Steam Cooking

Book excerpt: While stir-fries, chop sueys, and dim sums may be the more well-known Chinese foods in North America, steam cooking has long been a main-stream method in traditional Chinese cooking for the health-conscious minds. With bamboo steamers and other utensils for steam cooking becoming more popular in the supermarkets nowadays, recipes for steam cooking has also turned into a more sought-after subject. This 84-page book covers the basics of Chinese steam cooking, from how to flavour a dish, water level and general rules to determine cooking time for various ingredients. It talks about some finishing techniques that can enhance the flavour of a dish. There are illustrative examples of utensils, common sauces, herbs, seasoning and pantry items that can be used with steam cooking. There are 27 recipes for meat, fish, vegetables and dim sum dishes. They are easy to follow and illustrated with full-colour photoghrahy.