I have a love/hate relationship with my microwave. I’ve gotten to stage in my culinary life where I barely touch it, yet I really appreciate it on the rare occasion when I’m able to give life to leftovers with a quick zap. Can you live without your microwave? I know I can.
Tupperware recently released a nifty new piece of cookware called the MicroSteamer. I welcomed the excuse to use my microwave when Tupperware offered to send me a MicroSteamer to play with. If you follow me on Twitter, you will already have seen some of my experiments! 🙂
Steaming is a healthy and nutritional method of cooking. Lots of people associate steamed foods with being bland, but with a bit of creativity and planning, steamed foods can be utmost delicious. The MicroSteamer comes with a fantastic little cookbook as well, so it offers some fabulous inspiration to get you cooking immediately.
Steaming in the microwave isn’t new but what the MicroSteamer offers is quite exciting. You see, old methods of steaming in the microwave basically cooked the contents where as the MicroSteamer shields food from microwaves via a protective lining in the Steamer Base, allowing food to be cooked only by the steam from the boiling water. It’s real steaming, in the microwave.
But why would you bother when steaming on the stovetop isn’t very hard to begin with?
- It is quick and easy – you simply need to fill the base with cold water and the microwaves heat the water, bringing it to a boiling point. Think about all the time you can save without having to wait for water to boil on the stovetop!
- If you are used to using Chinese bamboo steamers, you’re probably used to stacking them to steam multiple foods simultaneously. The MicroSteamer’s design enables you to stack a colander tray (provided) with the base, so that you can steam soft delicate foods as well as firmer meats, seafood or vegetables, all at the same time.
- It is dishwasher safe and is less chunky than stovetop steaming methods so not only is cleaning the MicroSteamer a bliss, it also takes up less room in the dishwasher.
Here’s a few things I’ve cooked in my Tupperware Microsteamer:
Mussels Provencal (Page 27 of Tupperware MicroSteamer cookbook)
These were so tender and juicy! I’d returned from a supersized shopping trip to the new CostCo at Auburn/Lidcombe with a 2kg bag of live Spring Bay mussels (amongst many other goodies). Into the MicroSteamer went the mussels – the recipe recommends cooking in 500g batches, but I managed to cook mine twice in 1kg batches – garlic cloves, cherry tomatoes, white wine, bay leaf, red chilli and a few sprigs of thyme! 14 minutes later, we had a feast!
Chilli Snapper Fillets (Page 28 of Tupperware MicroSteamer cookbook) and Broccolli with Oyster Sauce
From the same CostCo trip, I also bought a pack of two baby snappers. I filleted these by myself with the skills I learned at the recent Flying Fish sushi and sashimi masterclass. Each snapper fillet was coated with a sambal and lime juice mixture, and then sandwiched between a few coriander sprigs and a kaffir lime leaf. They’re wrapped firmly with a banana leaf and then steamed for 10 minutes. At the same time, I steamed some broccoli in the base.
The suggested dressing for the steamed snapper was divine! It was a concoction of garlic, chilli, spring onion, palm sugar, lime juice and fish sauce. This was mindblowingly good. It was really fragrant and tasty – definitely the best microwave meal I’ve ever cooked.
Coconut Creme Caramel (page 34 of Tupperware MicroSteamer cookbook)
For those with a sweet tooth, MicroSteamer Ramekins are designed to allow you to steam custards, cakes and fruits in the MicroSteamer! They come in a set of eight (with lids) and fit snugly into the base. This recipe involved a bit of stovetop cooking but the steaming was done in the MicroSteamer. To make a creme caramel in 22 minutes from start to finish? Yes please!
Xiao Long Bao (Steamed Shanghainese mini pork buns)
Ten minutes in the MicroSteamer is all you need to transform scrumptious frozen store-bought buns (aka soup dumplings) into a restaurant-quality meal at home! And you don’t even have to turn the stovetop on. For the ultimate lazy cook, this is as easy as it gets.
Where do I buy my frozen dumplings and buns from?
Sydney Best Dim Sim at 40 Arthur Street, Cabramatta. Other locations at 34 Railway Parade, Granville; Shop 5, 192-194 Beamish Street, Campsie; Shop 4, 203-205 Thomas Street, Haymarket; and 183-185 Rowe Street, Eastwood.
Overall, I think the Tupperware MicroSteamer is an excellent quality steamer that is versatile and convenient. Most foods can be cooked in 10 – 20 minutes, the size is sufficient for cooking for two and it fits most vegetables/meats/seafoods comfortably. Perfect for easy peasy style homecooks!
Tupperware MicroSteamer
RRP $134.90
MicroSteamer Ramekins
RRP $28
For more information or stockists, go to the official Tupperware website.
JENIUS sampled the Tupperware MicroSteamer and MicroSteamer Ramekins with thanks to Undertow Media and Tupperware.
