Reminds me of how prisoners boil water in their cells -- by passing mains current through the water (with a device known as a "stinger").

When I was a kid we cooked hot dogs with a Westinghouse Dog-o-matic:

https://www.google.com/search?q=westinghouse+dog-o-matic&tbm...

The two metal bars down the sides with the prongs sticking out were connected directly to the AC plug (with a switch that turned them off with the lid open, of course). You pushed the hot dog ends onto the prongs and closed the lid. Your household AC went directly through the hot dogs, and 60 seconds later they were done!

A technique apparently also used in China. See these videos by bigclive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EViyccc2t9w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIUJWIT9GrU

I read these were also a thing in the Soviet Union:

http://russiapedia.rt.com/of-russian-origin/kipyatilnik/

http://kk.org/streetuse/soviet-improvised-household-ar/