A Guide To Steam Cooking

Steaming is one of the most popular techniques of chinese cooking. Although simple in concept, a variety of dishes can be steamed (fish, rice, poultry, dumplings, meats, buns, and pastries). It keeps food moist and tender and is fairly simple to manage. Cooked right in their serving dishes, meals go from the stove to the table, keeping their natural juices, flavors and nutrients preserved. Chinese steaming can also be referre to as wet or direct steaming. The steam rises from boiling water and circulates around the food and cooks it. When using a double-boiler steaming method, this is considered to be dry or indirect steaming.

You can steam your meals by using a rack or a bowl. Both require a covered pot with boiling water.

Rack Steaming Method: When rack steaming, the rack is placed in a pot in approximately 2 or 3 inches above water. The ingredients should be placed in a shallow dish on the rack.

Bowl Steaming Method: Also known as a Pot-In-A-Pot, the bowl sits at the bottom of the pan itself. The bowl is placed in bowling water that is about two-thirds of its height. If there is too much water, then the water will either boil over into the food or cause the bowl to float, which will result in spilling of its contents. If you do not put enough water, then it will not produce enough steam. Both the steam and the heat from the boiling of the water cooks the dish. This method is usually used in steaming large cuts of meat, whole ducks and/or chicken.

Whichever method you decide, you should make sure that a shatter/heat proof dish is used. You might also feel more comfortable prewarming your dishware before steam cooking. The water should be at a high boiling temperature poing. Once you add the food, cover the pan. The heat can then be reduced to medium but still keep it boiling. When you're steam cooking take these precautions:

Make sure your pan is big enough to allow the steam to circulate.
Have a snug tight lid so that it is snug enough to contain the steam, but not so tight that excessive pressure can build up.

Cooking time depends on the type of ingredients that you use and the size of it. Steam cooking can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours. Also, it is importatnt to note that steamed foods should always be cooked slightly underdone. They continue on cooking in their hot serving dishes even after they have been removed from the heat. During the cooking process, try not to remove the lid and peak at your creation as much as possible. However, with longer-cooking dishes, the evaporation of water should be checked every once in a while. If you notice that your pot is running out of water, you can replenish it with more boiling water.

Need a steamer? We have three (3) types of steamers:

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