Chef at Large

Double steaming (also called double boiling) is a Chinese cooking technique to prepare delicate food such as bird nests, shark fins etc. The food is covered with water and put in a covered ceramic jar. 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.

Cantonese calls double steaming dan. Note that the Cantonese usage of this Chinese character deviates from its original meaning which is simmer or stew in Mandarin. This technique is also common in the neighboring province of Fujian.

Cantonese cuisine is famous for its slow cooked soup. One famous dish of this kind is called the Winter melon urn. It is prepared by emptying the inside of a winter melon 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 several Chinese herbs. Winter melon is believed to be nourishing and it is seldom cooked with ingredients that are believed to be too yin or too yang. The whole urn completed with its original melon lid is double steamed for at least four hours. The flavor of the soup is soaked into the “flesh” of the melon. The whole melon and its content is 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, thus waterproof, rind.

Content Courtesey: Wikipedia

You may also like these posts:

• Kufri or Bust Part III
• The myth of the Indian Curry
• Sidewok - Khan Market, New Delhi
• Low Fat Spread - Hummus
• Our Second Day in France