Bamboo steamers, called ''zhēnglóng'' () in Chinese, are a type of

food steamer A food steamer or steam cooker is a Small appliance, small kitchen appliance used to cook or prepare various foods with steam heat by means of holding the food in a closed vessel reducing steam escape. This manner of cooking is called steaming. ...

made of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

. They are used commonly in

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

, especially

dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cu ...

, and usually come in two or more layers. Bamboo steamers have also spread to other

East Asian East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

and

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is ...

countries.

History

From the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period, ceramic steamers known as ''yan'' have been found at the

Banpo Banpo is a Neolithic archaeological site located in the Yellow River valley, east of present-day Xi'an, China. Discovered in 1953 by Shi Xingbang, the site represents the first phase of the Yangshao culture () and features the remains of sever ...

site, dating to 5000 BC. In the lower

Yangzi River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

, ''zeng'' pots first appeared in the

Hemudu culture The Hemudu culture (5500 BC to 3300 BC) was a Neolithic culture that flourished on the Coastline of China, Chinese coast, just south of the Hangzhou Bay in Jiangnan in modern Yuyao, Zhejiang, China. The culture may be divided into early and la ...

(5000–4500 BC) and

Liangzhu culture The Liangzhu () culture or civilization (3300–2300 BC) was the last Chinese Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta. The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burial ...

(3200–2000 BC) and were used to steam rice. The ''zhenglong'' in its current form originated in

Southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...

during the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, possibly around

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu, general

Han Xin Han Xin (; ? – early 196 BCE) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ...

is said to have used bamboo and wood to make cooking utensils, and steam to cook food, in order to avoid filling the

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

with smoke. Steaming was used to cook dried foods, which were easier to store and preserve. An

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

(25–220 AD) kitchen mural depicted in

Dahuting The Dahuting Han tombs are Eastern Han dynasty (1st century AD) tombs of Zhang Boya and his wife, in modern Xinmi, Henan Province. They are famous for their well-preserved murals and stone carvings. Discovery and history In December 1959, const ...

Tomb No.1 in

Mi County Xinmi (), formerly Mi County (), is a county-level city of Henan, Henan Province, South Central China, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou. The Archaeology, archaeological Chinese Bronze A ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

Province, is the earliest evidence of the origin of modern steamers. Bamboo steamers are commonly used in

Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( zh, t=廣東菜 or zh, labels=no, t=粵菜), is the cuisine of Cantonese people, associated with the Guangdong, Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guan ...

, such as for

. They are also known in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

for its role in cooking and serving dim sum particularly during the practice of ''

yum cha ''Yum cha'' is the Cantonese tradition of breakfast or brunch involving Chinese tea and dim sum. The practice is popular in Cantonese-speaking regions, including Guangdong province, Guangxi province, Hong Kong, and Macau. It is also carried out ...

''.

Construction

Steamers are produced by removing the skin from the bamboo, soaking it in water, shaping it into a circle, and hammering it in with nails. The base is made up of woven

bamboo strips Bamboo and wooden strips ( zh, s=简牍, t=簡牘, first=t, p=jiǎndú) are long, narrow strips of wood or bamboo, each typically holding a single column of several dozen brush-written characters. They were the main media for writing documents ...

, and production can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours depending on its size. Each layer has holes on the bottom for steam to rise up. Finally a lid is made to keep the steam in during cooking. Most steamers are designed to be stacked on top of each other so that the steam can cook multiple servings simultaneously, as well as fit on the table (often on a Lazy Susan) while being served. In recent years, alternatives to bamboo have been developed, including

silicone In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...

.{{cite news , last1=Chan , first1=Candy , title=Humble bamboo basket takes a cha siu bow , url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1339909/humble-bamboo-basket-takes-cha-siu-bow , accessdate=21 January 2020 , work=South China Morning Post , publisher=Alibaba Group , date=26 October 2013 , ref=SiliconTrend

Gallery

File:Yellow dim sum in steamer basket.jpg, ''

Shumai ''Shumai'' ( zh, s=烧卖, t=燒賣, p=shāomài, cy=sīu-máai, poj=sio-māi) is a type of traditional Chinese dumpling made of ground pork. In Cantonese cuisine, it is usually served as a dim sum snack. In addition to accompanying the Chin ...

'' File:Steamed prawn dumplings.jpg, ''

Har gow Har gow ( zh, c=蝦餃, p=xiājiǎo, j=haa1 gaau2, l=shrimp jiao), also anglicized as ha gow, hau kau, or ha kao, is a traditional Cantonese dumpling served as dim sum.Hsiung, Deh-Ta. Simonds, Nina. Lowe, Jason. 005(2005). The food of China: a ...

'' File:HK 紅磡 Hung Hom Cheong Wan Road 置富都會 Fortune Metropolis 商場 shopping mall shop 彩福皇宴 Choi Fook Royal Banquet Seafood Restaurant food 飯後租品 dessert 紅棗糕 steamed red dates cake November 2022 Px3 02.jpg,

Jujube Jujube (UK ; US or ), sometimes jujuba, scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'', and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused wit ...

cakes File:Xiao Long Bao at Shanghai Wind, Vancouver.jpg, ''

Xiaolongbao ''Xiaolongbao'' (小籠包 , 'little basket bun') is a type of Chinese tangbao (), traditionally prepared in a ''xiaolong'', a small bamboo steaming basket. The xiaolongbao originates from the city of Changzhou in Jiangsu province, and is an ...

'' File:Lianrongbao.jpg,

Lotus seed bun A lotus seed bun (Traditional Chinese: 蓮蓉包；Jyutping: ''lin⁴ jung⁴ baau¹''; Cantonese Yale: ''lìhnyùhngbāau'', pinyin: ''liánróngbāo'') is a Chinese baozi filled with lotus seed paste. It is most commonly served as a form of d ...

s File:HK SW 上環 Sheung Wan 星月樓 Sky Cuisine Restaurant food dim sum November 2020 Red7 04.jpg, '' Tofu bamboo beef ball'' and ''

shumai ''Shumai'' ( zh, s=烧卖, t=燒賣, p=shāomài, cy=sīu-máai, poj=sio-māi) is a type of traditional Chinese dumpling made of ground pork. In Cantonese cuisine, it is usually served as a dim sum snack. In addition to accompanying the Chin ...

'' Dim sum dumplings by brappy! in Gongguan Market, Taipei.jpg,

Dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cu ...

in steamers,

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

History

Construction

Gallery

References

See also