| One of my first assignments for my Sports Nutrition class is to make a recovery dish for a 6 foot runnerthat weighs 150lbs that just had a workout an hour ago. This food calls for 0% fat, 37g of protien, and 60 carbs. The first thing that came to my head that doesn't involve adding fat to cook would be steaming the entire dish. But another thing: What are the advantages of steaming your food to cook? First and foremost is it requires no added fat (as previously stated.) Using nothing but steam raises the temperature of any food and adds nothing extra. Another thing is it hardly takes away any nutrients and vitamins in the cooking process. All your veggies stay green, colorful, and retains almost all of those things on the nutrition label. Here's a downside though: Loss of flavor. In cooking, you'll realize one thing time and again. That is "Fat is flavor." Look at your bacons, your burgers, your eggs, and other proteins you fry, bake, broil, or boil. All of it either requires or naturally creates fats. And not the good kind usually. After cooking your bacon next time, leave the grease out in a bowl for an hour. Then look at it: that's usually the plaque that gets caught up in your bloodstream as well as your teeth. Anyway, I steamed a chicken breast today. I noticed as I dumpd out the steaming water that all of the chicken fat left on the meat had melted away and drained into the water. The chicken itself though... well, it had help with the taste when it was with the pineapples and veggies. But still, I know it could have had more kick to it cooking it with other means. But it's all what is requested, not the chef's job to think; just do. So, steaming is a good alternative way to prepare healthy foods, but it's a tradeoff I think with flavor. But hey, however you want to do it, just have fun with it. Oh, and try not to steam burn your eyes off. Heard it sucks. |
| A couple random questions about steaming from someone whose never attempted it on anything other than veggies: How exactly does steaming affect the texture of the meat, if it does at all? Can you counter lack of taste by marinading in advance? (not too concerned with fat levels, but I'm a caretaker to has to prepare food with little sodium. I use mostly citrus fruits and extra herbs as a substitute since I can't use any salt) |
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MotokoAramaki said: A couple random questions about steaming from someone whose never attempted it on anything other than veggies: How exactly does steaming affect the texture of the meat, if it does at all? Can you counter lack of taste by marinading in advance? (not too concerned with fat levels, but I'm a caretaker to has to prepare food with little sodium. I use mostly citrus fruits and extra herbs as a substitute since I can't use any salt) Steaming doesn't really do anything texture-wise to the meat (of course unless you overcook it). But there are some proteins that shouldn't be steamed in general. Wouldn't attempt a beef steak or something like that, but chicken or fish are made for it. Flavor, on the other hand, will be kinda bland if you don't do anything with it. Try adding some chicken bouillon cubes and some leftover vegetable pieces to your steaming water, or even throw in some bay leaves along with your chicken. Anything that can be steamed with your chicken should give off some flavor, and I'm pretty sure you won't get all the salt from the seasoning. Oh, I forgot to mention initially, if you either tenderize your meat or make a few cuts along the top and bottom with a knife, not only will it cook easier but the meat will be more flavorful. Chicken is alot easier to cook since you can overcook it without too much trouble. Seafood on the other hand is more complicated so be specific on those. 165F is the internal temperature for cooked chicken. 145F is ideal for fish, but don't go too far unless you want a dry bland-feeling fish. If you have a marinade in particular, definitely use it! Most of that flavor wil be retained in the cooking process. I love the idea of using citrus or flavors in chicken. That extra bite is nice. Even something simple like a lemon-spiced salmon steak (skin off) with some olive oil sprinkled over it is very nice. (plenty of omega 3s and 6s) Make sure you have a good idea on when your food is cooked. You shouldn't have to flip your dish, but you can go ahead if you have something extra to throw in there. When you remove the lid you release all the steam that is cooking your food, which causes longer cooking times. There are some steaming pots that come with another tray that goes on top of another, so you can steam some vegetables in those, or you can even boil some potatoes in your water to infuse some flavor in there as well. I'm actually trying to get a job in the nutrition field at a local retirement home, since I'm finishing up my sports/health nutrition certification. To better others as well as myself really, which was the same for taking up culinary arts. I hope I helped you with some ideas. Experiment a little though to get the right combination of flavors that suit your dish well. |
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