Move Over, Steamboats

In case you haven’t heard, steampotting is one of the latest food trends to hit Singapore. Similar to steamboats, you’ll be cooking the food yourself. However, instead of boiling your food, steam-potting uses a technique called high-speed steaming. Try it at Steam Box, a cosy restaurant located at 68 Serangoon Garden Way (tel: 6281-6939). Here’s how it works.

● CHOOSE FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF DISHES

With over 20 freshly prepared dishes to c hoose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Its signature items include the Chef’s Marinated Minced Pork with Premium Salted Fish, as well as the Marinated Ginger Chicken Thigh with Wolfberry. Fresh seafood like clams and scallops are available too. Choose from an assortment of vegetables like pumpkin, sweet corn, broccoli and shiitake mushroom.

● MAKE A DELICIOUS CONGEE WHILE AT IT

After selecting the dishes, choose a flavour of congee: clams and dried scallop if you like it subtle, or century egg and pork rib if you prefer a richer taste. Before you begin steaming, rice grains and soup stock are added to bottom of the steaming plate. As the dishes are steamed, the essence is collected and absorbed by the congee underneath. The congee is eaten at the end of the meal, if you still have room for it.

● TUCK INTO YOUR FOOD QUICKLY

Thanks to high-speed steaming, food is ready in two to six minutes. At Steam Box, plates are colour-coded to indicate the time it takes for each dish to cook. The steamer comes with a user-friendly timer, so it’s hard to mess up! And if you feel lost, the friendly staff is around to make sure your food gets cooked properly.

● ENJOY JUICY, TENDER MEAT WITH NO ADDED OIL AND SALT

Thanks to the pre-set timer, food is c ooked to perfect doneness. The steam-potting technique seals in the natural juices (and nutrients) of the ingredients, so there’s actually no need to marinate. Topped simply with ginger slices and wolfberries, the steamed barramundi tasted surprisingly sweet and succulent.