Double steaming, sometimes called ''double boiling'', is a
Chinese cooking technique to prepare delicate food such as
bird's nest soup
Edible bird's nests are bird nests created by edible-nest swiftlets, Indian swiftlets, and other swiftlets using solidified saliva, which are harvested for human consumption. They are particularly prized in Chinese culture due to their rarity ...
and
shark fin soup
Shark fin soup is a traditional soup or stewed dish served in parts of China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The shark fins provide texture, while the taste comes from the other soup ingredients. It is commonly served at special occasions such as ...
. The food is covered with water and put in a covered ceramic jar and the jar is then steamed for several hours. This technique ensures there is no loss of liquid or moisture (its essences) from the food being cooked, hence it is often used with expensive ingredients like Chinese herbal medicines.
In
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
, double steaming is called ''dun'' (). The meaning of the Chinese character for ''dun'' in Cantonese is different from that in Mandarin, because ''dun'' means to
simmer or
stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables a ...
in Mandarin. This technique is also common in
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...
, a neighbouring province of
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
(Canton).
Famous examples
Tong sui
''Tong sui'' (; ), also known as ''tim tong'', is a collective term for any sweet, warm soup or custard served as a dessert at the end of a meal in Cantonese cuisine. ''Tong sui'' are a Cantonese specialty and many varieties are rarely foun ...
, or dessert soups, which contain medicinal herbs can be cooked using double steaming.
Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( or ) is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Macau.H ...
is famous for its slow-cooked soup. One famous dish of this kind is called the ''winter melon urn'' (
冬瓜盅).
It is prepared by emptying the inside of a
winter melon
''Benincasa hispida'', the wax gourd, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, winter melon, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, Chinese preserving melon is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the o ...
to make an urn. The outside of the winter melon is often carved with artistic patterns. The inside is then filled with soup ingredients, such as Chinese cured ham and Chinese herbs. The whole urn, complete with its original melon lid, is double-steamed for at least four hours. The flavour of the soup is soaked into the flesh of the melon. The whole melon and its contents are brought to the dinner table. The soup is served by scooping out the liquid and the inside wall of the melon. In this case, the edible melon takes the place of the double steaming jar. This application is possible because winter melon has a waxy, and thus waterproof, rind. Winter melon is believed to be
nourishing and it is seldom cooked with ingredients that are believed to be too ''
yin'' or too ''
yang''.
A dessert dish called ''double-steamed frog ovaries in a coconut'' (椰青燉雪蛤膏) is traditionally prepared for women. Chinese medicinal ingredients (including ''
hasma''), spices, and rock sugar, are placed inside a young
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...
to soak in the original coconut juice. The filled coconut is then double-steamed for several hours. The whole coconut is served whole at the table after dinner. The contents and the inside wall of the coconut are scooped out to be consumed.
See also
*
Steaming
Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American southwest, steam pits used for cooking ha ...
*
Simmering
Simmering is a food preparation technique by which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept just below the boiling point of water (lower than ) and above poaching temperature (higher than ). To create a steady simmer, a liquid is brought to a boil, ...
*
Double boiler
A bain-marie (; also known as a water bath or double boiler), a type of heated bath, is a piece of equipment used in science, industry, and cooking to heat materials gently or to keep materials warm over a period of time. A bain-marie is also ...
*
Bain-marie
A bain-marie (; also known as a water bath or double boiler), a type of heated bath, is a piece of equipment used in science, industry, and cooking to heat materials gently or to keep materials warm over a period of time. A bain-marie is also ...
*
List of steamed foods
This is a list of steamed foods and dishes that are typically or commonly prepared by the cooking method of steaming.
Steamed foods
* Ada – a food item from Kerala, usually made of rice flour with sweet filling inside.
* Bánh – in Hanoi ...
References
{{Cooking Techniques
Chinese cooking techniques