Steaming

Appears in
Homestyle Chinese Cooking

By Yan-Kit So

Published 1997

  • About
What’s so special about the Chinese method of steaming is that all the goodness and taste of the ingredients are retained, whereas one associates Western steaming with tastelessness. The method of steaming is as follows: Place the wok on its stand on top of the burner. Put either a metal trivet or a small bamboo cage upside down in the center of the wok. Put whatever food is to be steamed on a shallow heatproof dish, so that the juices are retained in the dish when the food is cooked. Put the dish on the metal or bamboo stand. Next, fill the wok with boiling water to about 1 inch of the base of the dish in order to prevent the bubbling water from getting into the dish and spoiling the food. Place the lid on the wok and turn up the heat, maintaining it at the same intensity to ensure that plenty of steam rises from the boiling water and circulates inside the covered wok to cook the food. If the food is to be steamed for a long time, as is the case for a duck, be sure to replenish the water from time to time. A piece of fish, however, cooks through very quickly. Another small but important point to bear in mind is this: Refrain from lifting the wok lid unnecessarily, for every time you do so, steam escapes and you will need to steam the food for a longer period in order to make sure it is cooked.