Steamed vegetables and roots are a staple in Vietnamese cuisine, but it is not always done right.

Chefs at the cooking show Golden Spoon Awards said in 2013 that a tasty, eye-catching plate of steamed veggies needed to meet three criteria: clean ingredients, moderate heat, and nutrition, natural taste and colors being preserved.

The steaming process is important. The cook has to pay attention to the duration, the temperature and the amount of water. Cooking for too long or on high heat with too much water can kill the nutrients and natural colors of the dish.

All these problems can be avoided with the Minh Long Healthycook macrobiotic pots, because the cooking can be done without using water.

The process involves gathering heat from the bottom to the side of the pot and then the lid. Only when the heat is strong enough can the food be cooked fast and deep. Since the heat is not focused at one point but spread all over, the oven only has to preserve the heat instead of creating more heat. And since the heat does not just gather at the bottom of the pot, the food will not be overcooked and the structure of the nutrients will not be broken.

Making green and crispy
boiled water spinach
in 6 minutes

Ingredients: 500 grams of water spinach, only keep the young part. It should be clear-origin vegetables.

Rinse the leaves and soak them in water for a while, then take them out and put them in the pot, place the lid and keep the fire high (about ¾ the fire of the kitchen).

After two to three minutes (or when seeing the steam coming out strongly around the pot rim), lower the heat, making sure that the steam is still coming out steadily.

Continue to cook for another three minutes, turn off the stove and remove the lid. Pour some olive oil all over to make the vegetables glossy. Some of the vitamins will incorporate in the oil, making the vegetables more nutritious. Mix the veggies with the oil and put them on a plate.

Steamed mixed vegetables
in 8 minutes

Ingredients: 100 grams each of cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, and napa cabbage.

Rinse the veggies, cut them into same-sized chunks and soak them in water. After a while, take them out and put them in the pot, put on the lid and keep the fire high (about ¾ the fire of the kitchen)

After two to three minutes (when the steam comes out strongly around the pot rim), lower the heat, ensure the steam is still coming out steadily.

Continue to cook for another eight minutes, then turn off the stove and remove the lid. Some of the vitamins will incorporate in the oil, making the vegetables more nutritious. Pour some olive oil all over, toss and serve on a plate.

The period of 6 minutes or 8 minutes is approximation because the actual cooking time will depend on the type of vegetables and the evaporation. Make sure that the flame is high at the beginning so that the pot absorbs as much heat as it can. When the heat spreads steadily around the rim of the pot, it’s time to lower the fire (but make sure that the flame covers the bottom of the pot at this point). If the steam is not coming steadily around the pot, it means the heat is not strong enough.

Making soft, glutinous boiled
corn and sweet potatoes

Ingredients: 500 grams of sweet potatoes, 500 grams of fresh corns, the green peel is still not dry. They should be boiled separately because corn needs to be boiled in 30 minutes while sweet potatoes need 25 minutes to be ready to eat.

Soak the ingredients in water before boiling so that after cooking, they will be sweeter and softer and their colors brighter. It should be boiled on gas stoves and do not open the lid while cooking so that the heat is retained and the food’s nutritional values are well preserved (Boiling without water hardly using infrared stoves)

To cook sweet potatoes and corn, keep the flame on high for the first five minutes (about ¾ the fire of the kitchen) and then reduce the heat. Do not add any water during the process. When cooked, the sweet potatoes and corns will have their natural aroma and sweet flavors. They will also not be dry, but somewhat glutinous.

Line pandan leaves at the bottom of the pot before putting the corns and sweet potatoes over will give the dish extra flavor and fragrance. After cooking, turn off the stove and still cover for about 5 minutes so that sweet potatoes and corn are evenly, deeper cooked and at the same time, absorb the aroma from pandan leaves.

It is highly recommended to use the macrobiotic pot with gas stoves rather than infrared stoves to increase the efficiency of infrared rays and thus, preserve the nutrition of the food better.

Why a macrobiotic pot
is special

A study released in 2009 by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, part of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, a branch of the National Institutes of Health, said that cooking food without water helps retain nutrients the most compared to stir-frying, stewing, boiling or using the microwave.

Most vegetables among the 20 surveyed, like broccoli, squash and carrots, lose vitamins C, B1 and antioxidants when they are overcooked with water, the study found. When boiled in water, the amount of nutrients is reduced 50 percent, while cooking without water can retain more than 90 percent of nutrients, it said.

In order to retain as much nutrition as possible during cooking, food experts have said that the material for the cooker plays an important role. They have expressed high appreciation for products that allow waterless cooking, as these can help build a healthy eating habit right in the kitchen.

After 14 years of research, Minh Long 1 Co. Ltd has successfully created macrobiotic cookers that can fully facilitate waterless boiling and steaming recipes.

These cookers are made with rare natural materials such as kaolin, feldspar, quartz, clay and rare mineral elements which are free from lead and cadmium. This helps reduce the risk of accumulation of toxins that can cause various diseases including cancer. The macrobiotic porcelain is baked at very high temperatures and the inert enamel is not penetrated by acid and alkaline substances so the final product can keep the pure taste of food and ensure consumers’ health.

Each and every small detail of the pot, such as the shape of the bottom, the curvature of its sides and the design of the lid have been carefully studied to optimize the pot’s function, enhance the infrared wavelength, and make good use of the amount of water contained in the food.

The range of macrobiotic porcelain includes varieties that are suitable for different cooking styles, like boiling or steaming without water, stewing, deep frying, stir-frying and baking. The product allows the food to be fried and cooked quickly at lower temperatures than usual while preserving distinctive flavors and best nutrients.

Minh Long has pinned high hopes on creating a revolution in cooking and encouraging a healthy lifestyle through its macrobiotic cookers of clear origin and approved quality.