JIUQUAN: Astronauts aboard China’s space station have successfully baked chicken wings and steaks for the first time using a new space oven delivered by the Shenzhou XXI spacecraft,
China Daily reported.
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video from the station showed space engineer Wu Fei marinating chicken wings, skewering them, and baking them for 28 minutes to produce sizzling New Orleans-style wings.
Wu and fellow crew member Wang Jie, both from Inner Mongolia, also cooked black pepper steaks, which were later shared among the six astronauts with visible delight.
The Shenzhou XXI crew joined the station on Friday and have been working alongside the Shenzhou XX team, who are due to return to Earth on November 5.
Engineers from the China Astronaut Research and Training Centre said the new oven features advanced smoke-free technology with precise temperature control, multi-layer filtration, and oil fume management to meet orbital safety standards.
Researchers said the innovation allows astronauts to enjoy over 190 types of food on a 10-day menu cycle, including baked items such as vegetables, nuts, cakes, and bread.
They added that space-grown vegetables, such as lettuce and cherry tomatoes, are also being cultivated successfully in the station’s microgravity garden, contributing to a more balanced diet for long-term missions.
