOSS push-button type wireless LAN access point devices (routers) are also required. The device cannot connect to the internet without push-button type connection.

Download the free COCORO KITCHEN app to connect your smartphone

This superheated steam oven can be used even more easily by installing the COCORO KITCHEN app to your smartphone.

For example, you can search recommended menus and recipes when you are outside, and send the menu to the oven. Also you can check cooking records, edit manual cooking menus, and register favorites. You can even send information of needed food from your recipe from the oven to your smartphone.

Deciding recipe

Now we are ready to start cooking. I would like to prepare two dishes this time. One is already decided – roast beef.

Why roast beef? Because I was strongly recommended this dish from the planning staff, which is thought to be difficult to create but actually easy to prepare with our superheated steam oven.

Indeed I was surprised when I checked the recipe on the COCORO KITCHEN app. All I need to do is tie a beef block and apply salt and pepper. Controlling cooking is all done by the superheated steam oven. Maybe I can make this easily.

So I purchased a big and tasty-looking beef block for roast beef. This superheated steam oven can cook size of 350g to 800g automatically, with size up to 9cm width and 6cm thickness.

Cooking roast beef

Okay, let’s start cooking. I’m a bit nervous now. First you need to tie the beef. Since I don’t have experience in tieing beef, I practiced my moves beforehand watching videos and using a bottle instead of a beef. I learned that by making a circle first and then twisting the rope after passing the beef, and repeating that procedure by 1cm span, you can tie the beef well. Actually I had some trouble as beef is much softer than bottles I used for practice, but my preparation paid off. I used about 160cm rope to tie this beef block for reference. Then, I rubbed in salt overall, and applied pepper on the top side. I left the beef on the cooking net for 10 minutes to allow the spices to sink in.

The ties may not be perfect but makes the look suddenly professional.

Now I will leave it up to the superheated steam oven. After placing the beef inside, I push the [talk] button. The oven asks me “yes, how can I help you?” Once the talk lamp turns green, I speak back “roast beef”.

The oven recognized my request, and displayed “roast beef”. This is so easy, as I don’t have to operate the device to search for the menu, and it already shows the cooking start button for roast beef!

By pushing the [cook without saving] button, the cooking program is set automatically. All I do now is push the [cooking start] button and wait 50 minutes.

Cooked roast beef

After the beef is cooked, I wait for about 30 minutes before slicing it. This way, the juice stays more inside the beef.

Now I will prepare the second dish while waiting for the beef to cool down.

Preparing fried noodles

I checked the refrigerator and found pork and cabbage. I decided to ask the oven what I can prepare with these foods.

After pushing the [talk] button, I asked the oven “what can I prepare with pork and cabbage?” and the device displayed menus I can prepare.

I chose fried noodles from the list, since I can try using the “auto cook” feature this time. Since I already connected my smartphone, by pushing [save] the recipe will be saved to the oven and my smartphone at the same time, sent to the COCORO KITCHEN app.

After checking the recipe and the foods I already have, the app creates a shopping list of what I need to get.

Shopping list

Checking the shopping list, I purchased the remaining ingredients. Now I am ready to start cooking.

First I cut the vegetables and meat accordingly to the recipe. Then, I used a cooking sheet to cover the square plate and laid out the food evenly. First is the noodles, and then vegetables. Finally I applied the powdered sauce attached to the noodle set, and covered the top with meat.

It’s that simple, just laying out in order. Even I can do that easily. It even brought me some doubt if I can really cook fried noodles this way.

I tried to lay out as clean as possible though told I didn’t have be so precise.

After laying out the ingredients, I place the tray on the highest level of the oven. Now I am all set. (There are two trays to the oven, so I was able to prepare this dish even while cooling down the roasted beef.)

Now I just choose the fried noodles menu I registered before, and push the [start] button. The dish is made in about 20 minutes.

The fried noodles is made while waiting for the roast beef to cool down. The pork is well baked too.

Quickly mix the food to let the sauce spread out evenly.

Fried noodles

All I did was cut the ingredients and lay it out, and it looks like I actually cooked it by myself!
I tried it and the noodles, vegetables and meat were all well cooked and was very tasty.

Now let’s get back to our roast beef. 30 minutes have passed and it has cooled down enough, so I’d like to slice it. First I cut off the rope, and now is the moment of truth. I’ve never cut such a large block of meat before!

I scare myself seeing how unused I am cutting beef

Can you see the vivid contrast of brown outside and red inside? I think you wouldn’t be surprised to see this in a regular restaurant.

The recipe book included in the product also describes how to make the sauce. I choosed wasabi and soy sauce this time. It helps bring out the tastiness of the beef.

Roast beef

End note

At first I was worried if I could really do this since I hadn’t held a knife for quite some time, but the oven helped me out on preparation. And actually that is all that I needed to do; after preparation is done, you just leave it up to the oven and it creates a wonderful dish. It gave me the confidence that even I could cook.

I also felt the convenience for people who need to think of daily menus, since they can check the COCORO KITCHEN app outside and consult with the oven when at home. COCORO KITCHEN app also suggests daily menus. The AI function will learn your past records and change its response accordingly to each family.

The superheated steam oven <AX-XW500> corresponding to COCORO KITCHEN helps support your daily cooking and save your time as you can do other tasks while the oven cooks for you.

*The “HEALSIO” superheated steam oven <AX-XW500> is a product marketed in Japan only. (as of Aug. 29, 2018)

●WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Alliance, Wi-Fi Protected Setup are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Wi-Fi Alliance.
●AOSS (AirStation One-Touch Secure System) AirStation and AOSS  are trademarks of Buffalo Inc.