My New 'Toy' - The Tecno 3-Tiers Electric Steamer

I was contemplating on whether I should get a 3-tier steamer and procrastinated for quite a while as my kitchen counter was already overcrowded with my existing appliances. Unfortunately for my hubby (heehee), we chanced upon the above mentioned steamer going at a very low price of just $39 (usual price is $89) at Harvey Norman in Parkway Parade. Who could've resisted such a good deal right? Furthermore, as most mummies without any helpers (like myself) would attest to, efficiency is key in food preparation. Therefore, I've always felt that investment in appliances like this and a breadmaker are worthy ones ^.~

Unlike my Tesco breadmaker which I couldn't wait to try out, this new toy of mine stayed in its box for almost 2 months before seeing the light. I knew it would come in useful in time to come & right now's the time! Why only now and not earlier, you may wonder? Well the time is finally ripe because BB has just been "officially promoted" to share our table food & it'll also be time-saving if I could steam a couple of dishes concurrently too. 

As shown in the above picture, I managed to steam rice in the bottom most tier, fish & chicken in the middle tier & vegetables on the top-most tier. This is what I would like to call "killing 4 birds with one stone"...lolz! 

Organic ten multi-grains (Simple Natural brand found at most Cold Storage outlets): 4 tbsps soaked overnight in 3/4 cup of water (I found the rice to be a wee bit too wet so I'll probably reduce the water to 1/2 cup the next time round). Steam for 35 minutes.

Steamed corn-fed chicken thigh: 1/3 of a chicken thigh marinated with juice from 1/2 a lime & a dash of fresh-ground black pepper. Steam for 20 minutes

Steamed red grouper: 1 grouper fillet marinated with some black pepper.

Basil organic lady's fingers (okra) & tomato: 1 pack of lady's fingers & 1 medium-sized tomato cut into smaller pieces. Marinate with some dried basil, juice of the remaining lime & some black pepper. Steam for 10 minutes.

The brilliant idea of marinating the chicken with lime comes from a mummy who always uses different fruits as 'seasonings' in the "Healthy Food for My Baby" FB group. Lime juice adds a slight tangy taste to the chicken which makes it quite refreshing. I can't wait to try out some of her other variations using grapes & oranges.

The dish which turned out to be my favourite was actually the lady's fingers with tomato. In fact, I've never cooked lady's fingers before so it was quite a pleasant surprise as to how well it turned out. I will usually make use of what I've got in my fridge to conjur up a meal & I happened to have 1 tomato left. Therefore, i mixed it with the lady's fingers plus the other half of the lime as well as some dried basil (one of the herbs that's commonly added to tomatoes), resulting in a rich basil aroma that yet tastes very appetising due to the sourness from the lime juice.

After finishing all the rice & vegetables, BB actually asked for more = ) In the end, he had almost 1.5 servings of rice, the entire portion of chicken, 2/3 of the fish & 3 servings of vegetables!