Steam

For a complete meal, complement the entrée with rice and stir-fried snow peas.

Developed in the 1980s by a chef in Hong Kong, this sauce is all about umami.

Khao niaow ma muang, or steamed coconut sticky rice with ripe mango, is a classic in Thai cuisine—and you can make it at home.

Legendary chef James Beard created this version of the British classic for Gourmet’s 1963 holiday issue. Six decades later, it’s still inspiring fans.

Kabocha squash, which has a wonderfully creamy texture and tastes like a cross between a pumpkin and sweet potato, makes a great topping for toast.

Inspired by Chinese savory egg custard, this flan steams on the stovetop for only 15 minutes, taking down the cooking time drastically.

In India, this dish is typically made with the large, elephant ear-like leaves of the taro plant, but you can use collard leaves instead.

Steaming the chicken wrapped in parchment pouches and draped in a spiced chile sauce ensures such a tender, juicy result you’ll be shocked it’s not dark meat.

The secret to soft and sweet eggplant? Toss it in the microwave.

Chawanmushi, a Japanese savory, soupy custard, makes a wonderful first course, served either hot or cold.

For these pearl meatballs, a mixture of pork, ginger, and scallions are combined into a meatball, then rolled in grains of sweet glutinous rice.

The final touch for this dish is a pour of hot oil over the top, providing an additional flash-fry of aromatic flavor as the oil sizzles over the scallions and ginger.

This cabbage recipe pairs crunchy-tender lightly steamed cabbage leaves and mustard greens with a rich, warm dressing.

These delicious banana leaf packets conceal warm, slightly sweet sticky rice perfumed with the smokiness of the charred wrapper and with a piece of banana at the center.