Steamers fit best on woks that are 2 inches larger than the steamer, therefore, a 12 inch wok would work best with this steamer. Other than the recipe on the side of the box, there is nothing in the box other than the steamer. You can cook or reheat your food by placing it directly on the bamboo, paper towel, leaves, parchment paper or by placing it on a heat resistant plate or in a bowl. Also, you can add or remove steamer layers while cooking. For even quicker food prep, if you're having noodles with the meal, you can cook them in the water in the bottom of the wok - a one pan meal. Steaming is truly quick and efficient cooking at its best.

57 of 58 found the following review helpful:

Dinner in Minutes  Jun 23, 2001
By Michela
I fill this 2-Tier Bamboo Steamer with fish steaks, such as sea bass or halibut, and veggies, such as asparagus or broccoli. Then I place the steamer baskets with the lid over a wok containing a cup or so of water, and, in about fifteen minutes, dinner is ready. I put the fish steaks on top of plain white folded paper towels, so it is easy to wipe off the steamer basket when done. I store the baskets on top of a hanging pot rack. Because these baskets and lid are 10 inches in diameter, they work best on a small to medium-sized round wok placed on a gas ring. I have found this method works better on a gas range rather than on an electric or ceramic stove top.

49 of 53 found the following review helpful:

Quality is a bit lacking...  Dec 26, 2002

I have to say that I am a bit disappointed with the quality of this steamer. For example, the walls (which are made of thin layers of bamboo bonded together) are a bit rough and unevenly bonded, and fastened into their circular shape with copper wire. Thin strips of bamboo are interwoven to form the base of each of the steamer sections. Today, I bought a Typhoon brand one (8" diameter), which, by contrast, is really nicely made of all natural materials, has a base made of thicker pieces of bamboo rather than thin strips, and cost less. Of course, the Norpro one will do the job and if you need a larger steamer, it should work just fine--I am just overall happier with the Typhoon product.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Worth every penny  Oct 05, 2005
By James C. Morgan
It isn't often that I find something so inexpensive that performs to my expectations. While you do have to scrub it thoroughly after each use (since it is bamboo) it does exactly what it promises to do. We use it frequently and it has held up admirably.

15 of 18 found the following review helpful:

A Steamer of Many Uses  Aug 21, 2005
By MEG
I purchased 4 2-tier bamboo steamers. They were reasonably priced and appeared virtually identical to another higher priced bamboo steamer. The steamers arrived in excellent condition and were put into service immediately. There was a recipe on the box for steamed pork dumplings which sounded yummy but I haven't tried to make dim sum yet. There were also instructions on how to care for the steamers. However, I purchased the bamboo steamers primarily as storage containers. Martha Stewart recommended using bamboo steamers as a much prettier way of storing vegetables and fruits, onions, potatoes, peaches, etc. that don't require refrigeration. Keeping produce in brown bags looks tacky. I placed two of the steamers in the garden window right over my sink. If you don't have a lot of shelf space, you can stack the baskets into a 3 or 4 basket tower. The other 2 steamers will be used in the pantry for the same purpose. The only limitation I have encountered in using the steamers for storage is that the produce can't be oversized, larger produce fits easily in the top basket with cover but only small to medium size produce fits into the other baskets.Fortunately, I like small potatoes, apricots, etc ... And, yes, I do plan on making dim sum some day.

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