Joyce Chen 2-Tier Bamboo Steamer Baskets, 10-Inch

Nicely made and do a nice job steaming dumplings!
I bought this to make Chinese pork buns in Eileen Yin-Fe Lo’s The Chinese Kitchen: Recipes, Techniques, Ingredients, History, And Memories From America’s Leading Authority On Chinese Cooking. I was immediately happy with the nice solid construction of these, was not disappointed when I tested them using the recipe. This can also be used to heat up frozen dumplings, such as Trader Joe’s which are pretty good.How to use: This steamer can be used directly in a wok over water without any other equipment. To figure out how much water to use, first place the steamer in the wok and see how much space is left underneath. Then remove the steamer, add water, bring to boil and place steamer directly on top; The sides of the wok will prevent it from slipping and touching the water. As the dumplings steam you can see the steam coming up through the top.The FIRST time you use this, first wash thoroughly and rinse, soak all parts including the lid completely submerged in very hot water for a half hour (I used my sink plugged up for this). Then put the entire thing together and steam for a half hour while empty, turn off heat, and let cool. This causes the bamboo to expand and contract and the layers to fit together perfectly–I have used others without taking this step and I do see the difference in how nicely they fit together.This item has two tiers. My dumplings came out identical in the top and bottom tiers, which is awesome.My one disappointment with this is that there is ring adaptor attachment available that can allow this to fit on a regular pot rather than a wok. I do often use mine on a regular pot because I don’t like putting water in my woks regularly. However, most regular pots are slightly smaller in diameter than this, resulting in the steamer hanging a bit off the edge. The result is if the heat is high, the flames can lap up and scorch the outside. I’ve ruined several and one time actually started a fire I had to put out! To combat this problem, there is a metal ring available (not from Joyce Chen) for the 10-inch steamers, but sadly not for this one! My solution is to turn the heat down a bit and sometimes moisten the bottom portion during steaming with a wet towel. Still, I sure would like an adaptor!

What you need to know
I am happy with the steamer, especially for the price.Which size to buy? Unless you really need as much space as possible (to cook more food fast), I would mostly go by whether you have a big enough wok/pot for the 12 inch or 10 inch. The 10 inch should be big enough to cook most meals for two. If you buy the 10-inch model instead Joyce Chen 10-Inch Bamboo Steamer Set, you save some money. I also found a steaming ring for sale on Amazon which only works with the 10-inch models. You only need a ring if you plan to use it with regular pots. Helen Chen’s Asian Kitchen 11-Inch Steaming Ring They also sell pre-cut parchment paper sized for the 10-Inch model. Helen’s Asian Kitchen Parchment Steamer Liners, Pack of 20 (However, I prefer to cut my own, anyway, or use leaves instead of paper. It looks nicer and would save a little time to buy the liners.)Being natural wood, you should expect it to have little “variations” or flaws. Mine had little fibers sticking up/out in a couple areas. I wish mine was also more perfectly round. I understand that it’s how they are made, and am not deducting for this, however. Not being perfectly round means sometimes when I want to put the lid on, or stack the trays, I have to rotate the piece. Just takes a couple seconds, but is a definite inconvenience. In the cooking surface area, some of the wood pieces are slightly darkened or greenish in areas. I am paranoid about mold and at first I was upset by this. But I realized it must be from the bamboo natural color variations.I wish it had little handles on the sides, to lift a tray off, but I only see this on stainless steel models. The tiny handle loop on top works great for me.I read a review on Amazon about a bamboo steamer where the guy said it imparted too much wood taste to the food. I was in disbelief and discounted what he said, but now I understand what he was saying. It really does transfer to the food too much for me UNLESS I use parchment paper or lettuce or cabbage. If the food is not touching the bamboo, it’s fine. If you use many spices, you may not notice. There is still quite a wood odor coming from the moist steamed bamboo, which I find mildly unpleasant. However I am glad I chose this steamer.Many stainless steel items impart a slight metallic taste to food which I wanted to avoid. Higher quality SS may not. If you don’t mind stainless steel, I suggest going with stainless steel over bamboo.I am usually careful, but have occasionally gotten food on the steamer, and was a little frustrated when trying to clean it. If the food gets wedged down in there, it can get stuck. Also, the many crevices trap soap. If I use soapy water, I usually have to rinse each side twice to get the soap out of all crevices. I’m picky about getting all the soap out. When using a standard sponge to clean it, I am careful and don’t press hard. But even when being careful, I have gotten tiny bits of my sponge “snagged” by the crevices. So far they have been easy to pick out.BTW, I read that bamboo needs oiling occasionally to keep it in good condition. This maintenance is fine with me. It only takes a few minutes.

Funciona perfecto, vale mucho la pena

Bought this and love the baskets. They work really well for cooking vegetables and gyoza particularly. Put baking paper in to cook gyoza or bao buns and came out really nicely. Can recommend this product.