Steaming food is easy enough with any pot and vented basket, but if your goal is pillowy mantou buns, juicy stuffed bao, flavorful whole fish, and tender-crisp vegetables family-style batches, a traditional Asian bamboo steamer is an affordable investment. Now, you can either preheat your water so that it’s simmering when you place the bamboo steamer into the wok or pan, or you can place the steamer into the wok/pan when the water is still cold and then turn on the heat to gradually bring up the temperature. Slats between tiers - Bamboo slats in between the basket tiers need to be wide enough for steam to pass through (so that both tiers are steamed evenly).

Our metal steamer works well but it does sometimes suffer from the problems noted above. Another reason I want to get a bamboo steamer is purely aesthetical – they simply look so cool, and are much more authentic if you plan on steaming Asian foods such as dim sum, dumplings or bao buns. We also very much like bamboo on Kitchen and Cook Shop as you can read here and here! It's not necessary to soak your steamer before use. However, if you're worried about scorching the bottom rim, you can soak it in lukewarm water before cooking with it. The most important thing is to make sure that the boiling water won't touch the steamer base. How should I care for my bamboo steamer? Steam Broccoli Test: We set each steamer into a wok, filling a basket with six ounces of broccoli set on a perforated parchment paper round. We steamed the hardy vegetable for seven minutes to see how easy the bamboo steamer was to use. We cleaned the bamboo steamer afterward and inspected it to see if there was any warping or damage. This handmade tower takes basic, traditional techniques and improves upon them from top to bottom. For the former, a tight weave and cross-dome reinforcement seals in even more of that powerful steam; for the latter, hand-tied slats in the base of each basket allow more steam to pass through than more contemporary smooth cut strips. Unless otherwise specified, our default is the latter––placing the steamer onto the wok or pan when the water is cold, and then turning on the heat.Many people are looking for a fast and easy way of steaming food. Then they most likely will benefit from wholesale bamboo steamer 14 inch set. It will make cooking more joyous and easier like never before. Once the water in the wok/pan is simmering, it will start to evaporate. Allow the food to steam for as long as the recipe indicates, but keep an eye on it and add boiling water as needed. Make sure you’re not adding cold water, or it will stop simmering and interrupt the cooking process. Whatever you line the steamer with should be porous, to allow the steam to come up through the bottom of the steamer and circulate around the food to cook it. The versatile three-inch depth also gives you wiggle room for things like buns and vegetables. In fact, it's twice as accommodating as other competitive models, which allows for more room for experimentation as you figure out what you'll be cooking most in your bamboo steamer. Plus, the uniform slats are easy to keep clean. A great value, Prime Home Direct 10-inch Two Tier Bamboo Steamer Baskets come with everything you need to start steaming but the food itself.

Pros: Remains true to its heritage with regionally specific material and construction technique, available in nine sizes Handsome double-banded construction makes the Hcooker 3-Tier Bamboo Steamer a durable set you'll have for years. While there are many different ways to steam food , using a bamboo steamer is our preferred method for steaming just about anything! NOTE: A wok is the best tool to use in conjunction with a bamboo steamer, because the wok is thin, making it easier to boil water and regulate water temperature, and it has a wide rim that can accommodate bamboo steamers of different sizes. That said, our most often used bamboo steamer size is 10 inches in diameter, and it’s definitely the all-purpose size we’d recommend buying . If you have a large skillet that can accommodate a steamer of that size, that works too! Norpro Bamboo Steamer: This bamboo steamer performed fine, but the weave on top of the lid seemed to be made of poor quality, and the uneven bamboo started to fray and split.With a bamboo steamer, you can steam not just buns and dumplings, but also breads, vegetables, rice, proteins, and cakes and other desserts. In Chinese cooking, there is a distinction between high-heat and low-heat steaming. In practice, you can see this in action as you raise and lower the flame level: as you increase heat, there’s more steam generated. For certain delicate foods, like small dumplings or tender vegetables, low steam might be preferable; for steaming rice, a full head of steam might be more appropriate. In this article, we provide step-by-step instructions on how to use a bamboo steamer, so you can start taking advantage of this useful cooking tool! What is a Bamboo Steamer?