This picture is a little misleading because you don’t need a fancy bamboo pot to steam.  I’ve been known to put crumpled tin foil in the bottom of a pan and nestle a dish in there to steam fish.

Steaming is a good technique to learn because it can balance a meal that might have a heavy side dish or something fried.  The food comes out very light, because there is no cooking oil.  Also, it keeps the nutrients locked in, not boiled away in a pan. Another benefit is that it can really speed up the cooking process, as steam is way hot.

Lately, I’ve been buying fish fillets like salmon or white fish, putting them on a plate and smothering with fresh scallion, fresh ginger and tiny red Thai chilis and then steam (like 5 minutes). The flavor is insane, because of the scallion, ginger and chilis. I cook Japanese rice with it and serve it with a roasted squash that I roast until its caramelized and sweet. The flavors and textures are really good together.

You can buy a bamboo steamer for a few bucks, you can buy a metal one too. I recently picked up a giant two tiered metal steamer at the Asian market and I can cook a million things at once, even a whole chicken. It takes about 30 minutes to steam a whole chicken. But you can start slow and experiment. In general, it’s a quick cooking time, and while I don’t recommend steaming your whole dinner (too healthy and potentially boring) it’s fun to learn new ways of cooking the same foods.

Advanced tip: You can flavor the water which adds a delicate flavor to the food. Add garlic, onion, spices, lemons, etc.