[Review] Kyowa 7L Air Fryer (KW-3815) - unboxing, first impressions, and recipe ideas

The Kyowa 7L Air Fryer (KW-3815)

I have been hemming and hawing for the longest time on whether I should buy an air-fryer. Yet another kitchen gadget to clutter up my kitchen and occupy much-needed counter space —considering that I have a known history of using them a few times and then it's back to the box they go and stored somewhere in the closet.

I am a fan of the convenience of turbo broilers (electric convection ovens that are placed on top of a suitable sized pot) in the past and I understand that although these kitchen gadgets were quite ubiquitous in the Philippines kitchens in the past several decades, they weren't quite as successful in other markets due to safety concerns (I believe due to dangerously exposed hot surfaces that may cause accidental burns). The air fryer in its current form is the logical evolution to the design with a relatively safe exterior and intuitive controls. They do come in varying capacities and designs so they are not all the same.

I have had my sights on the Philips air-fryer for the longest time but I couldn't justify the high price tag. My brother has one and I have seen him make a lot of things from baked potato to broiled salmon steaks, to grilled pork belly. I have to admit I was experiencing some kitchen gadget envy.

Nougat: "Can I have the box please?"

So when I saw the Chinese New Year deals on Lazada, I bit the bullet and decided to get one. Of course, it won't be just any air-fryer offered on sale. I wanted one that was big enough to roast an entire large chicken! Most of the units I saw were on the 2.5L to 3L size, so I was delighted to see a newly released model from Kyowa that was 7L. It was reasonably priced and I haven't encountered any problems with Kyowa as an affordable brand (granted that I only have one other Kyowa kitchen gadget — my stand mixer).

Here are some unboxing photos with some assistance from Nougat the cat.

What the package looked like when it arrived via courier. 

Nougat can't wait to lay claim to the box

Product packaging.

The unit was well packaged and protected from rough handling during transport.

Right out of the box.

Maximum power rating, voltage and frequency requirements. 

Back vent

Pot with basket

The bowl and basket assembly slide into the base unit "drawer style".

The basket release mechanism up close (protected by a cover)

Press to release the basket.

Detaching the basket from the pot.

The pot has a non-stick coating for easy cleaning.

Instruction manual

Instruction manual

Instruction manual

Instruction manual

First impressions: 

1. The Kyowa 7L Air Fryer worked quite well. The body is clad in heat resistant plastic so there is minimal chance of accidental contact with hot surfaces (unless you are taking things out of the basket). 
2. General build quality is good in my opinion (taking into consideration the price point). 
3. Clean up is not that easy since there will be times that I needed to soak the basket and pot in soapy water to loosen up sticking food particles (maybe I should spritz more vegetable oil on the basket prior to cooking).
4. Good for minimizing absorbed fat in your diet (if you cook with the air-fryer foodstuff which you would have otherwise deep-fried).
5. Very versatile! Think beyond low-fat french fries and broiled meats. You can use the air-fryer for baked goodies like dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls, use it as a dehydrator, and pretty much function just like a normal convection oven (with some modification on the cooking method, time, and temperature).
6. I am not so thrilled that the manual timer only goes to 30 minutes. I do not actually mind that it is a mechanical rotary timer since most of the touch control units out there seem to be disproportionately expensive, but I would probably prefer it to be an hour maximum timer at least.
7. I was initially concerned with how even the heating will be since I see higher-end models (such as the Philips models) have specially designed curved surfaces on the bottom of the pot to circulate the airflow in a certain way (this particular model just have a flat bottom) but I do not notice any problems with it (just basing on how even it browns). I do make it a habit to flip midway during cooking so maybe it is not much of an issue for me (especially when I attempted baking and the basket was lined with parchment paper).

These are just some of the things I have tried cooking on the air-fryer so far. I will make more detailed instructions/recipes for some of these in the future.

Crispy spice-encrusted catfish

"Fried" saba bananas

Breaded meatballs

Sausage buns

Cinnamon-Chocnut rolls

Whole roasted chicken

Salt and pepper crispy chicken wings