How to use the bamboo steamer? The best recipes from appetizer to dessert

Have you given yourself a bamboo steamer, but don't know where to start? Here's everything you need to know about steaming.

In recent years, oriental cuisine is undoubtedly experiencing its moment of glory in Western homes and has brought with it some cooking techniques and tools that were previously not very common. The bamboo steamer is one of them. But why on earth should you cook with steam and, above all, with a steamer?

If you're a penniless mess , know that steaming won't make your kitchen a battlefield and… it will also save you money!

Steam cooking: advantages

Thanks to this type of cooking, foods lose almost nothing of their nutritional value ; vitamins and minerals remain perfectly intact because foods cook at a temperature lower than 100°C . Furthermore, it is not necessary to add fats and seasonings: foods retain flavor, aroma and texture perfectly.

As we told you, today it is very common to use a bamboo steamer, a tool that comes from the East, but you will remember that our grandmothers already prepared their dishes with a steam pot ! Then came the steel baskets for pressure cookers, and finally the comfortable (and also very spectacular to bring to the table) bamboo baskets, like the one we will use today.

You can find the bamboo basket on sale in all home improvement stores and fits perfectly into your pan. If you are a little skeptical, we will show you that this is the sweetest and most versatile cooking: it is particularly suitable for vegetables, fish and oriental dishes, but also desserts and appetizers.

Bamboo steamer: how to use it?

1. Fill a pan with about 3/4 inches of water and let it boil. You can also proceed with steam cooking using vegetable broth instead of water to give more flavor to the food.
2. Then place the bamboo steamer over the pan where the water is boiling and turn off the heat .
3. Place some salad leaves or baking paper on the bottom of the basket and place the foods that need to be steamed without seasoning on top.
4. Then close the basket and let the food cook.

Bamboo steamer: 10 recipes

So let's see some recipes with the steamer selected for you by PrimoChef : try it and you won't regret it! As you will notice, many are of oriental inspiration (we mention, for example, ravioli or Chinese bread) because that is where this instrument comes from and is most used. There will also be something easy and within everyone's reach – like steamed fish – and something very original like purple ensaimadas!

Before starting, however, a tip: to clean the bamboo steamer you can use simple water, perhaps with a spoonful of vinegar, lemon or bicarbonate of soda. We obviously advise against the use of detergents, but above all washing in the dishwasher, which could ruin the delicate wooden utensil.

Chinese steamed shrimp dumplings

Chinese steamed shrimp dumplings , originally called Siu Mai Prawn , are one of the most beloved Chinese dishes. When cooking, if you have multiple levels in the steamer, keep in mind that the ravioli closer to the steamer will cook faster than those further away. Let's see the ingredients for 4 people!

For the pasta:

• 200 g of type 00 flour
• 100 ml of hot water

For the filling:

• 200 g of cleaned prawn tails
• 100 g of Chinese cabbage (or cabbage)
• 1/2 Carrot
• 1 spring onion
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Fine peas to taste

Steamed Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi)

The bamboo steamer is one of the most popular cooking tools in the East, where these steamed meat dumplings are usually eaten as an appetizer or as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. Their shape varies from region to region but for ours we chose the classic crescent. Here are the ingredients for 4 people.

For the pasta:

• 200 g of 00 flour
• 100 ml of water
• 1 pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 200 g of minced pork
• 100 g of Chinese cabbage (or cabbage or cabbage)
• 1 spring onion
• 1 Carrot
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger

Steamed Cantonese rice

Here rice is not steamed – and up to this point we all agree – but if you want to experiment , steamed Cantonese rice is the right recipe! Among the changes you can make to the dish, you can choose to replace the shrimp with cooked ham or chicken breast. Here are the ingredients:

• 300 g of basmati rice
• 200 g of prawns
• 150 g of peas
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 leek
• 10 g of granular broth
• sesame oil
• black pepper

Steamed fish

A fish recipe ready in just 20 minutes and with strong, fragrant flavours? Here's the steamed hake ! Hake is a white fish which, if you cannot find fresh, you can also buy frozen at the supermarket or replace with various other varieties of fish.

The ingredients for 2 people are:

• 300 g of hake fillets
• 2 leeks
• salt, pepper and thyme to taste

Steamed potatoes

We know them fried, baked and pan-fried… but have you ever tried steamed potatoes? We are sure that in this version they will amaze you ! We recommend the small, new ones, so they will take less time to cook (alternatively you can cut them into small pieces).

Cook the potatoes in a steamer until they are soft (check them after 15 minutes with a fork): cooking times depend on the size.

This is the base but if you want something tastier, try our steamed potatoes with flax seeds and capers, the ingredients of which you will find below.

• 800 g of potatoes
• 1 cup of flaxseeds
• 2 tablespoons of salted capers
• 4 dried tomatoes
• fresh parsley
• 1 clove of garlic
• extra virgin olive oil to taste

Steamed vegetables

After many oriental recipes, let's move on to a side dish that doesn't stray too far from our territories: steamed vegetables. The preparation is really simple: wash and cut the vegetables into pieces of the same size and place in the steamer to cook for 10/12 minutes .

This basic recipe can be adapted to any season with fresh products. If you want something more elaborate and tasty , however, we leave you the recipe for our steamed vegetables with salted zabaglione .

The ingredients are:

• 500 g of courgettes
• 500 g of Brussels sprouts
• 300 g of broccoli
• extra virgin olive oil to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 60 g of butter
• 80 ml of white wine

Steamed chicken meatballs and bread

Meatballs are undoubtedly among the most cooked and revisited recipes, as well as one of the favorites of Italians and lovers of good food. Steamed chicken meatballs are ideal as a second course , perhaps accompanied with a side dish of vegetables, but they can also be served as an appetizer .

Here are the ingredients for 6 people:

• 400 g of minced chicken
• 2 sandwiches (even stale)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons grated cheese
• 1 bunch of basil
• breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper to taste

Chinese steamed buns

This recipe will surprise you: Chinese buns are very different from our bread. First of all, the crust does not exist, in its place you will find a soft and delicate shiny skin. The interior is soft, the difficulty of preparation is zero and the cooking is very fast thanks to the bamboo steamer.

The ingredients for 3 people are:

• 250 g of 0 flour
• 175 ml of milk
• extra virgin olive oil to taste
• 10 g of dry brewer's yeast
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• salt to taste

Mooncake or Chinese moon cakes

Mooncakes are traditionally prepared on the occasion of the celebration dedicated to the cult of the Moon . We prepared them with a more modern filling based on apricots, dates and raisins.

To make them, in addition to the steamer, you will need the appropriate molds . For 6 people you will need:

• 500 g of 00 soft wheat flour
• 200 g of butter
• 4 eggs
• 150 g of sugar
• 100 g of powdered milk
• 1 sachet of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of salt

For the filling:

• 200 g of apricot jam
• 100 g of dates
• 50 g of raisins

Ensaimadas tarts with purple ube

The ensaimadas of Menorca, unlike the traditional ones, contain the potato, an ingredient to which we will add a particular root called Ube, which will give it a particular purple color .

Some versions of this dessert include the addition of cheese flakes on top to accentuate the sweet/savory contrast: you choose whether to add them by preparing these purple ensaimadas tarts .

Here are the ingredients for 4 people:

• 400 g of manitoba flour
• 2 boiled potatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon ube extract
• 120 g of sugar
• 25 g of fresh brewer's yeast (one cube)
• 2 eggs
• 50 g of lard at room temperature
• salt to taste
• 160 ml of bottled water
• cheese flakes (optional)

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