Thermomix TM7 hacks for small kitchens

There are 2 sides to adulting – the dreadful part that comes with doing your own laundry, paying bills and all that, and the fun bits, such as living independently, and having the freedom to host parties whenever you want.

But ordering in all the time is not great for the wallet and body, and kitchens these days are tiny, so cooking is out of the question for the most part. That’s where the Thermomix TM7 enters the picture to solve most, if not all, of those problems.

Here are some of the best hacks that prove it’s the only appliance you would need – and all it takes up is an A4-sized piece of kitchen real estate.

1. Whip up a whole meal in 40 minutes

Including 2 dishes, rice & a drink to boot

Get-togethers don’t necessarily have to mean fancy meals. Sometimes, all it needs is simple, home-cooked fare, because it’s the company that counts. With the Thermomix TM7, an entire 3-dish meal could be prepared in as little as 40 minutes, which means you don’t have to take the day off to prep, or leave work early.

Even the planning can be taken out of the picture, because the official Thermomix recipe platform, Cookidoo (iOS | Android), comes packed with 3-in-1 recipes so you could rotate through them with every gathering. Even if you opt out of the Cookidoo subscription, the TM7 itself is programmed with hundreds of recipes!

P.S. New TM7 owners get 3 months free subscription to Cookdoo.

You’d think 2 dishes and rice would require at least 2 pots, and a rice cooker. Think again, because we made a steamed chicken with winter melon, ramekins of steamed egg, and rice – in the one appliance, 40 minutes, and no cooking hob used.

We especially love that an ice-cold lemonade can be ready in just 2 minutes. The machine blitzes halved lemons just right so the essential oils from the skin make the drink perfectly aromatic, without the rind’s bitterness.

2. Prep your recipe essentials in advance

Plus you can boast that everything was made from scratch~

If simple home-cooked fare is a little too basic for you, fret not, because with the Thermomix TM7, the complicated route is also possible, with similarly little effort. Plus, who can deny the true flex of boasting that you made everything from scratch?

Take, for example, curry mee, the recipe for which can easily be found on Cookidoo. Without it, you might simply cop a packet of pre-made paste at the supermarket, setting you back approximately $7, excluding all of the liao that goes in.

One way about it is to bulk prep the rempah base in advance – this would only take 6 minutes, after which you could portion and freeze these ahead of time.

Otherwise, whipping up an entire curry mee party only takes 30 minutes. Get this: the noodles and veg are steamed on the same appliance, while the curry is cooking, and you don’t need to make a mess in the kitchen frying the rempah. It’s a godsend for those of us who have open-concept kitchens in tiny flats, where smells and oil get everywhere.

Did we mention? It’s 20 appliances in one; in other words, you don’t need a weighing scale, spice blender, steamer – you won’t need pots and pans either. For anyone who’s had to chop garlic and onions by hand, you’ll be thankful for the Thermomix – use the right settings, and you don’t even have to peel them at all.

$7, by the way, gets you enough ingredients to make rempah for upwards of 10 portions of curry mee, or countless other dishes on top of curry mee. And with the Thermomix TM7’s self-cleaning function, you barely have to lift a finger to wash up too.

3. Make 1 base, serve 3 dishes

Starters & main, sorted

The Thermomix life is all about versatility, and one way to best showcase this is with pesto. Yes, it’s something else you could make in advance for a dips party, or you could have multiple pesto options on hand, ready for whenever guests pop in.

Alternatively, whip up a pesto-based 3-course meal in just over an hour. First, let the Thermomix do the heavy lifting with a 2-minute pizza dough. Trust us, we were floored when we heard that too. Everything goes into the bowl, you pop the lid on, and 2 minutes later, you get perfectly kneaded dough, ready for its rise.

While that’s happening, make your pesto of choice, and dish a portion out to serve as an appetiser dip, alongside vegetable sticks or crackers.

Simply add water to the bowl after blending your pesto, and get it boiling for the pasta.

Set aside enough pesto to spread on your pizza, and reserve the rest for your pasta. You won’t have to wash the bowl, by the way, before you start boiling the pasta. You’ll also want to save a touch of pasta water in the bowl before you add the pesto back in, and pulse it at Speed 1 for a matter of seconds to get that optimal creamy, emulsified finish.

Then, all that’s left is to roll out your pizza dough, layer on the pesto and toppings as desired, and pop it into the oven

4. Go from zero to hero with the built-in recipe library

Recipes, steps & guided instructions provided

Add your recipes to a shopping list on the app to make supermarketing a breeze.

There are fail-proof recipes, which Reddit often shows can still fail, and then there’s Cookidoo, which immediately arms you with an arsenal of over 100,000 recipes in more than 20 languages from all over the world. Whether you’re cooking for an Irish-themed party or an SG61 dinner bash, you’re absolutely sorted.

You might not be able to follow a recipe to save your life, but with the Guided Cooking function, and all the appliances you could require shrunk into 1 single machine, you might just be able to turn the tables around.

Think of it as your very own cooking instructor, with checkboxes on its 10-inch touchscreen to tick off as you go along, taking you step by baby step through the entire cooking process at your own pace. We tried making a creamy mushroom soup, and honestly, the result beats any pre-made pack, and most commercial options. Plus, you know exactly what goes into it.

With the Thermomix, dessert can be house-made too – just check out the 5-minute sorbet recipe that doesn’t even require any sugar at all.

For busy professionals or parents swamped with life, you could plan your entire week’s worth of meals, and compile a shopping list on the Cookidoo app so you won’t miss anything out.

5. Let Thermomix stir while you entertain

So you can spend time with your guests

Hands up if you’ve seen your mothers or grandmothers disappear into the kitchen, busy to no end with cooking for parties, and only re-emerging when the meal is winding down. Let us tell you, that doesn’t have to be your lot in life with the Thermomix TM7 around.

Just like the curry mee rempah, which would typically take at least 20 minutes of stirring at the stove until the spice blend pecah minyak – where the oil and spice blend splits – risotto is another notoriously painstaking dish to prepare.

Grated parmesan, ready in 5 seconds.

With the Thermomix on hand, that 20 minutes of effort and perspiration is no longer needed, and you can spend that time catching up with your pals instead.

For something more Asian, consider a Chinese fried glutinous rice, where the arm workout can be delegated to the powerful motor of the Thermomix. Or you could impress your guests with a hollandaise sauce, drizzled over steamed asparagus and a sous-vide salmon fillet – all achievable with the same appliance.

The possibilities are endless; here are some other condiments you’d otherwise never DIY: kaya, XO sauce, and sambal.

Get the most out of your Thermomix TM7

You can reinvent yourself as the host with the most, with minimal effort, overall cost savings, and perhaps healthier options, when you have the Thermomix TM7 in your court. Even outside of hosting, this one appliance makes cooking and meal prep a breeze, regardless whether you’re cooking for 1 or 10.

At $2,980 a pop, it’s no casual buy for sure, but there are buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options available for up to 24 months, which works out to a $100+ commitment each month.

If you’re still only semi-convinced, you can see for yourself with a culinary demo. Book yourself a sesh at their The Cathay or Parkway Parade stores, and watch the magic happen IRL.

What’s more, the TM7 is celebrating its first birthday, and spreading the love with 30% off accessories and merchandise with any purchase of the appliance. You’ll also receive a scratch card, with prizes from $200 vouchers to a brand-new TM7 up for grabs. Our only complaint about having 2 Thermomixes is: where to keep?

Find out more about Thermomix’s anniversary deals here

Thermomix Vorwerk (The Cathay)
Address: 2 Handy Road, #02-07/08, The Cathay, Singapore 229233
Opening hours: 10.30am-10.30pm, Daily

Thermomix Vorwerk (Parkway Parade)
Address: 80 Marine Parade Road, #B1-11, Parkway Parade, Singapore 449269
Opening hours: 10.30am-10.30pm, Daily

Contact: Thermomix Singapore website

This post was brought to you by Thermomix.
Photography by: Wani Khan