{"id":7112,"date":"2022-02-01T11:21:52","date_gmt":"2022-02-01T11:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/?p=8567"},"modified":"2023-03-01T10:31:53","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T10:31:53","slug":"a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/blog\/equipment-guide\/a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Bamboo Steamers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The bamboo steamer is a piece of kitchen equipment usually purchased for that one dish, that one time. But it shouldn\u2019t be. In fact, when it comes to cooking up deliciously healthy dishes in a flash, it\u2019s exactly what you need. A simple to use, effortless to clean, and easy to love culinary essential that we think deserves pride of place in your cupboard.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this helpful hint-packed guide, we\u2019re going to unlock the secrets of the bamboo steamer and learn just how you can use it to enhance the flavours of some of the best meals. First, let\u2019s find out how it came to be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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What\u2019s everyone steaming about?<\/b>
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Famed for its stackable woven basket form and moisture locking domed lid, the bamboo steamer is a simple, but powerful, piece of cookware that will totally transform any bad tastes left in your mouth about steaming.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>archaeological <\/span>findings, steaming is an ancient Asian cooking method.\u00a0(One of the oldest in history, actually). While the original bamboo steamers of 5000 years ago may have looked a lot different, the art of cooking in this way is still much the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bamboo steamers are loved all around the world for many rightful reasons \u2014 like the fact that they\u2019re naturally anti-bacterial and are purse and planet-friendly. But the real joy in these baskets is their natural ability to weave wonderful flavour into food. <\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n \n \n

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The basics of a bamboo steamer<\/b><\/h3>\n

The bamboo steamer has been around for some time\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a staple piece of kitchen equipment woven with history. As time has evolved, it\u2019s been reinvented in different forms in an attempt to meet the needs of modern-day diners.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>They\u2019re typically 10-inch wide and 6-inch high round interlocking baskets, made\u00a0\u2014 as the name suggests\u00a0\u2014 with woven straws of bamboo, cleverly designed to be stacked.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a cooking method, steaming has gotten a bad reputation as the destroyer of texture \u2014\u00a0turning all it touches into a pile of plain tasting sogginess. However, due to its special woven structure, bamboo steamers allow the steam to gently pass through the different stacked layers, enhancing its contents with flavour rather than taking it away, and doing it all without a drop of oil or butter\u00a0\u2014\u00a0clever, delicious, and healthy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bamboo steamer vs metal vs electric: what\u2019s the difference?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

The main benefit of the bamboo steamer (versus an electric or metal steamer) is that the moisture is absorbed into the bamboo, controlling the humidity and avoiding any unpleasant broiling.<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019re also more eco-friendly (and easier on the purse strings) than their counterparts, as they don\u2019t require electricity and are made using natural fibres.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To top it off, the signature domed lid works smarter to control the temperature, allowing excess heat to pass through rather than sitting inside and causing food-damaging condensation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Metal steamers are incredibly long-lasting, and can easily fit on the hob \u2014 perfect for whipping up midweek veggies and proteins in a flash, confident that it will stand up to the heat each and every time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The downsides to metal steamers? They\u2019re not always the cheapest, and they aren\u2019t environmentally friendly by nature \u2014\u00a0of course, if you take care of it, it will last which saves mounting products up at landfill sites. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>With electric steamers, they have the same benefits previously mentioned for metal steamers but their biggest advantage is convenience given their ability to automatically switch off and keep the food warm once it\u2019s cooked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The downside of these part plastic, part metal towers\u00a0is that they have a habit of turning the crunchy into the mushy\u00a0\u2014\u00a0the ultimate enemy of steaming.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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How to use a bamboo steamer<\/b><\/h3>\n

Start by filling a wide, shallow pan or wok with an inch or so of water, and bring it to a gentle simmer. When the water is ready, pop your bamboo steamer on top\u00a0so it\u2019s nestling on the sides or resting on top \u2014\u00a0try to avoid the base basket touching the water.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, place your vegetables and\/or proteins into the different layers (with whatever takes longest to cook closest to the bottom), and let the magic steam do its work. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>You\u2019ll need to stagger adding your ingredients to ensure they all finish cooking at the same time. So while a chicken breast usually takes 25-30 minutes to cook, broccoli florist will only take five minutes. So prepare ahead, and set a timer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n \n \n

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To get the most out of your bamboo steamer, here are some of our favourite tips.<\/b><\/h3>\n


\n<\/span>TIP 1:<\/strong> If you\u2019re steaming through multiple baskets, put the food that takes the longest to cook in the bottom tray\u00a0\u2014 closest to the heat. <\/span><\/p>\n

TIP 2:<\/strong> To ensure even cooking when steaming vegetables with stems (like broccoli or asparagus), point the firmest end towards the middle of the steamer. <\/span><\/p>\n

TIP 3:<\/strong> When cooking marinated meats or fish\u00a0lay a piece of parchment or greaseproof paper underneath to avoid the scent directly infusing into the wood. <\/span><\/p>\n

TIP 4:<\/strong> For extra flavour, swap the water in your pan for broth or stock and layer fresh herbs between food.<\/span><\/p>\n

TIP 5:<\/strong> Space out the contents of each basket to ensure your foods cook evenly \u2014 if it\u2019s overcrowded, spread it over other layers.<\/span><\/p>\n

TIP 6:<\/strong> You just have to trust that steam plus convection will cook your food with no outside assistance from you, so avoid temptation and leave that lid closed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How to use a bamboo steamer without a wok<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you don\u2019t have a wok, don\u2019t worry! You can still get simply delicious bamboo steamed food from other pans too. Find a pan or pot that is just smaller than the size of your steamer, half fill it with water and bring to a rolling boil. Then place the bamboo steamer on top and you\u2019re all set up to steam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hot tip:<\/strong> if your bamboo steamer overhangs your pot or pan considerably, gently wet the steamer before placing it over the top \u2014 this will avoid any creeping flames from the hob catching and burning the steamer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How to care for of your bamboo steamer<\/b><\/h3>\n

The beauty of the bamboo steamer (next to its other wonderful qualities) is that it is super simple to clean. In fact, the real trick to making it last for a long time is more about the drying. So, once you have cleaned your steamer with a sponge and mild soap and have thoroughly rinsed it out, leave it to air dry for a couple of days before storing it away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bamboo is extremely absorbent, so even when you think it might be dry, it may still be retaining some moisture, and that could develop any unpleasant mildew while resting in your cupboard. <\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

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Discover the delicious and healthy art of steaming<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[291],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equipment-guide"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Guide to Bamboo Steamers < Tilda Rice Ireland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/blog\/equipment-guide\/a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Guide to Bamboo Steamers < Tilda Rice Ireland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover the delicious and healthy art of steaming\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/blog\/equipment-guide\/a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tilda Rice Ireland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-01T11:21:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-01T10:31:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tildaricelive.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/02\/07151610\/Bamboo-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"gabby\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"gabby\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/blog\/equipment-guide\/a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/blog\/equipment-guide\/a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers\/\",\"name\":\"A Guide to Bamboo Steamers < Tilda Rice Ireland\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/blog\/equipment-guide\/a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/blog\/equipment-guide\/a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/tildaricelive.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/02\/07151610\/Bamboo-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-01T11:21:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-01T10:31:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/#\/schema\/person\/618f21082893746d09577ea3f216f6a8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/blog\/equipment-guide\/a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/blog\/equipment-guide\/a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tilda.com\/en-ie\/blog\/equipment-guide\/a-guide-to-bamboo-steamers\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tildaricelive.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/02\/07151610\/Bamboo-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/tildaricelive.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/02\/07151610\/Bamboo-1.jpg\",\"width\":2440,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"Empty Basket of Dim Sum Made by Bamboo Material and Chopsticks. 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