Steaming – cooking method | CookScool.com

Vegetables are great for steaming while preserving the bite, taste and nutrients. (Photo by: tycoon / Depositphotos)

General

Steaming is a so-called moist cooking method. Hot water vapor at 100 degrees Celsius ensures that the food is cooked. The food must not come into contact with the hot water when steaming, otherwise the cooking method is called “steaming”.

Cooking in a pressure cooker is related to steaming. The shortening of the cooking time results from the higher steam temperatures of around 120 degrees.

functionality

A lockable pot and a steamer insert are required for steaming. This can be a simple sieve, a sheet metal or a wire basket. In China, bamboo baskets are traditionally used as steamer inserts.

The pot is filled with a little water, which is heated until it evaporates. The food to be cooked is placed in the steamer insert and does not come into contact with the water. The pot is closed so that the water vapor can be distributed evenly throughout the pot and remains in the pot.

The fibers and cell walls of the food soften as a result of steaming, making them easier to digest. Tough collagen fibers in meat are slowly broken down, but this can take several hours.

Suitable foods

Especially water rich foods are suitable for steaming:

• tender vegetables
• Potatoes
• tender meat
• low-fat fish
• Cereal products

Examples would be chicken, pikeperch, salmon, zucchini, leek, carrots, rice and yeast dumplings.

With the help of a steamer insert, food can be steamed easily and gently. (Photo by: PixelsAway / Depositphotos)

Tips and Tricks

• If pieces of meat are seared briefly before steaming, they get additional roasting aromas.
• All foods in a dish (vegetables, fish, meat) are cooked at the same time if they are cut into pieces of roughly the same size.
• A good tip for finely flavoring food is to refine the water to be evaporated with sherry, wine, lemon wedges or herbs.
• Do not throw away the liquid after cooking, it can be used as a base for sauces.
• Observe the amounts of water specified in the recipes and the instructions for the steamer.
• To ensure that the food is properly cooked, it is advisable to check the consistency shortly before the end of the cooking time.
• It is best to always wear oven gloves so that you do not injure yourself when handling the hot steamer.

Well-known recipes

Baozi is a filled dumpling that is steamed and is very popular in China. (Photo by: belchonock / Depositphotos)

• One of the most famous steamed dishes are probably the famous yeast dumplings, i.e. yeast dumplings filled with plum jam.
• The Chinese yeast dumplings called baozi are filled with minced meat or vegetables.
• The Russian specialty “manti” are steamed dumplings with a minced meat and pumpkin filling.
• In Nepal, too, dumplings called “momos” filled with minced meat, white cabbage and chestnuts are prepared in steamers.
• The popular boiled beef is also steamed.
• Other classics are steamed asparagus with hollandaise sauce and potatoes or haddock with tarragon and mustard sauce.
• Cabbage rolls are also good for steaming.
• Zucchini, carrots and broccoli in particular are often steamed and served as a side dish.

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