Buzz
It’s tough to get excited about steamed vegetables. When prepared poorly, they can go from bland to downright unpleasant—but when done right, they’re utterly transformative. With spring and summer produce season finally upon us, it’s time to give this often-overlooked technique another chance.
To avoid turning your kitchen into a sauna, the best recipes for warm weather are light on preparation and even lighter on cook time. Steaming takes almost no effort, and since it cooks so quickly, it won’t raise the temperature in your kitchen—especially if you use a microwave or an electric pressure cooker. (A stovetop steamer basket does emit some heat, but it’s far less intense than using an oven or running a sous vide setup all day.)
What I love most about cooking with steam, though, is the flavor: when seasoned simply with salt and perhaps a little lemon, a perfectly steamed carrot embodies the essence of carrot-ness. Subtle, pure flavors can often seem bland, so steamed vegetables usually crave a tasty sauce. Here are some of my favorite sauces for steamed veggies—none of which require a blender:
Lemon miso butter: Mash equal parts softened butter (salted, of course) and your miso paste of choice with a fork, then add lemon juice to taste. This is fantastic on steamed broccoli and carrots.
Garlic mayonnaise: Mince or grate a small garlic clove; mix it into half a cup of homemade or store-bought mayo; dip artichoke leaves into it. Repeat.
Dijon crème fraîche: Combine one part crème fraîche (or sour cream) with one part smooth Dijon mustard and salt to taste for a deliciously addictive dip.
Fish sauce vinaigrette: Especially delicious on steamed broccoli or kale. Feel free to add fresh herbs (I always do).
Whole lemon salsa verde: You won’t be able to make this just once! It’s amazing stirred into mayo, if that’s your thing, and pairs beautifully with Dijon crème fraîche.
Even if you've never tried steaming food before, chances are your kitchen is already equipped with the means to do so. Personally, I have three different options: a stovetop pot, a microwave, and an Instant Pot. Although these methods all produce similar outcomes, there are some key differences between them. Let me walk you through each one and share my preferred method.
Stovetop
Steaming on the stovetop is quick and gentle, making it ideal for more delicate ingredients. Whether it's haricots verts, asparagus, soft custards, or even whole fish, you can easily steam them in a basket placed over a pot of boiling water.
For stovetop steaming, you can either buy a dedicated steaming setup or get creative with what you already own. I personally love using my bamboo steamer, but stainless steel baskets work well too, as does a heatproof plate sitting on crumpled aluminum foil. Whatever method you choose, ensure your pot is big enough for the basket (or plate) and that it has a tight-fitting lid if you’re not using a bamboo steamer.
I mainly use my bamboo steamer for frozen dumplings, as steaming is far superior to frying, especially when I'm too tired, unwell, or just feeling off to safely cook frozen foods in hot oil. Another dish I often steam in it is gaji-namul—steamed eggplant with a spicy soy-garlic sauce, a recipe I picked up from Maangchi. Sure, owning a special tool just for frozen dumplings and one particular eggplant dish might seem excessive, but I embrace the extra in myself.
A quick note on bamboo steamers: they take a little while to fill up with steam. To stay on track with timing, I start my timer only once the top feels hot to the touch, and I make sure to check on the contents often.
Gaji-namul is not only easy but also incredibly tasty: steam chunks of Chinese eggplant for five minutes, let them cool, tear them into strips with your hands, and drown them in a soy sauce mix that's spicy, garlicky, and rich with sesame oil. Breathe it in. I mostly follow Maangchi’s recipe, but I decided to add a little miso paste and ginger to the sauce, which I blended together with my immersion blender.
Since my microwave steaming recipe already featured eggplant (I have a serious love for eggplant), I pushed myself to create a new bamboo-steamer dish that wasn’t just another batch of dumplings. With eggs and carrots always in my fridge, I came up with a savory steamed custard, served with carrots and leftover rice. I arranged the carrots at the bottom of the steamer and the custard on top, then steamed it all for ten minutes.
The result? A satisfying and delicious lunch—especially with a little lemon miso butter on the carrots—that took just 15 minutes, including prep time.
Microwave
Technically speaking, anything you cook in a microwave is steam-cooked since it heats by exciting water molecules. While I’ve just begun to scratch the surface of microwave cooking, one thing I’ve found it excels at is par-cooking eggplant for frying.
You might be aware by now that salting, draining, and rinsing eggplant before frying doesn’t actually eliminate bitterness—it simply breaks down the sponge-like cellular structure that causes eggplant to absorb so much oil. I skip this step when roasting eggplant, but I always do it before frying, and the microwave speeds it up significantly.
Here’s the method: slice a firm eggplant into planks lengthwise, lightly salt both sides, and layer them with kitchen towels on a plate. Place another plate on top and microwave on high for six to eight minutes. Once cool enough to handle, pat off any excess moisture with dry towels and you’re ready to continue with your recipe.
I made eggplant parmesan because, well, it’s my favorite food on this floating chunk of rock. If you’re after a recipe, this one from food52 is my one true love.
Instant Pot (or Any Pressure Cooker)
Of course, you can steam all sorts of things in your Instant Pot—yams, bread pudding, Buffalo wings, cheesecake, molten chocolate cakes, and more—but the unassuming, prickly artichoke is my personal favorite.
The Instant Pot’s impressive power and size make it the perfect solution to the Artichoke Problem: they’re incredibly delicious but require a fair amount of work to become edible. You still have to do all the prep—removing the tough outer leaves, cutting off the top third, snipping any sharp edges with kitchen shears, and trimming the stalk—but once that’s done, your Instant Pot (or any pressure cooker) will have them ready in twenty minutes.
Place your prepped artichokes on a trivet in your Instant Pot, add a cup of water, and set the 'Steam' function to 20 minutes. Once the timer goes off, release the pressure manually, and serve the artichokes with dipping sauces (I use dijon crème fraîche and a whole-lemon aioli I’ve been working on). Pair it with a green salad and some early-season tomato mayo toast for a perfect spring meal.
I hope wherever you are, the clouds are clearing up, and your local farmer’s market is making its grand return. (Yes, Californians, we’re aware your farmer’s markets never stopped, but let’s not rub it in.) As you gaze at the fresh, peak-season produce and imagine your meals together, don’t forget about steaming—it might be exactly what you need.
