How to steam without a steamer?

Oh, I love the Cooking With Dog videos :-) .

You can use various kinds of other contraptions for "steaming" besides like the one she's using though. In fact, I'm surprised she's not using an inexpensive bamboo steamer basket since those are so common and do a great job with a "dryer" steam than many other setups (you can buy a small or larger bamboo steamer basket in a Chinese market, or online).

There are other suggestions for making your own "steamer" in my reply to this previous question, just so I don't have to repeat them:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201001...

OOPS... that's not the steamer reply I was thinking of... will keep looking for it and post again if I find it

Okay, it's more THIS ONE:

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201...

Probably still not as many ideas and links as I have in my files from researching though.

Notice by the way that since she's steaming buns, she has a small piece of parchment paper underneath each one because buns in particular stick to everything! Other kinds of paper can be used too, and in a bamboo steamer, e.g., you'd just line the bottom with a sheet of it.

You can also "steam" just about anything in pouches of aluminum foil or parchment paper** --depending on whether in microwave or not-- or just in tightly-closed small containers, though dumplings could stick to sides or top of some of those:

http://www.google.com/images?q=en+papillote+pouch

http://www.google.com/search?q=en+papillote+pouch

**also called "en papillote" or "in a pouch":

You need something with holes in it to sit up over the boiling water. If you don't have the bamboo steamer pieces (not very expensive), you might be able to use a colander but you'd need to seal off the holes above the pan of water with foil tightly wrapped and will need a lid to hold in the steam. Place your colander (make sure it's metal) over the pan of boiling water. Because it has a sloped bottom, you'd only be able to do one bun at a time because the rising and slope would cause them all to grow together.

I have made these in the past, using cooked meat and sauce mixture, and froze them before steaming them. My son pulled them out and just zapped them in the microwave. He didn't steam them but enjoyed them non-the-less. If you zap them too long, the dough dissolves so only do it enough to heat the mixture. And I wouldn't use the microwave for uncooked filling.

Hope that helps.

I didn't watch the video, but put a colander on top of a pot with boiling water and the steam will rise through the colander.

OK, that was like a train wreck: I just couldn't quit watching it! LOL

The little dog sitting there was kind of gorss, to me.

And, I think if you are going to go to all that work, you need to buy a steamer. Seriously. I don't htink it can be duplicated in the m/w oven.

I have steamed vegetables and shrimp in a double boiler.