Steaming is one of the best cooking methods for maximizing taste and color, while retaining the most nutrients in vegetables and fish. Especially, when the vegetables themselves have so much flavor, simply steaming them and finishing with fresh herbs, lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil can produce a very satisfying and delicious dish.

1. Steamed Cooking
Steaming involves cooking food using moist heat, usually water vapor (i. e. steam). A
lot of foods may be cooked this way – vegetables, eggs, chicken, fish, meats, and other
seafood. Because there’s no extra fat added in cooking food here, most healthy
cooking dishes use this cooking method. The device used in steamed cooking is called
a steamer, and may be made of bamboo or metal, depending on the recipe. This is
different from baking, which uses dry heat. Unlike other techniques, overcooking may
be prevented from steamed cooking and the nutrients are more preserved in the food
being cooked.
Since food cooked using steamed cooking does not
involve the addition of fat, steamed dishes are
made more flavorful by the addition of a bit of salt,
pepper, and some herbs. Rosemary and
lemongrass are sometimes used to flavor chicken
or fish.
Aside from fish and vegetables, dumplings may
also be cooked using steamed cooking. Dumplings
are dough balls filled with minced meat,
vegetables, or sweets. For vegetarians, dumplings
with a tofu or mushroom base are also available.
Some dumplings may be cooked by frying, like pot stickers but some dumplings are
made the traditional way cooking them on bamboo steamers. As there are some
recipes that take some time if these dumplings are to be made from scratch, there are
pre-packed frozen dumplings available at the local supermarket that may be cooked
by steam.
As steamed cooking takes longer than other cooking techniques like frying, for the
busy person, the ingredients may be pre-prepared ahead of time, then arranged in a
steamer, then as the food cooks, they may go about their chores and then go back to
the food when it’s done cooking. The key is to maximize time as the food cooks and
then enjoy the healthy and delicious food after.
Some also prefer steamed cooking to reheat leftovers as opposed to microwave
reheating as the food is less dry this way. The flavors are retained and the sauce does
not dry up as opposed to microwave reheating.
For healthier meal without the presence of fat,
steaming may be an option for those who are
watching their weight. The flavors remain
within the food instead of being leached out
into the sauce than evaporated. Although it
takes a longer time than most cooking
techniques, time can just be managed and
maximized, especially for busy people who are
on a diet and use this cooking technique.