Traditional bamboo steamers find new meaning

At the start of each day, breakfast puts fuel in the tank for the day ahead, with riceballs being a common breakfast choice. What’s more, glutinous rice balls steamed in traditional bamboo steamers always taste better. Nowadays, modern kitchen appliances have largely replaced traditional bamboo steamers, and very few stores still sell them. To understand the difference between modern electric steamers and traditional bamboo steamers, you really have to try them – as the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating!

Although electric steamers are now more popular than traditional bamboo steamers, Fushan Steamer in Wanhua has held fast to its traditions. Despite the decline in traditional industries, the store’s fourth-generation boss, Xiao Da-wei (蕭大為), insists on producing steamers in the time-honored fashion with the firm belief that only traditional bamboo steamers can bring out the authentic taste of food.

Though traditional steamers are no longer center stage in this era, insisting on quality is the key to preserving the authentic taste of food. Faced with an onslaught of newfangled electrical home appliances, finding a way to maintain the warmth of hand-made products will be our greatest challenge.

以下為中文對照

傳統蒸籠 蒸出新意

早餐是一天活力的開始，飯糰是早餐中常見的選項，而傳統的糯米飯糰用蒸籠蒸，味道口感才會比較好，如今現代化廚具取代蒸籠，使用蒸籠的店家少之又少，蒸出來的食物跟電鍋蒸有什麼差別，只有用過才知道。

傳統蒸籠對上電鍋，蒸籠相對弱勢，台北萬華富山蒸籠堅持傳統，老闆蕭大為是第四代的傳人，雖然現今傳統產業沒落，卻依然堅持手做原味，他相信只有蒸籠才能烹調出食物最真實的味道。

即便傳統蒸籠已經慢慢走出時代舞台，但是堅持品質是保存食物原味的關鍵，在各式新型家電產品的夾殺之下，要如何繼續堅持手做的溫度，是目前最艱困的挑戰。