Cooking with steam: An age-old technique which still holds up

When most people think of steam cooking, they often picture a limp, bland, and tasteless mixture of unidentifiable vegetables. However, steam cooking is much more than that. Your favourite momos? Or that delicious chocolate pudding? Maybe that delicious Mediterranean salmon in the restaurant window? That’s all thanks to the magic of cooking with steam. 

Steam cooking traces back thousands of years, with increased popularity in east Asia. In China’s Yellow River region, steamers as old as 7,000 years have been found! Traditional steamers were made out of bamboo, which absorbed the heat and moisture while cooking the food to perfection. Though not as widely used, steaming has been used across the world—from Italy to Arizona. Some popular examples of steamed food are mochi (glutinous Japanese rice cakes), steamed fish and mussels, milk pudding, and dim sums. 

What made it such a versatile tool to cook? 

Traditionally, steaming is known as a “gentle” method of cooking wherein the steamer is kept over boiling water, and as the steam releases the food is cooked evenly and rapidly. Rice, the most popular starch in eastern Asia, cooks very well with this technique. Steaming also helped to cook for a large population easily, quickly, and more efficiently. 

Which brings me to the question: why isn’t steaming as popular anymore? One of the main reasons for the drop in its popularity is its efficiency. In today’s fast-paced world, most people view steaming as a time-consuming and slow method of cooking. Why take the time to slowly cook a dish when you can just throw it in an air-fryer and have it ready in five minutes? 

However, I believe steaming is just as efficient and easy as it was many years ago! It follows a similar premise of viral Instagram recipes—15-minute dump-and-go oven pasta, instant mug cakes, one-pot-no-prep tomato soups, and the likes.

For example, this delicious Mediterranean steamed salmon by What’s Gaby Cooking needs just five minutes to prep. Leave it in the steamer for 15 minutes to cook, and you will be left with a tender, perfectly-cooked salmon. The pros of steam cooking are many: for starters, it is a deceptively easy technique, which means it’s ideal for home cooks who don’t have much experience or time; and it’s almost impossible to overcook dishes, which means the nutritional value of the ingredients is retained.

Steaming is “picking up steam” again, and popular recipes are being shared over the internet. Why don’t you try one out today?