Steaming Using a Steaming Basket (찜)

Why and when do we use a Steaming Basket?

Steaming in a basket allows for a delicate even distribution of heat and moisture to fully cook the ingredient without ever touching the boiling water. 

So why is this helpful to know?

Well, a steaming basket is the preferred vessel to use when you want to steam delicate ingredients like fish or dumplings that may lose their flavor and nutrients, or the texture and structure would be affected if they were to be, for example, boiled in water instead of steamed. 

So, the benefits of using a steaming basket for delicate ingredients are that:

• The ingredients can hold their structure because simmering or boiling can be rough on delicate ingredients.
• The ingredient’s natural flavors can be enhanced and preserved because they wouldn’t be lost in the boiling water.
• The flavor of steamed foods steamed in a basket is cleaner and fresher.

Types of Steaming Baskets

You can use any kind of steaming basket/vessel you prefer.

Some options include:

• A metal steamer insert that you add to a pot. You will need to use this steaming vessel insert with a pot that has a secure lid that can trap the steam. 
• Stainless steel steaming basket
• Bamboo steaming basket 
• Electric steaming baskets are also an option, but I have not used them personally.

I use bamboo steaming baskets, and there are some reasons why it is preferred over metal/stainless steel steaming baskets.

The main reason I prefer bamboo steaming baskets is that the lid of the bamboo steaming basket absorbs the liquid that would usually collect at the top of a stainless-steel steaming basket and then drip onto your food when you remove the lid. A bamboo steaming basket also adds a nice aroma to your food.

The con of using a bamboo steaming basket is that it can grow mold. If there is a change in humidity, for example, if you move from Texas to Philadelphia, do not be surprised if your bamboo steaming basket suddenly grows mold. I have tried to use different methods to remove the mold, but in the end, it messed up the sturdiness and structure of the steaming basket, so I do not have any tips yet on how to remove mold from your steaming basket.

Another con is that they can be a little trickier to clean. If your bamboo steamer gets dirty, you should not use soap; just use some water and a clean brush to gently brush/clean any dirty sections on your bamboo steamer. I would recommend always using a parchment insert when steaming.

Tips for Steaming with a Steaming Basket

1. No matter the steaming basket you use, you need to add water to the bottom of the pot and then place the steamer on top. Make sure you have enough water in your pot so that it will not dissolve quickly but not too much water. We do not want the water to touch your ingredients or steaming basket. 
2. It is optional to add extra fragrant vegetables like green onions to the water or some vinegar or alcohol to the water to remove any fish smell when steaming to enhance further the flavor of the ingredients you are steaming. You can also place fragrant vegetables like green onion or radish on top of the actual ingredients you are steaming to add more flavor.
3. You need to bring the water to a boil before you place the steaming basket on top of the pot. If you put the steaming basket on the pot and then bring it to a boil, it may overcook or undercook your food, depending on when you started the cooking timer. 
4. It is optional to add a steamer parchment paper liner (parchment paper with holes) before adding the ingredients you plan to steam. You can use steamer parchment paper to prevent your ingredients from falling through the holes in the steaming basket. Parchment paper can also help to keep your bamboo steaming basket clean. Finally, using a piece of parchment paper can help you easily remove your steamed ingredients from the basket without damaging them. Remember you want to use parchment paper with holes in it so that the steam can still touch your ingredients and cook correctly. If you do not have any parchment paper, then you can use a rehydrated piece of 다시마.

How to Steam Ingredients with a Steaming Basket

The main ingredients that are steamed using a steaming basket in Korean cuisine are various seafood, vegetables, and thinly sliced meats. Dumplings are also steamed, but we will cover dumplings in a later chapter.

Steaming Whole Fish

When we steam whole fish in a steaming basket, there are some things we want to achieve.

• The fish should not have any unappetizing strong smell.
• It should be garnished and is usually seasoned with or served with a sauce.
• The fish should be cooked all the way but remain tender.
• The fish should be pleasantly fragrant, and the natural flavor of the fish should be enhanced.

You can basically steam any kind of fish, but different kinds of white fish are popular to steam. 

• Porgies/red snapper (도미)
• Halibut
• Salmon
• Sea Bass
• Silver Pomfret (병어)
• Chinese drum (민어)
• Rockfish (우럭)
• Yellow Corvina/croaker (조기)

When you steam whole fish, based on the size, the amount of time it takes to steam can be longer or shorter. For a medium-sized fish, it should take about 20-25 minutes. If you are unsure if your fish is ready, take a thermometer and make sure it reads 145F/63C.

When you prep the fish for steaming, remove the scales, gut the fish, trip the fins and tail, and make some incisions across the fish’s skin or body (about 3 incisions). These incisions can ensure the seasoning is absorbed, the fish doesn’t break apart, and can also be used to stuff other ingredients into the fish. Utilize these incisions and the open gut of the fish to add fragrant vegetables. 

When cooking fish to remove any unwanted natural smells, ingredients like sliced ginger, ginger juice (즙), and or cooking wine (청주/소주) are used.

The basic layering of the fish to be steamed in the basket can just be the fish alone, or you can place the fish on a bed of green onion inside the basket.

Usually, Korean steamed fish is garnished with slices of colorful vegetables like pepper, dates (대추), green onion, or thinly sliced cook strips of egg. How steamed fish is garnished varies based on the recipe. Steamed fish can also be topped with a seasoned soy sauce-based sauce or served with a soy sauce-based sauce. 

Steaming Dried Fish

The type of dried fish usually used for steaming is usually half-dried fish (반건조). This means that the fish is dried, but there is still some moisture left in the fish. Half-dried Rockfish (우럭) is a popular kind of steamed half-dried fish.Steaming the half-dried fish gives the fish back some moisture and allows the seasoning to be better absorbed.

Usually, the guts of this half-dried fish are already removed, so all you have to do to prep the fish for steaming is to trim the fins, tail, and any sharp pieces on the fish. After trimming, rinse off the fish and pat it dry with a paper towel. Finally, add some cooking wine to the fish meat and let it sit for 30 minutes to help remove some natural fish smell before steaming. 

Depending on the recipe, a soy-based sauce is either brushed on the fish before or after it is finished being steamed. Depending on the size of the fish, it should take about 30 minutes to steam the fish. 

Steaming Meat & Vegetables

Another ingredient that is popular to steam is thinly sliced pork & beef.

You can use any cut of pork or beef as long as it is sliced very thinly. Even if it is a “tougher” cut, it can work here since it’s sliced thinly. 

There are two main ways that meats are steamed. Let’s first talk about these two versions, and then I will share some popular vegetables you can use. 

1. The first steamed meat dish contains layers of vegetables and meat. You want to add thinly sliced vegetables to the layers. (1st veg, then meat layer (make sure you spread out the meat flat), then veg, then meat) Depending on the water content of the vegetable, it can be a bit thicker, like mushrooms, cabbage, or perilla leaves. These vegetables cook quickly, so they do not need to be as thinly sliced but should still be sliced on the thin side so that they cook in time. Other vegetables like sweet potato should be sliced thinly.

• The second steamed meat dish is made by wrapping thinly sliced vegetables into thinly sliced meat to make a roll. It is important to thinly slice all the vegetables for this version so that they cook completely and so that they are easier to bunch together and roll up inside the meat slices. 

Both of these dishes are usually paired with a soy sauce-based dipping sauce. 

When making either of these dishes, you can use a variety of vegetables like carrots, garlic chives (부추), cabbage, sweet potato, mung bean sprouts (숙주), onion, green onion, water dropwort (미나리), crown daisy (쑥갓), Bok choy, enoki mushroom, oyster mushroom, eggplant, spinach, kabocha squash, perilla leaves, chard, or trumpet mushrooms. 

If you are a vegetarian, you can even skip the meat and just steam a bunch of these vegetables as a meal. 

After laying your chosen and prepped ingredients into the steaming basket, allow them to steam for approximately 10 minutes. Depending on the quantity or thickness of the layers and ingredients, it can be longer, but if you cut it thinly, it should only be 10-12 minutes.

Approximate Steaming Times:

• Meat and Vegetables (layered or rolled): 7-10 minutes
• Sliced Vegetables (alone): 5-10 minutes (thickness of ingredient matters)  

Steaming Seafood

You can steam any seafood when you want to have a clean flavored dish. Some popular steamed seafood are shrimp, octopus (문어), scallops, clams, or sea snails (소라). 

You can steam your seafood alone or with vegetables.

Before you steam seafood, you need to make sure to clean them properly. 

Cleaning Seafood Tips:

• Clams: Soak clams in salt water to remove any grit/sand before steaming.
• Sea Snails: Clean Sea snails by scrubbing the whole shell and inside with a brush in clean water, then steam them with cooking wine. After they are cooked, pull the snails out of the shell with a small fork and peel off the hard-shell cover that was attached to the meat. Finally, remove the blue outside section and other loose skin around that section. Then cut the snail meat in half and remove the inner yellow salivary gland, which looks like a soft creamy substance. Now you can eat the steamed sea snail. 
• Octopus: Remove the inside of the octopus’ head and beak. Finally, clean the whole body by massaging it with coarse salt and rinsing it in fresh cold water.

Depending on the size and amount, your seafood can take different times to steam.

Approximate Steaming Times:

• Shellfish like clams or mussels are usually done cooking when their mouths are completely open.
• Octopus takes about 10 minutes per pound of octopus; cook it until it is tender.
• Shrimp can take 8-10 minutes to steam.
• Sea snails take about 15 minutes. 
• Scallops take about 10-12 minutes.