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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.
 Select and prepare the vegetables
The first rule of successful cooking is to start
with good-quality ingredients. The fresher the
produce, the better the final dish. This especially
true of steaming; it's a method that really brings
out a vegetable's fullest flavor.
Virtually any vegetable can be steamed. Here's a
list, just in case you've forgotten any of these:
spinach, summer squash such as sunburst or
zucchini, broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower, cabbage,
brussel sprouts, asparagus, kale, collard greens,
mushrooms, onions, beets, turnips, potatoes, and
sweet potatoes. Bean sprouts are not actually
vegetables, but they're a great addition. Mung bean
sprouts are the most common choice.
Preparation:
Very fresh vegetables (say, from a farmer's
market) are great when steamed whole: string
beans, small summer squash, and small potatoes (red
or yellow). And here's a great way to prepare whole
spinach and bok choy leaves, or even small cabbage
leaves: roll them up from stem to tip, place them
on their sides, and steam them in that position.
Other vegetables require slicing or dicing in
order to have them cook in a reasonable length of
time: beets, yams, potatoes (large ones), and
brussel sprouts as examples. Chop all of the
vegetables beforehand, and (ideally) have different
types of vegetables on a separate plate or in small
bowl--this makes them easier to work with. If
you're working with a dull kitchen knife, you're
making the preparation more difficult and dangerous
than it need be. To fix this situation, see
2torial
#0685 Sharpen
a Knife. If you don't have a decent knife to
begin with, consider investing in a new one--but
not without consulting 2torial
#0505 Choose a
Kitchen Knife.
Combinations: Some times one vegetable is
appropriate for a meal; other meals call out for a
variety of vegtables steamed together. Try out
these combinations, but be sure to add them in the
order that they're presented: some vegetables of a
combination require longer cooking times, and hence
need to be added first.
- Squash cut into rounds / shittake mushrooms
(fresh,or pre-soaked if dried) / whole or
chopped spinach.
- Carrots cut diagonally / fresh peas.
- Shredded cabbage / grated carrots / mung
bean sprouts.
- Onions and summer squash, diced / spinach
(or bok choy, or chard) cut into one-inch
squares.
- Turnips, diced / sweet potatoes, cut into
half moons / fresh parsely, finely chopped
- Broccoli and cauliflower.
 Steam
the vegetables
If you can boil water, then you can steam
vegetables--that's the beauty of this technique.
One concern, however, may be the quality of the tap
water in your home. Many municipal water supplies
around the world have been contaminated by chemical
run-off from industry and conventional farming. If
you're boiling that water for several minutes (and
up to half an hour for beets), the pollutants in
the water become more concentrated as the water
evaporates. These pollutants can be steamed into
the vegetables; if these are ingested over a period
of time, they could result in adverse health
effects. If it's an option for you, cook it
safely--steam the vegetables with filtered or
spring water. If that's not an option for you, be
sure to pour the steam water down the drain: don't
save it for soup stock or a health drink.
- Measure the water. If you have a
steel steamer, look at its legs. Chances are,
they're not more than an inch long, and you
won't want any more in the pot. So figure a
half-inch to one inch (about 1.5 to 3 cm) of
water in the pot--it shouldn't boil through the
screen of the steamer.
- Bring the water to a boil. Turn the
stove burner to High, and put the covered pot on
the stove. After the water boils, place the
vegetables in the steamer and in the pot. Some
folks leave the stove on High, but most prefer
to turn down the heat until the water's at a low
boil--there should be bubbles rising from the
bottom of the pot, and you should hear a quiet
rumbling sound. Replace the cover and note the
time that you put the vegetables in.
- Timings for each vegetable: The
general rule on steaming times is to cook
vegetables until they're crisp. You want to
avoid overcooking them, as their color, flavor,
and nutritional value are reduced after a
certain point. Take them out when they're almost
done--as they sit for a minute or two on the
serving plate, they'll finish cooking and will
arrive on your plate at the peak of perfection.
Here's a range of times:
- For leafy greens, wait three minutes
or so, and watch their color. They'll change to
a fresh, bright green, which indicates they're
done. You might be surprised how quickly
vegetables like spinach will cook. Don't
overcook when steaming, especially leafy greens;
this reduces their nutritional value
considerably.
- For green beans, try 8 or 10 minutes.
Have a taste test, though--8 minutes will seem
overcooked for some people, and 10 minutes will
seem undercooked for others. Here's your chance
to use the pen and paper: note the vegetable and
the amount of time in the steamer that results
in prepares the vegetable to your taste. For
some cooks, this recording of times feels too
regimented; but for other beginner cooks, it's
appropriate and educational. Do whatever feels
best for you.
- For roots and tubers like potatoes,
beets, or yams, figure on 30 minutes. You can
also try the fork test: a fork inserted into the
root should slide in easily. Note: You
may have to add a little boiling water if all of
the original water has boiled off into
steam.
- When the vegetables are done, pull
the steamer out of the pot. Try to remove the
vegetables with the steamer still in the pot
often results in steamed fingers. Arrange on a
warm serving plate, and garnish as desired.
Enjoy!
-end-
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