Steaming Equipment

• Not all manufactured steamers accommodate a 3- to 4-pound whole chicken, but you can turn a large wok or small soup pot into a steamer by adding a snug-fitting lid and a small metal rack to elevate the chicken above boiling liquid. Choose a pot just slightly larger than your bird to make steaming as efficient as possible. If you are seasoning your chicken with whole spices like ginger root or peppercorns, covering the steamer rack with parchment paper keeps spices from falling into the liquid.

Wet-Steaming

• The simplest way to steam chicken is to pour water into the pot to a level just below the steamer rack. Then, add the chicken and cover the pot. Over medium heat, a 3- to 4-pound chicken will steam in approximately 30 minutes. After 25 minutes, lift the lid, let steam disperse and test the thickest part of the meat with an instant-read thermometer. Chicken is safe to eat when it registers an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit; for reasons of texture, some recipes specify a temperature of 170 or 175 F. Continue to steam, if necessary, until you reach the safe minimum temperature.

Wet-Steam Seasonings

• To honor the Asian origins of this simple dish, you can enhance chicken flavors by placing ginger root and pieces of scallion in the cavity. Garlic cloves and pods of star anise add complexity. Vary the steaming liquid by adding an equal amount of sake or other rice wine, vinegar or citrus juice to the water. Adjust seasonings to reflect your final serving plans. If you are steaming chicken for a curried chicken salad, for example, you could fill the cavity with leaves of lemon grass and cumin or coriander seeds.

Dry-Steaming

• In this Vietnamese steaming method, a whole chicken is split in half, or spatchcocked, and laid on a bed of aromatic greens, herbs and rock salt in a clay pot which is then tightly covered. Heat from the salt bed causes meat to steam in its own juices, becoming intensely flavorful. Cooking time for a whole chicken is 25 to 30 minutes. While traditional Vietnamese cooks place the pot over an open fire, oven-based clay-pot recipes specify a range of cooking temperatures from 375 F to 450 F and cooking times between 60 and 90 minutes. When using a clay pot, remember to soak it according to instructions before cooking.

Steam-Roasting

• An American variation on dry-steaming, steam-roasting relies on a tightly covered roasting or baking pan and the natural juices and fat of the chicken. The tightly sealed pan is placed in a 375 F oven. Cooking time for a 4-pound chicken is around 90 minutes, with an additional 20 minutes, uncovered at 425 F, to brown the skin. Chicken can be seasoned as desired, but no liquid is added.