Bamboo steamer facts for kids
Bamboo steamers, known as zhēnglóng (simplified Chinese: 蒸笼; traditional Chinese: 蒸籠) in Chinese, are special cooking tools. They first appeared in China during the Han dynasty.
These steamers are very famous in Chinese cooking. People have used them for over 5,000 years in Southern China. To make them, workers remove the outer skin from bamboo. Then, they soak the bamboo in water and shape it into circles. They use nails to hold the shape. The bottom of the steamer is made from woven bamboo strips. Making one can take from 15 minutes to several hours, depending on its size.
Bamboo steamers are now well-known in the Western world. They are often used to cook and serve dim sum, especially during the meal called yum cha. Steamers are designed to stack on top of each other. This way, steam can cook many different foods at the same time. They also fit nicely on a table, often on a Lazy Susan, for serving.
Recently, new materials like silicone are also used to make steamers. These are alternatives to traditional bamboo.
History of Bamboo Steamers
There is a popular story about how steamers began in China. During the Han Dynasty, General Han Xin supposedly used bamboo and wood to make cooking tools. He cooked food with steam to hide cooking smoke from enemy camps. Cooking dry food also made it easier to store. This is said to be the start of the bamboo steamer.
However, archaeologists have found that people used bamboo for many tools long before this. Steaming was also a cooking method recorded very early, during the Zhou dynasty. Ancient steamers were made from pottery and bronze. A very old kitchen painting in a tomb from the Eastern Han Dynasty in Mi County, Henan Province, shows early evidence of modern steamers.
Gallery
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The top cover of a bamboo steamer
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The bamboo grid inside a steamer level
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Stacked mushiki (Japanese steamers) on a pot
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Dim sum served in bamboo steamers
See also
In Spanish: Vaporera de bambú para niños
