293738 Sat Aug 09 08:20:46 -0700 2003 15 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1608786 A few months ago when I was in Chinatown I bought a bamboo steamer which has since languished in my cabinet. Any suggestions on how to use this thing and what to cook in it? thanks! Sat Aug 09 08:20:46 -0700 2003 0 D-NY 1 1608787 we use ours over the wok for vegetables. dumplings are exquisite in them, but they take a little practice on timing. You can line them with cheese cloth, or leaves(like grape, fig, or palm) and then place whatever is to be steamed on the leaves, and put them over boiling water. Stacking more than one at a time is fine. Just keep a close eye on them and the water level in your wok. good luck, jill Sat Aug 09 08:28:38 -0700 2003 1608786 0 jill kibler 2 1608838 As for stacking, the upper layers are (natch) not as hot as the bottom level so you can rotate the layers as food cooks and use the topmost layer for just keeping food warm. Sun Aug 10 16:21:38 -0700 2003 1608787 0 JessicaSophia 3 1609077 If you don't have a wok, you can also put it in a large saucepan on a small wire rack to raise it up a bit (or a tripod of shallow ramekins). Wed Aug 13 05:48:34 -0700 2003 1608838 0 saucyknave 1 1608789 Frozen shumai, char-sue-bao, edamame, any vegetable you would steam otherwise (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots)... You can reheat all kinds of dishes while keeping moist or even rehydrating. Pastrami - either whole or even sliced up is good this way. I've taken off and frozen entire Turkey breasts (knowing we would get sick of Turkey if we kept eating it), then a month later when we wanted Turkey again, I steam the breast, whip up some gravy - and mashed - and dressing - and we're ready to do it all over again! I actually steamed a couple of lobsters (one at a time) using the bamboo steamers and they came out just fine - really had the water going, and these were chickens, so they fit ok and I timed them as usual when steaming. You can use a regular pot instead of a wok - I have a set of steamers that nestle right into a pot - just the right size. If the bamboo extends over the pot, it will catch fire, unless you use a deep pot that keeps it far away from the flame/burner. Sat Aug 09 09:23:21 -0700 2003 1608786 0 applehome 1 1608791 If you have a Chinese restaurant that does Yum Cha near where you live go and taste. Yum Cha is built around tea drinking and small snack food but really it is much more than snacks. Most of the dishes are served, and prepared, in steamers. Beyond Yum Cha there are a host of Chinese recipes that use steamers, and no steamer looks better than a bamboo one. Here is a recipe that uses a steamer and is seriously Chinese. If you have no experience cooking Chinese food do not be intimidated. Chowhounds can do anything! Ingredients 1 blanched lotus leaf (fresh, dried, or, if you cant find this blanch a big cabbage leaf or two, or a piece of banana leaf. If this is all too much line your steamer with a couple of layers of boiled cloth). Lotus leaf adds flavour but there is no Chinese recipe that is cast in stone. 2 squares of beancurd (tofu), quartered. 1 green onion 2 slices ginger 75g of shrimp meat 75g of belly pork 1 cup diced cooked bamboo shoot, canned if fresh is not available 1/3 cup of blanched or frozen peas 3 or 4 oyster mushrooms Marinade 1/2 tablespoon Soy sauce 1 teaspoon of cornflour Cooking stock 1/2 tablespoon rice wine (white wine is fine) 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 1/2 teaspoon sugar dash of white pepper 1 cup water Thickening 1 tablespoon cornflour 1 tablespoon water Finely dice pork and add marinade and marinate for 10 to 15 minutes. Dice bamboo shoot in to 1/4" cubes Slice mushrooms 1/4" thick Fine julienne ginger Cut green onion diagonally into 1/2" pieces Method Line your steamer with whatever leaves are going to do the job and place the tofu pieces on top. Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a wok or large frypan, add green onion and ginger and fry briefly, add pork, shrimps, bamboo, peas and mushrooms and fry until pork and shrimps are just cooked. Add cooking stock and immediately after it comes to the boil add thickening. Pour the cooked ingredients into the leaf-lined steamer, fold over the leaves, place the lid on top and steam for ten minutes. Fold back the leaves and serve from the steamer with individual bowls of plain boiled rice. Typically this would be one of several dishes served for a family meal. This is not Yum Cha stuff and don't be put off by what looks like complicated preparation. Just work through it slowly and carefully and you will find, like most Chinese cookery, that each step is simple and combined the steps are much easier than gourmet Western cookery. As a last point, if you want to keep your bamboo steamers pristine (and why should you), soak and wash them in salty water. Sat Aug 09 10:43:38 -0700 2003 1608786 0 bgorton 1 1608793 You can also find a variety of frozen dumplings in Chinese markets that were meant to be steamed and some are quite good. There's even a respectable frozen xiaolong bao made in Brooklyn (I actually buy them in San Francisco) under the "Prime Foods" label. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/23502#89496 Sat Aug 09 11:28:46 -0700 2003 1608786 0 Gary Soup 1 1608795 Many are pretty "green" off the shelf It's sometimes good to steam and clean the basket itself a couple times to get the "grass" taste out of it. Sat Aug 09 13:43:01 -0700 2003 1608786 0 Curt 1 1608797 My husband (whose dad was from Shanghai) uses it to reheat leftovers the way people use microwaves. He puts the food on a plate and pops it right into the steamer. If you are cooking meat or fish or doughy foods, you do need to line the steamer with leaves or cheesecloth so that bits of food don't get stuck in the interstices of the bamboo. Even cabbage leaves will do; your choice will affect the flavor of the food to some extent. If you are steaming a whole fish put it on a plate or a sturdy leaf as it will break if you try to remove it otherwise. Sat Aug 09 15:09:07 -0700 2003 1608786 0 lintsao 1 1608801 don't forget to wet it thoroughly before you start to steam; otherwise the heat before the water in the bottom of the wok turns to stem can dry it out and it will absorb the steam rather than pass it through to the food Sat Aug 09 19:24:43 -0700 2003 1608786 0 john farago 1 1608809 Is there any difference between using a bamboo steamer and a metal steamer basket? Any difference in flavor? Sat Aug 09 22:58:55 -0700 2003 1608786 0 Val G 1 1608856 As far as what to cook goes, there's no better way to treat fresh fish. Whole fish is wonderful, especially for a group, but a fillet or steak will turn out well too. Rinse it, pat it dry, rub in a small amount of rice wine, sprinkle on a little salt and sliced ginger. Let it sit a few minutes. Chopped or sliced green onion is good, too. After you pull it out of the steamer, you could heat up some peanut and sesame oil (or the combination of your choice) and drizzle it over the steamed fish. Some other possible pre-steaming seasonings and embellishments: soy sauce, cilantro, preserved black beans, garlic, hot chile (or chile oil), soaked and sliced dry black mushroom. Try different things. See what you like. Mon Aug 11 02:12:40 -0700 2003 1608786 0 squid-kun 1 1608882 Also, play with the levels. If you put, say, clams on top, you then automatically are dousing the lower levels with a subtle clam broth. Salmon works very well in general (put it on a cabbage leaf). The only fish I didn't really like were the fishes thet simply don't lend themselves to steaming in general - more steak-like cuts of Mahi or Swordfish that are better grilled. Vegetables are probably what I use mine for the most, pea pods, green beans, mushrooms, sliced peppers. Broccoli was tough to get the right consistency but whenever I use them I always have 5 other things going on so it's possible I'm just a clod. I've got plans to play with my baskets to see if I can do a tea-smoked duck somehow using them. I'm not sure how to deal with the duck fat but we'll see. In general I keep meaning to try to steam things w/tea or various stocks to see if the flavors carry through at all. I have a suspicion that the Tazo Passion tea with hibiscus would taste great either as a sauce somehow or used to steam scallops but I haven't given it a whirl yet. Mon Aug 11 12:30:23 -0700 2003 1608786 0 joypirate 1 1608966 I'm chiming in late, but I use my bamboo steamer to steam tamales. I arrange my tamales in single layers, cover with kitchen towels and stack 'em up. Gotta be careful, though, to tuck the towels up away from the flames. Mon Aug 11 21:37:18 -0700 2003 1608786 0 quiz wrangler 2 1608983 You know, I was also thinking of using mine to help out my Mexican cooking. When I make flautas I'm always trying to figure out the best way to make my tortillas as pliable as possible so I can then, therefore, roll them as tightly as possible. I was thinking of putting them in my steamer basket next time. Tue Aug 12 09:03:46 -0700 2003 1608966 0 joypirate 3 1609349 I think that this would work well. I also line the bamboo steamer with a kitchen towel and crank up the fire to heat up tortillas and keep them warm. They come out very soft. Fri Aug 15 16:01:42 -0700 2003 1608983 0 quiz wrangler