Steamer pots are often used in Chinese restaurants.
A steamer pot is a kitchen utensil that offers an alternative means of cooking vegetables, rice and some meats. Originally made from bamboo, but more often fabricated from cast iron or stainless steel these days, steamer pots use steam to cook foodstuffs, suspending them over boiling water from which the steam rises.
How It Works
A steamer pot consists of three parts that fit on top of one another. At the bottom is a pan in which the cook places water. This is put on the stovetop or over a flame to allow the water to boil. The second part is a perforated container that fits snugly into the pan, with a lip around the rim to prevent the bottom from being submerged in the water. The food goes into this container and the steam rises up through the perforations. The third part is a lid that goes over the container, preventing the steam from escaping and, thus, speeding up cooking times.
Which Foods
Steamer pots made from bamboo were originally used in China to cook rice. They are commonly used to cook all varieties of vegetables, which are usually sliced or diced to increase their surface area and lessen their cooking time. Steamer pots can also be used to cook poultry and fish -- special rectangular steamer pots are manufactured into which whole fish can fit.
Pros
The main advantage of cooking vegetables with a steamer pot is that steaming preserves more of the vegetable's nutrient content. When cooked in water, nutrients are leached out by the action of the water moving through the fibers of the food. It can also make the vegetable soggy. Of course, steaming for a long time can make vegetables soggy and cause them to lose nutrients -- usually, the crunchier the vegetable is after steaming, the more nutritious. Another advantage is that, with less leaching, foodstuffs retain more of their natural flavor and coloring. Also, with more than one perforated container, an individual can cook several "tiers" of food over one pan, reducing energy and water consumption.
Cons
For other foodstuffs, most notably rice, cooking with a steamer pot significantly increases the cooking time. Brown rice can take more than an hour to cook in a steamer pot. Also, steamer pots are not suitable for cooking meats such as beef, lamb and port because the temperature of the steam is not high enough to cook such fibrous meat through.
Tags: cooking time, cooking vegetables, from bamboo, made from, bamboo, more than, perforated container