If you enjoy cooking Asian and Oriental food, then you’ll love using a traditional bamboo steamer.

They really set the scene for adventurous, authentic cooking and they look great in a working kitchen as well. Traditionally, dishes can be brought to the table in the bamboo steamer, which makes a great impression with guests and cuts down on the use of serving dishes and trays.

Bamboo steamers are circular shaped with a tight, bamboo lid and a strong frame. They create a more authentic and tasty end product as well as offer true Oriental ambience. The steamer fits easily into a wok and is easy to use - simply fill the wok with water and place your ingredients in the steamer.

Steaming your food is always the healthiest choice. There is no need to use fat or oil and steaming retains a greater proportion of the vitamins and minerals in the food in comparison with boiling, whereby many of the nutrients are lost.

Placing a layer of greens, lettuce or greaseproof paper at the bottom of the steamer should avoid the problem of sticking. You can also easily keep control with steaming, and you can choose to cook your ingredients well or to serve them with a slight crunch.

Bamboo steamers can be stacked – the lowest tier should contain the foods that take longest to cook. What’s more you can re-use the water you’ve placed in your wok as a flavoursome base for a sauce or stock, especially if you’ve added some spices to it prior to cooking.

It is advisable to maintain separate steamer tiers for meat, fish and vegetables if you’re going to regularly use a bamboo steamer. This means that future dishes won’t be tainted by strong flavours as the bamboo has the tendency to absorb them. You should also ensure that you wash your bamboo steamer well with warm, soapy water soon after use to keep it hygienic and fresh.