Instead of boiling chicken, meat, fish, and seafood in water, many chefs have recommended steaming, adding little water or even no water to keep the natural sweetness of the food and preserve its nutritional values.

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 Institute of Health, confirmed 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.

The runner-up of the cooking show Golden Spoon Awards in 2013 gives tips on how to steam chicken and seafood with lemongrass using the macrobiotic pot, a product of the Minh Long Healthcook range.

Chicken steamed with lemongrass

Ingredients (for two servings): a chicken of 1.5-2 kilos, 8-10 lemongrass stalks, a handful of lemon leaves, two onions, chili, Vietnamese mint, garlic, salt, sugar.

It is better to choose a hen that has already given birth once or twice so that the meat is tender but not loose, tough but not chewy and the skin is glowing yellow.

After rinsing and eviscerating, marinate the chicken with salt, sugar, green peppers, Vietnamese mint and garlic. Rub this mixture on both the outside and inside of the chicken and set aside for 30 minutes. Place the marinated chicken in the pot with lemon leaves and cut onions, put the lid on and start cooking with no water.

Adjusting the time and strength of the flame is important. Keep the flame high for the first five minutes, maintain a small flame for the next 25 minutes. The first five minutes helps the pot absorb the heat, and the small fire allows the pot to create infrared rays to cook the chicken fast, steadily and deeply. As a result, the chicken is cooked through, in and out, and saves cooks from the common problem of the chicken being cooked outside but not inside. At the same time, this process also saves the chicken’s skin from cracking, keeps the meat fragrant, moist and sweet, and the skin crispy. The cooking time is shortened, too.

You can also prepare the sauce for the steamed chicken by mixing salt, lime juice, sugar and chili. This dish is suitable as a daily meal or a special feast.

Seafood steamed with lemongrass

Ingredients (for four servings): 2-3 live berried crabs, 0.5 kg of shrimp, 8-10 lemongrass stalks and a handful of lemon leaves.

Steamed seafood is easy to make but it’s difficult to get the perfect taste. To have the dish achieve a five-star standard, three factors have to be ensured: bold and eye-catching color, mouthwatering aroma and firm meat.

To achieve this, pay attention to the cooking time and adjusting the amount of side ingredients, including lemongrass and lemon leaves.

Rinse the crabs and prawns and let them dry. Crush lemongrass stalks and line them at the bottom of the pot along with lemon leaves, and then top with the crabs and prawns.

Set the flame on high for the first two minutes and then lower it for the next six minutes. The heat generated thus will cook the food well without overcooking it.

Steaming prawns and crabs without water helps retain their natural sweetness and nutrients. This makes the dish sweet and delicious. You can even enjoy it without using any sauce.

The pot can also be used to steam clams, shrimps, or boil and steam other types of food without water. Each type of food will need different amount of time to get cooked, but in general, the macrobiotic pot boosts the cooking process and shortens time taken.

Macrobiotic porcelain cookware -
a revolution in cooking

Ly Ngoc Minh, general director of Minh Long 1 Co., Ltd., said that the company’s Healthycook range has different types of pans and pots for different cooking purposes with the common aim of preserving the nutritional values and natural taste of the food as much as possible.

The products can endure temperatures between zero and 800 degrees Celcius and is thus crack resistant. This ability of Minh Long Healthycook products to withstand thermal shock is considered the pinnacle of porcelain cookware in the world.

Minh Long Healthycook products are safe and healthy because they are made from natural raw materials, and free from lead and cadmium, which help reduce the risk of accumulation of toxins that can cause various diseases including cancer.

The best nutrients of food are retained thanks to the enhanced infrared wavelength (the wavelength goes through materials and spreads the heat wherever it goes; thus the heat is not concentrated at any particular spot but disperses steadily to cook the food from inside.)

The macrobiotic cookware set includes many products (pots of different sizes and shapes, pans, and kettles...) to help cooks process different types of food. The set also allows many new ways of cooking food, like boiling and steaming without water, and frying at low temperatures. Products are also diverse in size to meet different needs and preferences of the cooks, and can be used with gas stoves, microwaves or ovens.

Ly Ngoc Minh, who spent more than 14 years studying this product before succeeding, expects the macrobiotic porcelain cookware to foster a healthy lifestyle through the development of healthy eating habits at home with cookware items of clear origins and approved quality.

Minh’s favorite quote belongs to a famous philosopher: “When you have health, you have thousands of dreams, but when you are sick, you have only one dream: health.”

Anyone can take the initiative to attain good health and help their families do the same by cooking and eating properly.