Steaming is one of the healthiest ways to prepare certain foods. Vegetables retain their nutrients and remain tender, and chicken and fish are cooked without adding oil, which reduces calories.
Do you think a fish or chicken dinner with steamed vegetables is it boring and tasteless? Quite the opposite. The experts at CR’s test kitchens have easy tips for steaming dishes that you actually feel like eating. Try to make one tonight.
1. Cooking without water
Steaming food over flavored liquids like wine, beer and broth will infuse extra flavor without adding calories. Or try using a fruity-flavored vinegar, such as fig or raspberry. Avoid cloudy liquids like cow’s milk or coconut milk, which can curdle, or thick liquids like tomato sauce , which can burn.
two. Add flavors to the cooking liquid
Lemon peel and dill sprigs are natural companions for fish. Rosemary sprigs and minced garlic go well with chicken or potatoes.
Steam fish, clams, mussels or lobster with white wine, onion slices, thyme, parsley and lemon juice. Add a dash of sesame oil to the cooking liquid to flavor fish, chicken, or vegetables.
And whether you use this tip or the one above, you can turn the cooking liquid into a sauce. Boil it in a pan to reduce it to a thicker consistency, which concentrates its flavor.
3. Add a touch of spice
When cooking fish or chicken fillets, add a little ground spices to them and let them soak in for an hour or so before steaming.
To make the mixture stick, use lemon juice or flavored vinegar on the fish or chicken, then apply the spices and lightly coat all sides. Try using the Asian-style mix of equal parts ground Szechuan pepper, garlic powder, black pepper, and cumin. Or, use the Southwestern mix of equal parts ground chili, garlic powder, dry mustard, and oregano.
4. Let them marinate
With the marinade you can add flavor to the food and soften the meat and fish. After marinating them, steam them. Here are some ideas: For the fish fillets, marinate them in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Coat the carrots and onions with olive oil, ground cumin, coriander, a pinch of salt and pepper before steaming.
5. Cook in waxed or aluminum paper
Steaming food does not always mean doing it over a liquid. You can wrap food in waxed or waxed paper, a technique called en papillote (French for “on paper”). It works best with seafood, or thin fillets of chicken, or fish and greens and other vegetables. The food in the package generates steam when heated, gently cooking the contents. This method also seals in the flavors. If you don’t have wax paper, you can use aluminum foil.
Here’s an idea for a quick dinner: Put some olive oil in the center of a large piece of wax paper or paper aluminum and top with a fillet of tilapia or sole, a few thin slices of lemon and zucchini, Kalamata olives, a sprig of thyme, salt, pepper and another drop of oil. Gather the two sides of the wax paper or aluminum foil over the mixture and fold them several times, tucking the sides down so the steam doesn’t escape. Bake the packages in the oven at 350 ° F for about 25 minutes or until the paper is puffed and the vegetables and fish are cooked. Be careful not to burn yourself from the steam that is released when opening the package.
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Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with the advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports is an independent nonprofit organization that works with consumers to create a just, safe, and healthy world. CR does not endorse products or services and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2021, Consumer Reports, Inc.