中Chinese Home Cooking
Menu ☰
Cooking technique

Steaming

Cooking gently with hot steam.

What Is This Technique?

Cooking gently with hot steam.

When Chinese Cooks Use It

For delicate egg, fish, and other foods that benefit from gentle heat.

Equipment

  • Steamer
  • Heatproof plate or bowl

Key Principles

  • Control steam strength.
  • Avoid lifting the lid repeatedly.

Step-by-Step

  • Bring water to a simmer.
  • Place the covered dish in the steamer.
  • Steam until set or cooked through.

Common Mistakes

  • Using excessive heat.

Related Ingredients

Related Techniques

Recipes Using This Technique

Tender eggplant strips topped with green herbs, red chiles and sesame in a shallow white bowl.
Steamed

Steamed Eggplant with Garlic-Chile Dressing

凉拌茄子

Steamed eggplant is cooled and torn into strips, then dressed with garlic, herbs, chiles and black vinegar.

View recipe
Eggplant strips, dark century egg pieces and green peppers topped with chopped red chiles and sesame in a white bowl.
Steamed

Eggplant and Century Eggs with Blistered Peppers

擂辣椒皮蛋茄子

Blistered peppers, steamed eggplant and century eggs are mixed with garlic, hot oil and a savory vinegar dressing.

View recipe
Shredded chicken with lemon slices, cilantro and red chiles on a pale plate.
Steamed

Shredded Chicken with Lemon and Chile Dressing

柠檬手撕鸡

Steamed chicken is shredded and tossed with lemon slices, cilantro and a hot-oil chile dressing.

View recipe
Smooth yellow steamed egg custard topped with chopped scallions and oil in a white bowl.
Steamed

Chinese Steamed Eggs

水蒸蛋

Eggs are mixed with warm water, strained and gently steamed into a soft custard finished with soy sauce, sesame oil and scallions.

View recipe
A round layered dumpling cake and a cut piece revealing a green vegetable and egg filling.
Steamed

Layered Zucchini, Shrimp and Egg Dumpling Cake

西葫芦虾仁鸡蛋饺子千层面

A layered steamed cake of thin dumpling wrappers filled with zucchini, chopped shrimp and scrambled eggs.

View recipe
Pale layered wonton wrappers with a visible vegetable filling, topped with reddish oil in a bowl.
Steamed

Steamed Zucchini and Shrimp Wonton-Wrapper Layers

西葫芦鲜虾馄饨皮千层面

Wonton wrappers are layered with a zucchini, shrimp and egg filling, then steamed and finished with chili oil and vinegar.

View recipe
Chicken pieces with dark fermented beans and ginger, topped with scallions in a shallow bowl.
Steamed

Steamed Chicken with Black Bean Sauce

豆豉酱干蒸鸡

Chicken marinated in galangal black bean sauce steams in a covered wok over a small amount of water.

View recipe
Steamed pork rib pieces with chopped garlic and red chiles.
Steamed

Garlic Steamed Pork Ribs

蒜香蒸排骨

Pork ribs are marinated with fried garlic, chiles and fermented black beans, then steamed on a plate.

View recipe
Pale purple taro dessert topped with small white and purple balls.
Steamed

Taro and Purple Sweet Potato Dessert with Rice Balls

芋泥小圆子

Steamed taro and purple sweet potato are blended with milk and served with rice balls, jiuniang and osmanthus honey.

View recipe
Steamed pork ribs with dark fermented beans over tofu skin.
Steamed

Black Bean Steamed Pork Ribs with Tofu Skin

豉汁蒸排骨

Pork ribs marinate with fermented black beans and steam over a bed of rehydrated tofu skin sticks.

View recipe
Purple eggplant strips and green chiles coated in a dark sauce.
Steamed

Eggplant with Blistered Green Chiles

擂椒茄子

Steamed eggplant is pressed and stir-fried with blistered green chiles, garlic and fermented black beans.

View recipe
Small pale buns with browned bottoms and green scallion and black sesame garnish.
Pan-Frying

Pan-Fried Pork Buns with Sweet Bean Sauce

酱肉生煎包

Yeasted buns filled with cooked sweet-bean-sauce pork are pan-fried and steamed under a lid for crisp bottoms.

View recipe