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For the movie, see Steaming (movie).

You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|October 2005|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.
Steaming is a method of cooking using steam.

Steaming is a preferred cooking method for health conscious individuals because no cooking oil is needed, thus resulting in a lower fat content. Steaming also results in a more nutritious food than boiling because fewer nutrients are destroyed or leached away into the water (which is usually discarded). It is also easier to avoid burning food.

Steaming works by first boiling water, causing it to evaporate into steam; the steam then carries heat to the food, thus cooking the food.

In western cooking, steaming is most often used to cook vegetables, and only rarely to cook meats. By contrast, vegetables are seldom steamed in Chinese cuisine; vegetables are mostly stir fried or blanched instead.

In Chinese cooking, steaming is used to cook many meat dishes, for example, steamed whole fish, steamed pork spare ribs, steamed ground pork or beef patties, steamed chicken, steamed goose etc. Other than meat dishes, many Chinese rice and wheat foods are steamed too. Examples include buns, Chinese steamed cakes etc. Steamed meat dishes (except some dim sum) are less common in Chinese restaurants than in traditional home cooking because meats usually require longer cooking time to steam than to stir fry.

The Chinese chefs developed an efficient method of restaurant cooking: Big bamboo steaming baskets, each three feet in diameter and four inches tall, can be stacked up on top of a wok like a chimney. The bottom of each basket is a grid which allows the steam from the wok to rise all the way to the top of the stack. In the kitchen of some dim sum restaurants, a steaming stack can be 20 levels high. The bottom level is removed when done and the entire stack simply shifted downward. This technique ensures a constant supply of freshly steamed dim sum.

Steaming at home can also be done with a wok. A shelf is put on the bottom of the wok, and a small steam basket or a dish of food is put on the shelf. Water is then filled to just below the dish or basket. The water is kept boiling, and a lid is placed over. Most vegetable dishes can be cooked in approximately five minutes using this method; most meat dishes, however, take longer than 20 minutes.

A common alternative is to put the dish to be steamed on top of rice which is being cooked. A pot of rice which takes about 30 minutes to cook will then be ready at the same time as the steamed food.

Specialized steamers are often available for purchase; however, although they are more convenient, they are not necessarily better.

A related technique is enclosing food in a container or material that will release steam when heated, such as clay pot cooking. A kind of steaming can be done outdoors by wrapping meat, poultry, or fish in banana leaves and burying it in hot sand or ash. Another form of outdoor steam cooking is covering a large piece of meat, poultry or fish in wet clay and placing it in a fire.

See also : Cooking

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 :''For the movie, see [[Steaming (1985 film)|Steaming (movie)]].''
 {{cleanup-date|October 2005}}
-'''Steaming''' is [[cooking]] by steam.
+'''Steaming''' is a method of [[cooking]] using steam.
 [[Image:Steamers.jpg|thumbnail|right|Two types of steaming utensils]]
-Steaming is a preferred cooking method of health conscious individuals because no cooking oil is needed, resulting in a lower fat content. Steaming also results in a more nutritious food than boiling because fewer nutrients are destroyed or leached away into the water. Also, it does not burn the food like oil do.
+Steaming is a preferred cooking method for health conscious individuals because no cooking oil is needed, thus resulting in a lower fat content. Steaming also results in a more nutritious food than boiling because fewer nutrients are destroyed or leached away into the water (which is usually discarded). It is also easier to avoid burning food.
-Steaming works by first boiling the water so it will evaporate into steam, then the steam will carry heat to the food, thus achieving heating the food.
+Steaming works by first boiling water, causing it to evaporate into steam; the steam then carries heat to the food, thus cooking the food.
-In western cooking, steaming is usually used to cook vegetables, and only rarely to cook meats.  On the contrary, vegetables are seldom steamed in [[Chinese cuisine]], vegetables are mostly [[stir frying|stir fried]] or [[Blanching|blanched]] instead.  In Chinese cooking, steaming is used to cook many meat dishes, for example, steamed whole fish, steamed pork spare ribs, steamed ground pork or beef patties, steamed chicken, steamed goose etc.
+In western cooking, steaming is most often used to cook vegetables, and only rarely to cook meats.  By contrast, vegetables are seldom steamed in [[Chinese cuisine]]; vegetables are mostly [[stir frying|stir fried]] or [[Blanching|blanched]] instead.
-Other than meat dishes, many Chinese rice and wheat foods are steamed too.  Examples include buns, Chinese steamed cakes etc.
-Steamed meat dishes (except some dim sum) are less common in Chinese restaurant than in traditional home cooking because meats usually require longer cooking time to steam than stir frying.
+In Chinese cooking, steaming is used to cook many meat dishes, for example, steamed whole fish, steamed pork spare ribs, steamed ground pork or beef patties, steamed chicken, steamed goose etc.
-The Chinese chefs developed an efficient method of restaurant cooking.  Big bamboo steaming baskets each three feet in diameter, four inches tall can be stacked up on top of a [[wok]] like a chimney.  The bottom of each basket is a grid which allows the steam from the wok to rise all the way to the top of the stack.  In kitchen of some [[dim sum]] restaurants, a steaming stack can be 20 levels high.  The bottom level is removed when done and the entire stack simply shift downward.  This technique ensures a constant supply of freshly steamed dim sum.
+Other than meat dishes, many Chinese rice and wheat foods are steamed too. Examples include buns, Chinese steamed cakes etc. Steamed meat dishes (except some [[dim sum]]) are less common in Chinese restaurants than in traditional home cooking because meats usually require longer cooking time to steam than to stir fry.
+The Chinese chefs developed an efficient method of restaurant cooking: Big bamboo steaming baskets, each three feet in diameter and four inches tall, can be stacked up on top of a [[wok]] like a chimney.  The bottom of each basket is a grid which allows the steam from the wok to rise all the way to the top of the stack.  In the kitchen of some dim sum restaurants, a steaming stack can be 20 levels high. The bottom level is removed when done and the entire stack simply shifted downward.  This technique ensures a constant supply of freshly steamed dim sum.
-Steaming at home can be done with a wok.  A shelf is put on the bottom of the wok.  A small steam basket or a dish of food is put on the shelf.  Water is filled to just below the dish or basket.  Keep the water boiling with a lid on.  Most vegetable dishes are done in approximately five minutes.  Most meat dishes take longer than 20 minutes.
+Steaming at home can also be done with a wok. A shelf is put on the bottom of the wok, and a small steam basket or a dish of food is put on the shelf. Water is then filled to just below the dish or basket. The water is kept boiling, and a lid is placed over. Most vegetable dishes can be cooked in approximately five minutes using this method; most meat dishes, however, take longer than 20 minutes.
-A common alternative is to put the dish on top of the rice being cooked.
-A pot of rice takes about 30 minutes to cook.
-The dish is ready when the rice is.
+A common alternative is to put the dish to be steamed on top of rice which is being cooked. A pot of rice which takes about 30 minutes to cook will then be ready at the same time as the steamed food.
-Specialized steamers are available in the market.
-Although they are more convenient, they are not necessarily better.
+Specialized steamers are often available for purchase; however, although they are more convenient, they are not necessarily better.
-A related technique is enclosing food in a container or material that will release steam when heated, such as [[clay pot cooking]].  A kind of steaming can be done outdoors by wrapping meat, poultry, or fish in banana leaves and burying it in hot sand or ash.  Another form of outdoor steam cooking is covering a large piece of meat, poultry or fish in wet clay and placing it in a fire.
+A related technique is enclosing food in a container or material that will release steam when heated, such as [[clay pot cooking]]. A kind of steaming can be done outdoors by wrapping meat, poultry, or fish in banana leaves and burying it in hot sand or ash.  Another form of outdoor steam cooking is covering a large piece of meat, poultry or fish in wet clay and placing it in a fire.
 {{cookbook}}