Steamed Oriental-Style Chicken with Kale and Sticky Rice

I sent my husband to the grocery market to purchase rice and he returned home with a bamboo steamer. I certainly don’t need another “kitchen appliance.” However, since my husband was kind enough to run an errand for me, how could I ask him to return the bamboo steamer? Steaming vegetables and other foods is such a healthy way to cook things; I decided to give the bamboo steamer a trial run. Today I cooked “Steamed Oriental-Style Chicken with Kale” in the two layer steamer. I served it with sticky rice (also cooked in the steamer) and a simple dressing. It was an interesting experiment, really a meal-in-one, and my husband liked the resulting dish!

Although in traditional Thai cuisine, the sticky rice is molded into “silverware” for eating, I opted out of this adventure and served my dish with silverware.

I had to do a little research on bamboo steamers to figure out how to use this “kitchen appliance.” I typically associate bamboo steamers with oriental pot stickers, dumplings, dim sum dishes and dessert pastries. However, you can cook a wide variety of vegetables and meats as well. Bamboo steamers come in all diameters from small 6″ diameter steamers to large 12″ diameter steamers. (Mine has a 10″ diameter.) The steamers can be stacked at least 3 layers high (mine has 2 layers). And I discovered that there are stainless steel steamers, too, which function the same as the bamboo ones.

To cook with the bamboo steamer, you fill a large skillet or wok with one to two inches of water. The steamer must fit into the skillet or wok but the water must not reach the bottom layer of the steamer and the food. Fortunately, I have a very large skillet which is perfect for this task. If you are cooking a recipe which takes a long time — such as a hour — you will need to add additional boiling water to the skillet or wok so your steaming system doesn’t go dry.

I purchased some parchment-type perforated paper to place onto the bottom of each bamboo basket layer. Then the food lays on the perforated paper without coming into contact with the bamboo and the perforated holes allow the steam to reach the food. You can also use a small dish which fits inside the steamer but still lets the steam come up around the food. To clean up, simply wipe the bamboo basket and let it dry completely (so it doesn’t mold). (It does NOT go in the dishwasher.) Then re-assemble the bamboo steamer and store it somewhere in your kitchen.

For this recipe, I am using dinosaur kale growing in my garden. Although I already picked most of the kale, it regenerates itself, and I have enough for another cutting and recipe. I am thinking that the kale should steam well in my bamboo steamer.

To make this dish, I marinated boneless chicken breasts for several hours in an oriental-style marinate.

Then I placed kale on the top layer and the chicken on the bottom layer of the bamboo steamer and covered it with the lid provided as part of the steamer.

The bamboo steamer went over my skillet of boiling water. And my supper steamed away. Sort of a “meal-in-one.” The kale came off the stove half way through the cooking process.

Glutinous or “sticky rice”

The original recipe used for my recipe adaptation called for glutinous rice as part of the chicken/kale dish. I hadn’t seen this ingredient used in years — since my Chinese roommate made a dish called “Pork Congee” which used sticky rice. However, when we recently visited Boston, we ate at several Thai restaurants. All included “sticky rice” on their menus. So, apparently “sticky rice” is a popular food ingredient other cultural areas across America — just not our city!

My bamboo steamer did double duty as I also used it to cook the glutinous (or “sticky”) rice. And this turned out to be the best part. So, so simple. I just poured the soaked and rinsed rice onto the top bamboo “basket” layer and put this layer with lid back on the steamer. This steamed over boiling water for 15 minutes. The rice was done. And I cooked the rice last so it would be hot. Sicky rice quickly turns to hard rice if you allow it to become cold.

While the chicken and kale were steaming, I made a simple dressing to serve with the steamed chicken and kale.

To serve, remove the chicken from the steamer and slice it crosswise. Place the kale on plates and add a mound of rice. Top with the sliced chicken and the sauce. Sprinkle on green onions. And we ate this with a fork! Ode to being American!

This is an entire meal cooked in one process. The oriental-inspired chicken was juicy and tender — although I was disappointed that it seemed to lose the wonderful flavors of the marinade when cooked in the steamer. The chicken seemed crowded in the steamer — next time, I will probably cut the breasts into smaller pieces. The oriental sauce added back the flavors of the chicken marinade and the sauce worked well with both kale and chicken. Steaming turned out to be an easy way to cook both the kale and the rice. It’s a interesting process, for sure, and I am eager to try more recipes in my bamboo steamer.