Do you only boil vegetables to eat healthily? Too bad! This method makes vegetables 10,000 times more delicious!

"Steamed dishes" are very popular recently. I really recommend everyone to try it~

Image source: Screenshot from a social platform

Steamed dishes are famous dishes in Henan. Henan people, in line with the principle of "everything can be steamed", have turned steamed dishes into the "provincial dish" of Henan Province. In fact, it is not only Henan, but also Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and other places, which have always had the tradition of eating steamed dishes. In spring, steamed Sophora japonica flowers, steamed Elm money, steamed Shepherd's purse, steamed Paper mulberry, steamed noodles, steamed sesame leaves; in summer, steamed spinach, steamed Amaranth, steamed Chrysanthemum, steamed Nepeta, steamed dandelion; in autumn, steamed shredded carrots, steamed shredded potatoes, steamed celery leaves, steamed lettuce leaves, steamed sweet potato leaves, steamed purple cabbage leaves... Steamed dishes are not only rich in variety, beautiful in color, and delicious, but more importantly, they are also very healthy and nutritious.

Steamed vegetables are really nutritious!

1 Nutrients are quite intact

The processing method of steaming determines that it is a low-temperature cooking method (relative to stir-frying, frying, baking, etc.) that uses water as the heating medium. Low temperature helps protect the heat-sensitive nutrients in the dishes. Moreover, compared with boiling, steamed dishes are usually cooked in the confined space of a steamer, and may be served on a plate. Even if the nutrients are released during the steaming process, they will not all be dissolved in the water and discarded. The operation of wrapping steamed dishes in flour in the north means that even the nutrients released from the soup and gravy are absorbed by the flour and then eaten by us. This shows that the nutrient retention level of steamed dishes is very high.

Studies have shown that the retention rate of vitamin C in steamed vegetables can be as high as 90%, much higher than that in boiled vegetables (about 60%). Moreover, not only water-soluble nutrients such as vitamin C have a higher retention rate, but even fat-soluble nutrients such as carotene have a higher retention rate in steamed vegetables than in fried carrot shreds. This is probably due to the outer layer of steamed carrot shreds being coated with flour, which prevents the damage of high temperature and oxygen to carotene.

Image source: Xiachufang

2. No oil, less salt, lowers blood lipids and blood pressure

Steaming completely avoids the problem of using more oil than stir-frying and frying. Even the dipping sauce used to season steamed dishes usually uses less oil than stir-frying. Of course, if you stir-fry after steaming, the amount of oil used may increase. Therefore, friends who want to control blood lipids or prevent obesity are recommended to eat steamed dishes directly.

Since steamed dishes retain the flavor of the ingredients more completely, even if less salt, soy sauce or other seasonings are used, the taste is still good. For example, I particularly like to eat steamed Sophora japonica flowers, steamed cowpea segments, steamed carrot shreds, etc. without any seasoning. This, to a certain extent, eliminates the problem of repeated use of salt-containing seasonings such as salt, chicken essence, monosodium glutamate, soy sauce, and oyster sauce when cooking, which helps control blood pressure.

Steamed food is a failure? There may be several reasons

The preparation of steamed vegetables is very simple:

Vegetables + flour or grain flour - steamed - dipped in vinegar and garlic sauce

However, it is inevitable that novices will make mistakes. Don't miss out on this delicious food just because of one or two mistakes. We have summarized some possible reasons for mistakes, which you can check:

1. Improper selection of vegetables

Although "everything can be steamed", it does not mean that all steamed dishes are delicious. Usually, we will choose some vegetables that are relatively light in taste or have a little fresh and sweet taste to steam, such as spinach, lettuce, chrysanthemum, celery leaves are good, but onions are not suitable. When choosing green leafy vegetables, choose leaves instead of stems, such as celery leaves instead of celery stalks, chrysanthemum instead of wormwood stalks, etc. Melons with too high water content are also not suitable for steaming, and they are easy to "melt" when steamed, such as winter melon, cucumber, sweet pepper, zucchini, etc. If you accidentally choose vegetables that are not suitable for steaming, then overturning is almost inevitable.

Image source: pixabay

2. The vegetables are not properly prepared before steaming.

The steps of steaming vegetables seem simple: wash - wrap with flour - steam. But in fact, if you want to succeed at one time, there are many details to pay attention to. For example, before steaming green leafy vegetables, you should pick and wash them, and choose those with fresh and ridged leaves, which are easier to coat with flour. Also, before wrapping with flour, be sure to drain the moisture on the vegetable leaves. This is to avoid the vegetables from clumping together due to too much moisture. But you don't have to wipe them too dry, otherwise it will be difficult to coat with flour.

Some chefs recommend drizzling a little oil on the leaves before coating them with flour, so that the leaves are not easy to stick together. But in fact, as long as we handle the leaves in the above way and pay attention to the technique of coating with flour, we can also avoid sticking together.

3. Too little/too much flour

If the amount of flour is too much, the steamed vegetables will stick together and taste bad; if the amount of flour is too little, the leaves will be directly exposed to the steam, which will easily turn yellow and soft, and will also affect the effect of the finished product. Therefore, when coating with flour, you must follow the principle of "small amounts and multiple times". Use the method of turning and mixing to evenly coat the leaves and shredded vegetables with a thin layer of ordinary flour or corn flour, so that large pieces of leaves cannot be seen but the color of the vegetables can be seen.

4. Steaming for too long, not opening the lid immediately after the pot is opened

Steaming vegetables must be done over high heat throughout the process, and the steaming time must be accurate. Put the mixed vegetables into the steamer, and make sure to spread them flat, and preferably in a thin layer, not too thick, otherwise they will not be easy to steam. Leafy vegetables can generally be steamed for 4 to 5 minutes after the heat is high, while shredded carrots and potatoes can be steamed for 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Please note that once the time is up, you should turn off the heat and take the food out of the pot immediately to prevent the steam from flowing back and wetting the food. After taking the food out of the pot, it is best to shake the food loose with chopsticks and let it cool in time to prevent it from clumping together during the cooling process.

Steamed shredded carrots. Image source: Xiachufang

Appendix: Super easy to use, super simple steamed vegetable recipe

Steamed cowpea

It is easy to pick and wash cowpeas, and it is not easy for the dough to clump together due to improper water control. After being steamed, the taste is slightly sweet, and it is delicious with or without sauce. It should be a steamed dish that is quite suitable for novices.

step:

Wash the cowpeas, cut them into sections, and drain the water;

Beat in two eggs and mix well;

Sprinkle appropriate amount of corn flour in 3 times and stir evenly;

Place the mixed cowpea segments in a steamer and steam over high heat for 12 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, let cool, and shake to disperse.

If you want to make it more delicious, you can make a simple sauce with mashed garlic, vinegar, salt, sesame oil and chili pepper, and mix it into the cooled cowpea segments.

Steamed carrot shreds

Carrots are rich in carotenoids and dietary fiber. Eating them steamed often helps supplement vitamin A and prevent dry eyes and night blindness. In addition, carrots are very durable. If you buy too many and don't have time to eat them, you can steam them and eat them as both a meal and a dish. They are delicious and nutritious and can be consumed quickly.

step:

Wash, peel and grate the carrots (be careful not to grate them too finely);

Soak the shredded carrots in water for 5 minutes to allow them to fully absorb the water and become more stiff, which is conducive to evenly coating with flour.

Drain the soaked carrot shreds;

Pour in a small spoonful of cooking oil and stir evenly;

Sprinkle appropriate amount of plain flour in 3 batches, stir evenly to loosen the carrot shreds;

Spread the mixed carrot shreds in a steamer and steam over high heat for 5 minutes;

Remove from the heat, let cool, and shake to disperse.

You can also mix a favorite sauce according to your taste, and it will be a very pleasing and delicious dish.

When you don't want to cook after get off work but want to eat healthily, why not steam some vegetables? Cook the vegetables and steam them with sweet potatoes, pumpkins, corn and other grains that can be used as staple foods. You will have both vegetables and rice when they are out of the pot. The only thing you need to pay attention to is the choice of sauce. A simple vinegar, garlic and sesame oil sauce is fine. If you want to enhance nutrition, you can also add a steamed egg custard to yourself. In this way, you will have all the protein, vitamins, dietary fiber and carbohydrates. It is really a light for lazy people and a blessing for novices. Try it today~

Author: Wang Lu, registered dietitian in China

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center