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Steam cooking
Cooking containers
When each piece of the food being
cooked only has a small diameter (e.g.
peas, asparagus), there are no or very
few gaps and the steam can hardly
penetrate the food. To ensure even
cooking, use a flat cooking container for
these types of food and make sure that
the food is piled no more than 3–5 cm
high. Divide larger amounts of food over
several flat cooking containers.
Different types of vegetables which take
the same length of time to cook can be
cooked together in one cooking
container.
Vegetables that need to be cooked in
liquid, e.g. red cabbage, must be put in
solid cooking containers.
Shelf level
If you cook vegetables that could stain
other food in an unperforated cooking
container, e.g. beetroot, do not put any
other food underneath. This avoids any
transfer of colour to other food by
preventing liquid dripping onto food
below it.
Cooking duration
The cooking duration depends on the
size of the food and how well cooked
you want it, just as it does with
conventional cooking methods.
Example:
Firm potatoes, cut into quarters:
approx. 25 minutes
Firm potatoes, cut in half:
approx. 30 minutes
62
Fish
Fresh
Prepare fresh fish in the usual way, i.e.
clean, gut and fillet.
Frozen
Fish does not need to be fully defrosted
before cooking. Defrost so that the
surface is sufficiently thawed to take
herbs and seasoning. Depending on the
thickness of the fish, 2–5 minutes
should be enough.
Preparation
Add some lemon or lime juice to fish
before cooking. The citric acid helps the
flesh stay firm.
It is not necessary to season fish when
cooking with steam as this method
retains the minerals which give the fish
its unique flavour.
Cooking containers
If using a perforated container, grease it
first or line it with baking paper.
Shelf level
When cooking fish in a perforated
container at the same time as cooking
other types of food in other containers,
place the container with the fish directly
above the universal tray to catch any
liquid and so avoid any transfer of
tastes to other food.
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