The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. Jaden Hair

      the tools

      Okay, I admit I’m a gadget freak. My kitchen is so full of doodads that I’ve begun creeping over into my husband’s garage area and also the kid’s closet. Yes, I have a problem. But luckily for you, my editor only allotted a handful of pages to “Tools” so I can only highlight my tried, trusted and true. The Resource Guide (page 156) includes shops for buying specialized Asian tools.

      Bamboo Spider These handy spiders (another word for strainer) have long bamboo handles and are perfect for lifting food from boiling water or hot oil. When deep-frying, I always use this bamboo spider to lift the food and the excess oil just drips away.

      Bamboo Steamer I have a nice, big bamboo steamer that I set over my wok and use for steaming large batches of steamed buns, fish fillets and well, just about anything. They usually come with three or more trays (make sure that you rotate the trays during cooking so that the food in each tray cooks evenly). If you don’t have a wok to set over, Helen Chen makes a steamer ring that you can use with any pot for just $6.00. It’s genius. For small steaming jobs, I use any available empty pot with lid and a metal steamer insert that folds down like a flower.

      Knives It took me twelve years of spending money on different knives before I finally found my soul mate and fell into a steady groove with the collection that I own now. In college, I got sucked into the magical world of infomercials and bought the super-duper Ginsu knives that can decapitate a soda can in one swift motion and the scissors that can cut a penny in half with just the power of your pinky. Well, those lasted for three months and then the only way to cut a chicken breast was to stab it repeatedly with all six knives in my hand, Edward Scissorhands style. As a working girl, to celebrate my becoming a useful member of society, I splurged on an expensive knife block that held like twenty-two different knives, each one designed to complete a specific kitchen task most efficiently. Need to carve a tomato into a butterfly? I had a blade shaped just for that task. But I hated those knives. They were too big for me and felt like I was shaking hands with an electric saw, not to mention twenty of the knives in the block went totally unused. I finally decided to save my money and just get one good knife that felt right in my hands. It was expensive, but it was the Ferrari in my kitchen and I loved using it so much that I went around the house every day looking for things to dice. It’s been eight years and I still grab for that same 8-inch (20-cm) Shun chef’s knife (www. kershawknives.com). And my latest love is a New West KnifeWorks Fusionwood Santoku (www.newwestknifeworks.com). This baby feels like a dream in my hands—it’s sturdy, balanced and the wood handle is a piece of art. The only Chinese cleaver I like is Martin Yan’s cleaver. It’s about $40 and the knife has a small handle, very well balanced. It’s got a traditional fat blade so you can use it to smash as well as to scoop and carry food. The blade edge is curved, so that you can rock back and forth to mince just like a regular chef’s knife. Most of the other Chinese cleavers are straight edged, so you have to really use that up and down motion to Chop! Chop! Chop! And come ’on, who better to design knives than the King of Chinese American cooking? I remember watching Martin Yan on television, totally in awe that he could carve an entire chicken in eighteen seconds. Television trickery? Nope. I met Martin in person and yeah, eighteen seconds flat (www.yancancook.com).

      Julienne Peeler I love this tool. I can julienne carrots, potatoes, zucchini or cucumber in seconds! The only brand I’ve liked is Oxo. Lay the carrot (for example) on a cutting board. Use a fork to skewer and anchor down the carrot on one end and then use the julienne tool to cut strips perfect for a super-quick stir-fry or noodle dish. Using this tool while the carrot is anchored down with a fork makes it safer and easier than trying to hold the carrot with your fingers.

      Microplane Rasp Grater This is the perfect tool for ginger! Forget frantically mincing the very fibrous rhizome, just rub the ginger nub on the rasp grater and the fibers stay on top while the silky ginger pulp collects on the bottom.

      Mortar & Pestle Pound! Bang! Knock! I love my mortar and pestle to smash, grind and smush (yes, that’s a technical term) garlic, chillies, spices and herbs. Pounding the aromatics is a better way to release oils and flavors, even better than a food processor or a knife! Plus, it’s fun to use.

      Rice Cooker A rice cooker lets you have perfect rice each and every time with a push of a button. There’s no pot watching, boiling over or over-cooking. Many rice cookers have built-in timers and a keep-warm function, so that you can fill the pot in the morning and come home from work with fresh, steaming-hot rice.

      I don’t think I could live without my rice cooker. I’ve used one my whole life! Since I consider my rice cooker even more important than a mixer, blender or even my coffee maker (gasp! I know!), it gets prime real estate on my counter. And the one I use is the mac-daddy version that’s induction-heating-pressurized-rice-cooker (whew long name) in one, sleek, silver design by Zojirushi. I love it so much. It cooks rice, brown rice, wild rice, rice porridge (congee), sweet rice, sushi rice, delayed cooking and even keeps rice warm! If the thing vibrated, it’d be a fixture on my nightstand. But you don’t need a fancy rice cooker at all. A great budget rice cooker is from Aroma Housewares, one of the most popular rice cooker companies in the U.S. They’ve got rice cookers starting from $29.00. The features that I would look for: retractable power cord, rice warmer (so you can cook rice early in day and it keeps it cozy and warm for you), excess water catcher, quick cook option (speeds up your rice cooking by 20 percent).

      Skimmer This handy metal skimmer has super-fine mesh that traps any scum, fats and oils lingering on the surface of your stocks and broths. WokShop.com sells them for less than $2!! This is a must buy. In fact, buy several and give them away to your friends.