Bamboo Steamers


Among our broad selection of Japanese gifts and Chinese gifts, we offer traditional bamboo steamers. The bamboo steamer is used for steaming dumplings, vegetables, fishes, meat, and frozen food. If you are new to Asian cooking, you are probably asking, well…what is a bamboo steamer? What is steaming? How do I use a bamboo steamer?

Steaming is a cooking method that uses the steam from water under varying degrees of pressure. Low pressure steaming is food cooked either direct contact with the steam or an indirect contact. With low pressure cooking, the steam is allowed the escape the cooking apparatus. High pressure steaming, on the other hand, is done when steam is not allowed to escape the cooking apparatus. This increases the temperature and pressure build-up that reduces the cooking time.


A bamboo steamer is a round or oval cookware made from bamboo with a lattice bottom and a cover. The lattice holes on the bottom allow the steam to travel inside the steamers. The cover prevents the steam of escaping. To use the bamboo steamer, place one inside a wok or a pan with shallow water. When the water starts to boils, the cooking process begins. Have you ever tried to steam large amounts of food, but do not have a wide enough pot? Well…bamboo steamers also be stacked on top of one another to enable you to cook large amounts of food simultaneously; Furturemore, different kinds of steamed food with different seasoning maybe cooked inside each steamer at the same time.

The first bamboo steamer was developed in China where ovens are not a common sight. In Asian cuisine, as opposed to Western cuisine, rice, not bread is their staple, and therefore, the idea of using an oven is not a common one. As a substitute, to be able to cook their staples, they developed the steamer.

Healthy and Efficient Advantages of steamed food with a Bamboo Steamer

If you need to steam large amounts of food in a short time and lack the stove space, try using bamboo steamers. The bamboo steamer can be stacked on top of one another making cooking large amounts of food easier and faster. It is also designed to fit in any wok and could also fit in pans, so no special equipment is needed to use them. The bamboo also helps to absorb excess moisture to keep the food from becoming soggy and retains heat. Health benefits of cooking with a bamboo steamer include being able to cook the food without using any sort of fat, oils, or butter, retaining its healthy properties and appears fresh and vibrant, and its naturally antibacterial properties.

How to care for your bamboo steamer?

In cleaning the bamboo steamer, mild soap should be used along with warm water to prevent any damages. After washing, the bamboo steamer should be thoroughly drained and dried before it is put away to prevent molds from accumulating. Also, bamboo steamers should never be put in the dishwasher and as much as possible, direct food to steamer contact should be avoided (this can be done with the use of parchment paper or lettuce). Removing food bits that get stuck to the steamer should be removed with a nylon scrubber.

Want more unique Japanese tableware? We also offer chopsticks, sushi sets and Japanese tea sets.