Recently, Xiaomi launched Mijia Air Fryer S1, which is more capacious than usual-6 liters. The air fryer sports a 6.5-inch viewing window, 9 preset menus, and a 1350W far-infrared heating element. Moreover, it will support flip-free baking, micro-steam tender baking, quick baking mode, and fine baking mode. It is the biggest air fryer in the given price segment. Its price is less than 300 yuan ($40).
Why air friers are popular
It is said that “food is the most important thing for people” since ancient times. However, in this fast-moving pace of life, it is relatively hard for young working professionals after a whole day of work to cook by themselves. Ordering takeout is actually convenient, but there is more oil and salt, and sometimes the hygiene is not good.
However, cooking at home means putting up with the fuss of cleaning afterwards. That is where air fryers have become a darling for the youth. You ready a meal in 10 to 20 minutes, a meal at very cheap prices, and get done with the cleaning in a few minutes.
Air fryers work on the principle of rapid circulation of hot air around food to make it crispy, without the use of oil and with very minimal turning. This is an oil-free way of cooking your food, hence enabling health benefits associated with reduced calorie intake. Air fryers manage to heat things more efficiently compared to traditional ovens, which allows for even crispiness.
But the quality really varies among different air fryers available in the market, and consumers always consider a number of factors before buying: material safety, cooking capacity, temperature control, whether flipping is needed, or if the appliance gets too hot during use. These are all important points to research before buying.
Recently, Xiaomi launched Mijia Air Fryer S1, which is more capacious than usual-6 liters. The air fryer sports a 6.5-inch viewing window, 9 preset menus, and a 1350W far-infrared heating element. Moreover, it will support flip-free baking, micro-steam tender baking, quick baking mode, and fine baking mode.
Also read: Elevate Your Kitchen Game with the Mijia Ultra-Thin Induction Cooker
Design
The Mijia Air Fryer S1 also comes in minimalist white-a traditional design of Xiaomi, which can easily fit into different home décors. It is 279mm wide, 368mm in length, and 324mm high, similar in size to a general household rice cooker.
Its air inlet is on top of the fryer, while beneath the inlet, there is a black part of this device carrying a display screen flanked by six touch-screen function menus. It displays cooking mode, temperature, time, and recipes.
Below this display screen is a huge 6.5-inch viewing window that allows you to monitor the entire cooking process with no hassle whatsoever. It is a large viewing area; in fact, it is 118% bigger than the Mi Air Fryer Pro 4L.
Inside the unit is a non-stick frying basket of generous 6L capacity. Food-grade non-stick material, oil spots are easy to deal with, and the cleaning process is real quick. Inside sits a patented cyclone-frying basket featuring an air hole design which negates the needs for manual turning at any time in the baking process.
What’s inside
Internally, it is equipped with 1350W of far-infrared heating tube and a protective net at the bottom to avoid burning by accident. The spiral fan blades can be held double to ensure enough circulating hot air, while the patented cyclone pot basket Mijia creates 360° round airflow for even baking.
The fryer features NTC temperature control technology, from 40℃ to 210℃. With a built-in temperature sensor, it can cut off the power automatically once the temperature reaches a certain degree, which ensures safety and maintains nutrition in the food.
A vent on the back, above the power cord, serves best when the area around it is kept clear for proper dissipation of heat. Other vents on the bottom further assist in internal dissipation of heat, making the air fryer very safe and efficient.
User Experience
When selecting an air fryer, it’s crucial to look for the NTC temperature control function. Low-priced models lacking this feature often have unstable temperatures, which can lead to burning food and pose safety risks. Air fryers with NTC temperature control offer several advantages: precise temperature regulation to preserve food nutrients, reduced chances of cooking mishaps, and automatic power cut-off to enhance safety.
The Mijia Air Fryer S1, equipped with Mijia’s patented cyclone pot basket, ensures even cooking without the need for flipping. It comes with preset options for a variety of foods like French fries, chicken wings, sweet potatoes, egg tarts, steak, pork belly, and shrimp. There are also thawing and reheating functions. If your ingredient isn’t listed, you can manually adjust the temperature and time, which ranges from 40℃ to 210℃, with cooking durations of up to 24 hours.
Let’s explore the actual cooking performance of the Mijia Air Fryer S1:
1. Chicken Drumsticks
Using pre-marinated New Orleans chicken wings from the supermarket, there’s no need for washing or thawing. Using the chicken wing mode and the fine baking mode, the cooking process takes about 18 minutes. There’s no need to flip the wings, and the internal light illuminates periodically to show the cooking stage. The result is crispy, tender, and juicy chicken wings.
2. Sweet Potatoes
For sweet potatoes, the fine baking mode takes 45 minutes. The sweet potatoes come out with their flesh and skin easily separating, retaining their moisture, sweetness, and starchy texture.
3. Shrimp
For quick-frozen prawns, thawing is the first step. While the default thawing mode is 20 minutes at 50°C, only 10 minutes are needed. After thawing, marinate the shrimp with seasonings (as per preference) and select the Shrimp mode with fine baking for 15 minutes. The shrimp remain flavorful and tender, even when plated.
4. Desserts
Making desserts like caramel pudding is simple. Mix 2 eggs, 1 bottle of milk, and 1 spoon of sugar, then place in the air fryer. Using the manual mode, set the temperature to 175°C for 20 minutes. The result is a caramel-topped dessert with a texture similar to pudding but resembling egg custard.
Noise Level
During operation, the air fryer produces an average noise level of around 65dB, comparable to normal conversation in a work environment. For those sensitive to noise, using the fryer in the kitchen is advisable.
Conclusion
For the young, it is a dream come true because, with the air fryers, the disadvantages of having a lot of kitchen tools for use in cooking are solved. In some easy steps, fresh and delicious meals can be prepared.
The Mijia Air Fryer S1 is larger in size and capacity, standing at 6 liters-one that should be more than enough to satisfy an average family’s daily needs. It comes equipped with a 1350W far-infrared heating tube and a 360° hot air circulation system to guarantee even cooking. Meanwhile, the precise temperature range of 40~200℃ helps extract extra grease, allowing for food to be cooked to perfection without additional oil added. Additionally, the patented cyclone frying basket eliminates flipping, which greatly simplifies the cooking process.
Well, in practice, it behaved very well with various types of food: shrimp, chicken legs, sweet potatoes, and desserts. Simply place the ingredients in the fryer, wait, and enjoy perfectly cooked dishes. No manual flipping is needed; hence, this device would be quite handy in terms of cooking hands-free.
