Chefs Are Falling Back in Love With Steaming. You Should Too

If restaurants of the 2010s were characterized by high-octane live fire theatrics, all-charred everything, and an obsession with some guy named Maillard, chefs right now turning their attention to a quieter technique that is pretty much the polar opposite—steaming. And emerging from those gently wafting clouds of water vapor are dishes that are every bit as arresting as those seared over high heat.

In many ways this represents a desire for brighter, more direct flavors. At Baltimore’s Le Comptoir du Vin, chef Will Mester almost always has a steamed fish entrée on his ever-changing chalkboard menu. And if the words steamed fish entrée conjure up visions of ’90s-era “health food,” Mester’s plates are anything but austere—a marbled hunk of sea trout crowned with a lusty dollop of Devon double cream and a shower of fresh horseradish, or a sticky-rich bone-in skate wing paired with a chunky olive salsa. Steaming allows him to set up vibrant contrasts between perfectly cooked proteins and their carefully crafted accoutrements. “You have this thing in its most simple state, and the simplicity of it draws your attention,” he says. “You have vivid flavors that have a lightness to them. And lightness in cooking is a massive thing to achieve.”

For chef Katianna Hong of Yangban Society in Los Angeles, steaming is as much about optimizing texture as it is flavor. Cooking something in a hot pan, on a grill, or in boiling water requires constant manipulation that can compromise an ingredient’s shape and form. “But steaming allows for something fully intact and fully cooked,” she says. This is especially useful for dishes like the restaurant’s signature matzo ball mandu, as well as delicate vegetable preparations. For a banchan of broccoli dressed with a ginger-soy-yuzu vinaigrette, she steams rather than blanches the florets before dressing to preserve their color and structure. “Immersing things in water can do a lot of damage to the form. With steaming, it’s as though the broccoli hasn’t been touched. It allows for more precise shapes.”

And for some chefs the technique speaks to them on a spiritual level. “I have always gravitated toward soft cooking techniques,” reflects Ana Castro of NOLA’s Acamaya. “I have a very feminine way of cooking, and many steamed dishes feel ancestral to me.” She notes that many comfort foods across cultures are steamed, from tamales to chawanmushi to dumplings, and seeing chefs embrace this lo-fi method in their restaurants feels like a nod to the wisdom of home cooking.

If steaming isn’t already in your repertoire, there’s no better time to start than right now.

Steamed Fish With Potatoes and Anchovy Butter

When seared over high heat, fillets of delicate fish like sole can go from raw to overcooked in a flash. Steaming allows for more gradual, gentle cooking, providing a more generous margin of error, and prevents intramuscular fat from rendering out too quickly. The result is pure luxury: lush, fork-tender, and ready for the warm embrace of an equally buttery sauce.

Smoky Orange Chicken Thighs

When ingredients are bundled up and heated together, whether in parchment or rafts of supple leaves, something magical happens. Each tidy package becomes a steamy world of flavor unto itself—nothing leaving, everything inside subtly transformed—that feels like a gift waiting to be opened.

Pork and Shrimp Cabbage Rolls

Steaming is an ideal method for cooking dumplings, cabbage rolls, and other delicious little parcels that might fall apart in a hot pan. Bathed in hot vapor, they’re guaranteed to emerge from their sauna session with moist fillings and unmarred wrappers. And, as any dim sum lover can attest, there are few more thrilling reveals than the dramatic lifting of a bamboo steamer lid.