About Steaming

Shallow frying is a type of pan frying using only enough fat to immerse approximately one-third to one half of each piece of food and the fat is normally used once.

Deep-frying on the other hand, involves total immersion of the food in the hot oil and the oil is normally topped up and used several times before rejection. This is a much heavier duty and special heavy duty frying oils are required for best results. Deep frying is now the basis of a very large and expanding industry world wide. Fried products have great consumer appeal in all age groups and the process is quick, can easily be made continuous for mass production and the food emerges sterile and dry, with relatively long shelf life. The end products can then be easily packaged for storage and distribution. Examples are potato crisps, French fries, nuts, doughnuts, instant noodles etc.

There is some criticism of fried food for their low nutritional value. Frying, especially deep frying, imbues the food with fat from the oil, lowering their nutrient density.

Authentic Steaming Dishes

Appetizers and Dim Sum Snacks
Char Siu Bao - Steamed Buns With Pork
Eggplant Shu Mai
Flower Rolls (Hua Juan)
Green Dumplings
Har Gau Dumplings
Lotus Leaf Wraps (Lo Mai Gai)
Potstickers
Shu Mai Dumplings With Pork and Shrimp
Steamed Bun Dough
Vegetarian Ham (an appetizer made with bean curd sheets)

Main Meal and Side Dishes
Ham With Asian Pears
Steamed Eggplant with an Asian Dressing
Steamed Lemon Chicken
Steamed Pork With Egg Custard
Stuffed Green Peppers With Shrimp
Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls

Desert and Festive Recipes
Sago Tarts
Steamed Sponge Cake
Steamed Sponge Cake With Coconut Icing
Steamed New Year Fruitcake (Nian Gao, Sticky Rice Cake)

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