Double steaming
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Double steaming, sometimes called double boiling, is a Chinese cooking technique to prepare delicate food such as bird's nest soup and shark fin soup. The food is covered with water and put in a covered ceramic jar and 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.[1]
In Cantonese, double steaming is called dun (simplified Chinese: 炖; traditional Chinese: 燉; pinyin: dùn). The meaning of the Chinese character for dun in Cantonese is different from that in Mandarin, because dun means to simmer or stew in Mandarin. This technique is also common in Fujian, a neighbouring province of Guangdong (Canton).
Famous examples[edit]
Tong sui, or dessert soups, which contain medicinal herbs can be cooked using double steaming.[1]
Cantonese cuisine is famous for its slow-cooked soup. One famous dish of this kind is called the winter melon urn (
A dessert dish called double-steamed frog ovaries in a coconut (椰青燉雪
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Albala, Ken (2011). Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-313-37626-9.
- ^ Taylor, David A. (2006-06-23). Ginseng, the Divine Root: The Curious History of the Plant That Captivated the World. Algonquin Books. pp. 246–247. ISBN 978-1-56512-744-9.