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2torial #0736:
Learn2 Steam Vegetables
Parental Advisory: This is steamy material...
Among the options available to a chef, steaming
is perhaps the most excellent way to cook
vegetables. This gentle cooking method seals in
nutrients and flavor by using the steam from a pot
of boiling water. The vegetables never touch the
water--instead they're suspended by a steamer which
holds the vegetables above the boiling water.
Nearly foolproof in its operation, a steamer
costs a tiny fraction of a microwave, cooks almost
as fast with many vegetables, and according to some
nutritional experts, is much healthier to use than
a microwave. If those reasons aren't enough, here's
the icing on the cake--steaming leaves you
virtually no clean-up.
Served with a little lemon, olive oil, and
freshly ground black pepper, you'll be amazed how
delicious steamed vegetables are on a bed of rice
(see 0569 Make
Rice for the scoop on rice). Or be a little
extravagant and make a fancier sauce with a roux
(see 0574 Make a
Roux for details).
If you don't have a steamer, finding a stainless
steel one is probably easiest. They're inexpensive
and they work very dependably. Some nutritional
experts encourage the use of ceramic or bamboo
steamers, saying that these materials are more
suitable for steaming. Nonetheless, steel steamers
do a fine job.
Plan the meal first: decide what vegetable(s)
you'll be preparing, what order they need to be
steamed (if you're cooking more than one kind), and
what sauce or seasonings will accompany the
vegetables. If you plan first, you'll know what to
do when it's time to act.
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