Give a Chance to Steam Cooking
It’s hard to get excited about stewed vegetables. When done poorly, they range from completely unremarkable to downright disgusting, but if done right, they are completely transcendental. As we finally get closer to the peak of the spring / summer harvest season, I think this underrated technique deserves another consideration.
Rather than turning your kitchen into a sauna, the best hot weather recipes involve easy preparation and even easier cooking time. Steam cooking requires minimal preparation, and because it is very fast, it will not spike the temperature in the kitchen, especially if you are using a microwave or electric pressure cooker. (The steamer basket on the stove does give off a little heat to the environment, but far from what you would get if you turned on the oven or run a sous vide installation all day.)
However, my favorite thing about steaming is the flavor: seasoned with only salt and perhaps a little lemon, perfectly steamed carrots are the very essence of carrot flavor. Unfortunately, the pure, delicate flavor can appear bland, which is why steamed vegetables usually need a good sauce. These are some of my favorite steamed vegetable additions, and none of them require a blender:
- Lemon miso butter: Mash equal parts softened butter (salted naturally) and miso paste of your choice with a fork, then add lemon juice to taste. I love it the most on steamed broccoli and carrots.
- Garlic mayonnaise: chop or grate a small clove of garlic; stir in half a cup of homemade or store-bought mayonnaise; instill in the mouth through the leaves of the artichoke. Repetition.
- Dijon crème fraîche: One part crème fraîche (or sour cream) plus one part smooth Dijon mustard plus salt to taste makes for an incredibly addictive dish.
- Vinaigrette with fish sauce : especially good for steamed broccoli or cabbage. Add a handful of chopped fresh herbs if you like (I love it, of course).
- Whole Lemon Salsa Verde : Betcha Can’t Do It Just Once! If you like this dish, it mixes well with mayonnaise and complements Dijon crème fraiche especially well.
Even if you’ve never steamed anything in your life, I bet there is at least one way to do it in your kitchen. I have three of them: a saucepan on the stove, a microwave oven, and an instant pot. These methods end up giving similar results, but there are some pretty important differences between them; here is a rundown of each and my favorite way to use it.
Plate
Cooking on the stove is quick but relatively gentle, so it is best for delicate dishes. Beans, asparagus, soft custard, whole fish – you name it, you can probably cook this in a basket on a saucepan of boiling water.
The stovetop cooker can be made on purpose or hacked together with what you already have. I love my bamboo steamer, but the stainless steel baskets work great, as does the heat resistant plate on top of the crumpled aluminum foil . Regardless of which appliance you use, you will need a saucepan or pan large enough to hold a basket (or plate), and if you are not using a bamboo steamer, this pan will need a tight-fitting lid.
To be honest, I use my bamboo steamer almost exclusively for frozen dumplings; steamed each time fried, especially if I am too tired, sick or depressed to safely put frozen food in a hot oil pan. The only other dish I often use it for isgadji namul – a stewed eggplant with a spicy soy-garlic sauce – which I learned to cook in Maangchi . Is there anything extra to have a fixture specifically for frozen dumplings and a very specific eggplant dish? Yes, but me too.
(A note on bamboo steamers: they take time to fill up with steam. For accurate timing, I only start the timer when the top is hot to the touch and I check the contents frequently.)
Gadzhi namul is as delicious as it is simple: Steam the slices of Chinese eggplant for five minutes, cool slightly , tear into strips with your fingers, and simmer in hot, garlic, soy sauce, greased with sesame oil. Breathe in. I follow the Maangchi recipe mostly exactly, but here I added some miso and ginger paste to the sauce that I was shaking with my blender.
Since my chosen microwave steaming method also includes eggplant (I love eggplant), I challenged myself to come up with another bamboo steamer dish that wouldn’t be a bunch of dumplings. I always have eggs and carrots in my fridge, so I opted for a savory steamed custard with carrots and leftover rice. I put the carrots in the bottom of the steamer and the custard on top, then steam them for ten minutes.
The result was a hearty, delicious lunch – a little miso and lemon oil on carrots, of course, it doesn’t hurt – which took 15 minutes, including preparation.
Microwave
Technically, everything you do in the microwave is steamed, as it works by exciting water molecules. I barely scratched the surface of the microwave ovenware , but I find it does one thing well: Partially cooking the eggplant for frying.
As you probably know, salting, draining, and rinsing the eggplant before frying does not actually “remove the bitterness” but simply destroys the spongy cell structure that causes the eggplant to absorb really copious amounts of oil. I never bother to salt the fried eggplants, but it’s a step I never skip before frying them, and the microwave does it in less of the time.
Here’s what to do: Slice good hard eggplants lengthwise into planks, lightly salt on both sides, and place on a plate with tea towels. Place another plate on top and microwave on high power for six to eight minutes. Let the eggplant cool until it’s safe, then wipe off any excess moisture with dry towels and start your recipe.
I made eggplant parmesan because it’s my favorite food on this floating trash; If you’re looking for a recipe, this one from food52 is my only, my only, my everything.
Instant pot (or any pressure cooker)
You can of course steam all sorts of things in your Live Pot- yams , bread pudding , buffalo wings , cheesecakes and melted chocolate brownies to name a few, but the humble, thorny artichoke is my favorite.
The Instant Pot’s power and capacity make it a natural solution to the problem with artichokes, which is that they’re damn delicious, but it takes work to become edible. You still have to go through all the silly artichoke preparation – ripping off the toughest leaves, chopping off the top third, trimming off any sharp edges with kitchen scissors and cutting off the stem at the base – but once that’s done, your Instant Pot (or pressure cooker) is ready. in twenty minutes.
Place the cooked artichokes on the stand in an instant saucepan, pour in about a cup of water and set the Steam function to 20 minutes. When the time is up, relieve the pressure by hand and serve the artichokes with the dipping sauce (I’m working on Dijon cream and whole lemon aioli here). Green salad and tomato toast with mayonnaise at the start of the season round off a great spring meal.
I hope that wherever you are, the clouds have finally cleared and your farmers market is ready for its return. (Yes Californians, we know you’ve had farmers’ markets all year round, but no one likes to show off.) When you look at these top produce during peak season and envision your future together, don’t forget about a couple – it might be just that. , what you need. you are looking for.