1.
bamboo steamer; wooden steaming basket
A round bamboo or wooden basket with a slatted bottom used for steaming food over a pot of boiling water. Used both in Japanese cuisine (steamed buns, vegetables, seafood) and in Chinese dim sum.
蒸籠で野菜を蒸した。
I steamed vegetables in a bamboo steamer.
蒸籠を重ねて何種類もの点心を一度に蒸せる。
You can stack the steamers and steam several kinds of dim sum at once.
蒸籠は使った後に完全に乾かさないとカビが生えやすい。
If you don't dry the bamboo steamer thoroughly after use, it tends to get mouldy.
Originally a Chinese cooking implement; now also fully integrated into Japanese kitchens. The kanji 蒸籠 is rarely written by hand — the kana spelling せいろ is more common in everyday writing.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 蒸籠で蒸す: to steam in a bamboo steamer
- 蒸籠を重ねる: to stack steamers
- 蒸籠蒸し: a dish steamed in a bamboo steamer
RELATED USE:
The word also names a soba dish: 蒸籠そば, cold soba noodles served on a bamboo tray — historically the noodles were once steamed, hence the name.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 蒸し器: steamer (general) — metal multi-tiered steamers, not specifically bamboo