These Are The 3 Appliances Dave Chang Thinks You Need If You Have A Tiny Kitchen

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Slow cooker, rice cooker, air fryer, electric kettle, Ninja blender ... the list of kitchen appliances you can buy these days goes on and on. To be sure, each of these items adds its own convenience and variety to your cooking toolset. But, if you had to pare it all down to just three appliances — imagine you're taking your life on the road in a camper van, or moving to a tiny studio in NYC — which three would you choose? American celebrity chef Dave Chang says a microwave, a toaster oven, and a multifunctional rice cooker are non-negotiables.

On an episode of The Dave Chang Show podcast, Chang said that he imagined the situation as one where there was no access to a real oven, meaning that the three devices weren't just for convenience, but essentially made up the entirety of this hypothetical tiny kitchen's cooking ability. And yes — he did consider swapping the microwave for a blender, but ultimately decided the ease of the frozen meal-cooking, leftover re-heating machine was simply irreplaceable. Sorry, mixer, food processor, and coffee maker — you're out.

Let's imagine we were spending a day cheffing it up in Dave Chang's tiny kitchen. What would we be able to successfully craft with these three appliances? The microwave alone opens up a lot of possibilities. Beyond being able to cook the majority of grocery store frozen meals — yes, including the delicious Dino nuggets from your childhood — you can also heat up storebought sauces, melt butter or chocolate, and reheat yesterday's takeout. Meanwhile, the best toaster ovens, such as the Ninja Flip Toaster Oven and Air Fryer or the Breville Toaster Oven, combine what a toaster can do with what an air fryer can do. This gives you the ability to brown and crisp the edges of your culinary creations in a way that a microwave simply cannot. Some toaster or convection ovens can even cook meat, roast vegetables, and fully cook small-batch baked goods.

Last but not least, you've got a multifunctional rice cooker — something like the Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 that functions as a rice cooker, pressure cooker, and slow cooker, among other applications. Obviously, you can use this to make rice, but the other functions will depend on the model you get. Theoretically, this would be your go-to for making soups, stews, pasta, steamed veggies, and dumplings. Plus, if you're hoping for a hot breakfast, you can easily prepare a creative oatmeal dish. 

Admittedly, there are still some missing pieces: smoothies or larger casserole-type dishes would all be rather difficult. But hey — that's just tiny home life. Overall, it seems like Chang's kitchen choices would take him pretty far.