Cooking by Steaming
 Steaming is an efficient and highly effective way to prepare naturally
tender foods. It is unfortunate that, to many minds, steaming has become
synonymous with the bland foods suggested by diet plans for patients on a
low-fat, low-cholesterol, and low-sodium regime. It is true that this
technique has many properties that make it an admirable choice for those
concerned with healthful cooking methods. That does not mean that steamed
foods are, or need to be, tasteless and uninteresting.
Foods that are steamed include such standard
offerings as steamed lean fish, vegetables, poultry breasts, and some
fruits. It also includes more exotic and unusual fare such as tamales, or
dim sum. The success or failure of any steamed food rests upon the same
criteria as that applied to sautéed or roasted foods. Is the dish moist,
flavorful, appealing from both a visual and textural stance? Are the
flavors fully developed? Have the accompanying seasonings,
garnishes, and sauces been selected with care and prepared with the same
attention to detail as the main item?
Steamed foods are cooked by surrounding
them with a vapor bath in a closed cooking vessel. Tiered aluminum or
bamboo steamers, small inserts, couscoussieres, gas or electric pressure
or convection steamers can all be used to steam foods. The food should not
come into direct contact with the liquid used to create the steam, and the
container should stay closed until the food is properly cooked.
To add more interest to steamed foods,
they may be stuffed, wrapped in aromatic leaves, marinated, or sauced.
There is no excuse for serving uninteresting steamed vegetables, when the
judicious application of some simple seasonings would make all the
difference.
Overcooking foods in a steamer is a
common problem. Once foods have gone from properly cooked to overdone,
they become as dry and uninteresting as a roast that was left untended for
too long. Properly steamed foods do not generally lose much of their
original volume, and they are exceptionally plump, moist, and tender. Just
as a roast will continue to cook even after it is removed from the oven,
so will steamed fish or poultry after they come out of the steamer. This
makes timing of great importance.
Steamed Marbled Grouper with
Ham Recipe
 Ingredients:
1
brown marbled grouper (approx. 750 g)
13 g ham
5
sprigs spring onions
3
slices ginger
Chinese parsley
Cooked oil
1/2 teaspoon cornflour
Soy sauce for steamed fish:
1
tablespoon light soy sauce
1
teaspoon dark soy sauce
1
teaspoon sugar
Ground white pepper
2
tablespoons boiling water
Method:
Shred the ham and ginger slices. Gut the marbled grouper. Wash and drain.
Marinate with 1 teaspoon of oil and 1/2 teaspoon of cornflour. Put the
spring onion on the plate. Put the grouper on top of the spring onion.
Arrange ginger and ham shreds on top of the fish. Steam for 10 minutes
over high heat. Drain the liquid on the plate. Pour cooked oil and soy
sauce over the fish. Sprinkle Chinese parsley at last. Serve hot.
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Happy Cooking,
Carol |
