Steamers & Steaming

[eatingwitheddie]

Jinmyo writes

"But steamed chicken gives me the willies."

I really like the Cantonese dish where chunks of chicken on the bone are steamed with dried shitakes.

[cabrales]

For whole fish steamed Chinese style, an alternative is to season a bit before steaming and then pour heated oil (sometimes mixed with soy sauce and/or chopped spring onions or ginger) over the skin of the fish when the steaming is completed.

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You aren't supposed to chop the scallions. You are supposed to slice it parallel to the grain so it curls in thin strips while it heats in the sauce/oil.

tissue -- Different restaurants have different preparations for the scallions. They can, for example, be chopped into cross-sections. It depends on the formality of the restaurant, among other things.

Microwaving is, in my mind, a way to destroy fish flesh. I use the microwave a great deal, but, even when special equipment might be deployed, microwaving might not be the ideal way to prepare steamed fish.

[Jinmyo]

Jinmyo writes

"But steamed chicken gives me the willies."

I really like the Cantonese dish where chunks of chicken on the bone are steamed with dried shitakes.

How long is it steamed for, Ed?

And does it...gah...still have th-th-th-the skin?

[Louisa Chu]

Jinmyo writes

"But steamed chicken gives me the willies."

I really like the Cantonese dish where chunks of chicken on the bone are steamed with dried shitakes.

How long is it steamed for, Ed?

And does it...gah...still have th-th-th-the skin?

Steam until it's done as with other chicken prep - until juices run clear - so many factors.

And vividly remember being scolded by my grandfather when at 3 or 4 for methodically eating all the skin off a whole steamed chicken for dinner.

[Degustation]

May we also discuss steaming of meats?  Or rather, may I ask about this, too?  It seems much less commonly done than steaming fish, but aren't there meatballs that are steamed?  Anything else?

Actually minced meat cakes are quite common. They are just cuts like flank steak or pork shoulder, which have been minced quite finely (with a cleaver, or use the double cleaver method if you are talented) and mixed with seasonings, and other ingredients, such as waterchestnuts, shitake mushrooms, green peppers and minced shrimp, or chinese sausages (the combination depends on the dish you are you making). It is then flattened out on a plate and steamed.

As well, stuffed tofu, eggplants, or bitter melon usually use minced meat for the stuffing. For instance with stuffed eggplant, I just purchase fish paste and mix it with waterchestnuts and coriander, and steam the dish. You can them make a sauce after the steaming by pouring off the accumulated juices into a pan, and adding seasonings such as oyster sauce, and thickening with corn starch to pour over the finished dish.

Steamed egg custards are nothing more than eggs mixed with water and seasonings, for instance shrimp paste and then steamed. Duck egg custards are similarly prepared and can be enhanced with minced pork and waterchestnuts.

I also love steamed crabs. My dad chops up the live crabs and steams them with ginger and seasonings. The dish is then finished with shredded scallions and hot oil. I believe Ken Hom has a recipe in which he steams the crab with the egg custard.

Interestingly, my young nieces also love the skin on the steamed or boiled chicken, but I can't stand the taste.

[trillium]

May we also discuss steaming of meats?  Or rather, may I ask about this, too?  It seems much less commonly done than steaming fish, but aren't there meatballs that are steamed?  Anything else?

One of my favorite dishes is chicken steamed with golden needles (dried lily buds), wood ear and shitake. Another nice one is steamed beef (strips of flank) steamed with chun pay (aged tangerine peel) and preserved tangerine peel. Another good seasoning for steamed minced pork cake is anthing salted to preserve it: hum yue (salted fish) or hum dan (salted duck egg) or salted turnip.

regards,

trillium

[BettyK]

Sorry to bring back this old thread. I have a metal steamer with two racks and I'd like to know how to avoid getting all the condensation in the food. For example if I want to make steamed pork buns I don't want the buns to get all soggy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[eatingwitheddie]

Sorry to bring back this old thread. I have a metal steamer with two racks and I'd like to know how to avoid getting all the condensation in the food. For example if I want to make steamed pork buns I don't want the buns to get all soggy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Lightly cover the top of the item you're steaming with foil or plastic wrap taking care that the covering is wider than the item you're steaming so that any condensation that drips off the covering won't land on the food. With bao or dumplings you may want some moisture to be absorbed so the sides may be left open. If you want no moisture on the food/steaming plate cover the food tightly. You might, for instance, steam a fish tightly covered but then pour a sauce over the fish after steaming. If you were to steam a fish uncovered you could season it with salt, wine, ginger, and scallion for instance, pour off any water that has condensed during the steaming and then pour a sauce over the fish.

By the way I often serve steamed fish filets (typically salmon) which I cut very thin (1/2") and steam very quickly (3- 3 1/2 minutes). I season the fish with a sauce that is slightly over salted and over flavored with the knowledge that the condensation will dilute it. This doesn't work so well for a thicker piece of salmon because I would need to increase the steaming time to properly cook the fish which then produces too much condensation/flavor dilution.

[BettyK]

Thanks Ed.

[mudbug]

BettyK,

You could also switch to 100% bamboo steamers. Many people prefer them over other materials because they don't have so much condensation.

[BettyK]

I could except that I just bought this metal steamer so I have to make do for a while.

Wish I had known about the condensation problem before making this purchase.

Oh well.

[Wena]

hmm... a lot of shops actually use metal steamers for the steamed pau @ white soft and fluffy buns. never really noticed whether the condensation was that bad or not.

think it's also something to do with the amount of holes that are on the steamer to allow the steam to float away.

bettyk, don't worry about the metal steamer too much. my granny has been using a metal steamer for ages. no complaints about condensation. she's very philosophical about it. she'll also say that a metal steamer is more durable than the bamboo version. ah well.

[Hest88]

The trick is to get the lid off as soon as you remove it from the steam. That keeps the steam from condensing on the lid and dripping down onto the food.

[eatingwitheddie]

The trick is to get the lid off as soon as you remove it from the steam. That keeps the steam from condensing on the lid and dripping down onto the food.

Actually condensation dropping from the steamer's cover is a real issue during steaming and that's why the covers or top pieces of professional steamers are designed higher in the center with a downward slant to the outside so that the condensation runs to the sides of the cover and then drips off to the side and not on the food.

[BettyK]

What if I drill a tiny hole in the lid? My rice cooker has one and I did the same with my other steamer. Can't hurt, right?

[Wena]

or buy a new top like what eddie mentioned. lift it up and let the condensation run down by the side of the lid, give it a slight shake to remove the excess water and then finally remove the lid.

a few drops of water will not caused much damage.

btw, spoke to granny about this. she said 'haiya! no need to worry so much one! steam fish also got water inside mah!'

[Shiewie]

I steam using a perforated metal insert in a stainless steel wok covered with a stainless steel cover. Like Hest88 and Wena's grandma, I just remove the cover really quickly away from me (so that the steam doesn't hit you in the face) and tilt it to the side so that the condensation drips from the cover back onto the wok and not onto the food.

You could also try placing a tea towel on top of the steamer before covering it to abosrb the codensation from the steamer cover when steaming buns.

[jo-mel]

OK to add something to this thread? (Since I found this wonderful site, I've been like a kid in a candy shop!)

I have both a big aluminum steamer and several sizes of bamboo ones. I use them all, but prefer the bamboo.

Someone asked what else besides fish is steamed. I like Scallops with Black Bean Sauce, but a favorite is Steamed Beef with Spicy Rice Powder. (I wish I could give credit for the original recipe, but I forgot where I found it.)

SPICY RICE PSTEAMED BEEF WITH OWDER

Ingredients:

½ pound flank steak

Marinade: 1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce

1 Tbsp. light soy sauce

1 Tbsp. sherry

2 tsp. hoisin sauce

½ tsp. chili paste with garlic

1 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. minced scallion

1 tsp. minced ginger

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp. water

2/3 cup glutinous (sweet/sticky) rice, rinsed and soaked 4 hours in hot water. Drain.

½ tsp. five spice powder

1 Tbsp. minced scallion

Preparation:

---Slice steak across the grain into pieces ¼ inch thick and 1 ½ inch long.

---Mix the marinade. Add the steak. Mix well. Let marinate 1 hour.

---Place the soaked, drained rice in a heavy dry pan or skillet and stir over medium heat until the

rice is golden brown and very dry.

---Remove from heat, place into a blender or food processor with the steel blade and process to a coarse powder.

---Mix the rice powder with the five-spice powder.

---Dredge the pieces of beef in the rice powder until they are well coated.

---Place the slices on a heat-proof plate in one layer, or place them in a steamer tray that has been lined with

parchment paper that has been poked with holes or lined with leafy greens.

Cooking:

--Fill a wok with water to come below the plate about an inch, or to the bottom edge of the steamer tray.

--Bring water to a boil and place the plate or tray over the boiling water.

--Cover the steamer and steam over high heat for 20 minutes until meat is cooked and rice is tender.

--Sprinkle the scallions over the top of the slices and serve.

Notes:

Instead of glutinous rice, use long grain rice and skip the soaking. Toast the rice till light brown, then pulverize till about 1/3 the original size. Combine with the five-spice powder.

Rice crumbs can also be found in Chinese grocers in small cardboard packages, labeled ‘Steamed Rice Powder’.

Cream of Rice cereal can be substituted. Toast the cereal, then combine with the five-spice powder.

[gus_tatory]

I use stacks of bamboo steamers of assorted sizes for dumplings or dim sum.

i have a question, as i hope to host a dimsum party before xmas... i have all my dumpling recipes, but if you have an 8-inch stainless steel pot, you buy about--what?--6 or 8 steamer baskets in the same diameter?

and in terms of 'doneness', are you always just removing the bottom steamer and adding a fresh one to the top of the stack?

i guess this means you're serving in a 'staggered' fashion, a little bit at a time?

any real world experience with this would be helpful!

[herbacidal]

i have a question, as i hope to host a dimsum party before xmas... i have all my dumpling recipes, but if you have an 8-inch stainless steel pot, you buy about--what?--6 or 8 steamer baskets in the same diameter?

any real world experience with this would be helpful!

you're saying that your pot is 8 inches in diameter,

and you're planning on steaming everything in it,

probably in steamer baskets stacked within it?

first, 8 inches seems to be too small a diameter.

haven't really measured, but you probably would want something at least

twice that diameter.

second, if you have a wok, you can steam in that as well.

and in terms of 'doneness', are you always just removing the bottom steamer and adding a fresh one to the top of the stack?

i guess this means you're serving in a 'staggered' fashion, a little bit at a time?

as far as removing the bottom one and adding the top one, you're assuming they all take the same amount of time to cook.

assuming you've made them all the same size AND they have similar densities, you've got a chance at that.

anytime you have a lot of hot items at a party, you're always serving them in a staggered fashion. although in your case, you may have created a bottleneck at the steampot, making it more difficult.

bottom line, get something else to steam in. use that steampot and at least 1 other pot. it probably would be best if the dimsum party spotlighted dimsum, and not was restricted to it.

[jo-mel]

  i have all my dumpling recipes, but if you have an 8-inch stainless steel pot, you buy about--what?--6 or 8 steamer baskets in the same diameter?

and in terms of 'doneness', are you always just removing the bottom steamer and adding a fresh one to the top of the stack?

My smallest (practical) steamers are 9 inches in diameter. I usually use them in a 12 inch stainless wok that I reserve just for steaming. I use my 14 inch stainless wok for my larger steamers. The 8 inch pot, you spoke of, just won't serve you well. I usually stack just 2 at a time. When I have stacked 3, I usually invert the top with the bottom, half way through, and add an extra 5 minutes. Too high a stack, the steam just isn't that effective. At least I've found it to be so with my regular kitchen stove.

May I ask what your menu is? You can have a good dimsum party without all steamed foods. Pot stickers, scallion pancakes are pan fried. You can deep/fry shrimp toast,or mini egg/spring rolls, taro, fritters, wontons, or turnovers. You can bake buns, braise ribs, braise beef balls --- there's so much to dimsum than dumplings, altho they can be a highlight.

Or as herbacidal suggested, let your dumplings spotlight a larger meal.

Have we helped or hindered?

[herbacidal]

ah yes, didn't notice you mentioned dumplings in particular.

as jo-mel said, do some fried things as well. the wok is very good for that.

especially if you're not using it for its limited steaming capacity.

[Big Bunny]

Last week I cooked Fuchsia Dunlop's version of sweet soup with silver fungus.

She mentioned in passing that a friend of hers had good luck using a crock pot for this dish, so I tried that. It worked well, although I think that I could have left it to cook longer.

I know that the crock pot would not be appropriate for dishes steamed without a lid, but might be a good way to do long-cooked, covered dishes. Has anyone tried this?

I am particularly thinking of some of the pork-belly dishes I have done which are delicious but keep me tied to the kitchen on a busy weekend.

BB

[Tepee]

Hi Big Bunny

How long did you cook your sweet soup? Did you pre-soak your fungus? I don't have Dunlop's book so I don't know what other ingredients went in there. But, yes, generally, you should allow longer time, say, at least 4 hours, for a 'plain' soup. Soup with more solid ingredients can take double that time.

I was also pondering over what you meant by steaming without a lid? All steaming I've done has been lidded, except for the last 5 minutes for some traditional cakes or baos. I'd love to learn something new here.

You'll probably have a favorite pork belly recipe of your own. Here's a few more. All can be converted for cooking in a crock pot.

OT, but these days, I use less of my crock pot, favoring my thermal pot. With a thermal pot, you only have to boil/cook for half an hour tops, and the dish is left to slowly stew in the thermal pot. Very resource-saving, and no worries about leaving any electrical appliance on should you leave the house.

Edited September 24, 2005 by Tepee (log)

[hzrt8w]

I too was wondering about how to "steam" without a lid using a crock pot. A crock pot usually is heated very slowly. It hardly generates any steam. It doesn't seem to be an instrument that one can use to steam any dishes.

OT, but these days, I use less of my crock pot, favoring my thermal pot. With a thermal pot, you only have to boil/cook for half an hour tops, and the dish is left to slowly stew  in the thermal pot. Very resource-saving, and no worries about leaving any electrical appliance on should you leave the house.

←

Tepee: What is a thermal pot? I haven't seen one before. How does it work? Is it electric? You just heat up the termal pot to an initial boil for the ingredients for the first half an hour, then switch it off and let rest continue to heat in residual heat?

Edited September 24, 2005 by hzrt8w (log)