The one-pot dinner I make when I want dinner to cook itself is this one: rice cooking below, a bowl of marinated pork over peas and carrots steaming on the rack above, and nothing to watch for the half hour the rice takes. A home cook wrote it in eight steps with the recipe’s whole promise in the title: a steamed dish with no oil and no smoke. I made it as written in a plain rice cooker, and it is the meal I now recommend to anyone who owns one and thinks it only makes rice.
Wu you yan zheng cai (无油烟蒸菜) is a no-oil steamed dish – thin slices of pork shoulder marinated with soy, starch, and a little oil, laid over a bed of peas and carrots, and steamed in the rice cooker above the rice for about thirty minutes. The original is an 8-step recipe built around the rice cooker’s quick-cook setting.
What Is This Rice-Cooker Steamed Pork Bowl?
This is a one-pot homestyle dinner: a bowl of marinated pork slices set over fresh peas and carrot dice, seasoned with a whisper of salt, then placed on a rack above the rice in a rice cooker. The rice cooks below while the bowl steams above for about 30 minutes on the quick-cook setting. The pork is velveted – mixed with a little oil, soy sauce, and cornstarch and rested for ten minutes – so it stays tender under the steam, and the peas and carrots soften in the drippings below it.
The method is the argument for the rice cooker as a steamer: a rack inside the pot, the rice underneath, the bowl above, one click, and the whole dinner lands at once. The recipe’s sequence is short – prep the vegetables, salt them lightly, slice and marinate the pork, layer the pork over the vegetables, crush a clove of garlic on top, and steam. The only garnish is scallion when the lid opens.
For another steamed bowl in the same gentle family, my steamed egg with shrimp and broccoli is the custard sibling of this rice-cooker meal.
1Steamed Egg with Shrimp and BroccoliA silky, savory steamed egg custard enriched with milk, silken tofu, and topped with tender shrimp and broccoli. A healthy, protein-packed meal ready in 20 minutes.Check out this recipe
Why This Version Works
- One pot, one click, nothing to watch. The rice cooks below while the bowl steams above – dinner lands together in about 30 minutes.
- The pork is velveted first. A little oil, soy, and cornstarch, rested ten minutes – the steam turns it tender, not tough.
- Thin slices cook through fast. Sliced pork shoulder steams in the rice cooker’s window without drying.
- Peas and carrots catch the drippings. The vegetables sit below the pork and take the seasoned juices as they fall.
- No oil in the pan. The recipe’s whole point – steamed, not fried; no smoke, no watch.
Equipment Needed
- A rice cooker with a rack (or a steamer basket that fits)
- A steaming bowl that fits inside the cooker
- A knife for the thin pork slices
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- A little neutral oil (for the marinade)
- A little salt
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 200 g (7 oz) pork shoulder, sliced thin
- A handful of green peas
- 1 small carrot, diced
- 1 small clove garlic, crushed
- Scallion, for the finish
Ingredient Notes
Pork shoulder: 200 g (7 oz) of front-leg/shoulder pork, sliced thin against the grain – the original’s choice for a tender steam. My juicy pork filling uses the same velveted-pork thinking.
The marinade: Soy, a little oil, and cornstarch, rested ten minutes – the velveting that keeps the slices silky under steam.
Peas and carrots: A handful of peas and a small carrot, diced – the vegetables sit under the pork and drink the drippings. My broccoli carrot egg pancakes is the pan-fried side of the same vegetables.
Garlic: One small clove, crushed over the pork before steaming – the recipe’s final layer.
Prep & Mise en Place
Wash the peas and dice the carrot; toss them together and sprinkle with a little salt. Slice the pork thin, mix with the oil, soy, and cornstarch, and rest ten minutes.
The sequence: start the rice below, set the vegetables in the bowl, lay the marinated pork over them, crush the garlic on top, steam on the quick-cook setting for about 30 minutes, open, and finish with scallion.
Cooking Process
Step 1 – Prep the Peas and Carrots
Wash the peas and dice the carrot, and mix them together in the steaming bowl – the base layer that catches the pork’s drippings.
Step 2 – Salt the Vegetables Lightly
Sprinkle a little salt over the peas and carrots – a light hand; the pork’s marinade will season them too.
Step 3 – Slice and Marinate the Pork
Slice the pork shoulder into thin pieces and mix with a little oil, the soy sauce, and the cornstarch. Rest ten minutes – the velveting that keeps the slices tender under the steam.
Step 4 – Layer the Pork Over the Vegetables
Spread the marinated pork slices over the salted peas and carrots, then crush the garlic clove over the top – the recipe’s layering order.
The counterintuitive detail: the marinated pork goes on TOP, and the vegetables below soak up what falls. The recipe’s layering is not decoration – the pork’s seasoned drippings stream down through the peas and carrots as it steams, seasoning them from above. Reverse the layers and the vegetables steam in plain water. The bowl is built like a one-person steamer with a built-in sauce.
Step 5 – Set the Bowl on the Rack Above the Rice
Put the rack in the rice cooker with the rice cooking below, set the bowl on the rack, and choose the quick-cook setting – the original’s exact move. The rice and the bowl finish together.
Step 6 – Quick-Cook, Then Wait 30 Minutes
Choose the quick-cook (快煮) setting and wait about 30 minutes – the recipe’s timing. Nothing to watch; the cooker does the work.
Step 7 – Open and Garnish
Open the lid and sprinkle the scallion over the top – the whole dinner is ready at once, rice below and bowl above.
Step 8 – The One-Pot Payoff
Serve the bowl with the rice – the recipe’s closing word is a satisfied “nice.” It is.
Common Mistakes When Making This Rice-Cooker Bowl
1. Tough, dry pork. Cause: skipping the marinade rest or thick slices. Fix: thin slices, velveted and rested ten minutes.
2. Watery vegetables. Cause: no draining after washing. Fix: dry the peas and carrots before salting.
3. A salty bowl. Cause: over-salting the vegetables under the salty pork. Fix: a light hand – the drippings season them.
4. The bowl does not fit. Cause: wrong size. Fix: a shallow bowl that clears the rice and the lid.
5. Pork not cooked through. Cause: too little time or thick layers. Fix: the full quick-cook cycle with thin slices.
6. Bland, plain rice. Cause: the bowl not centered over the steam. Fix: keep the bowl on the rack over the rice’s steam path.
Variations
Chicken: Sliced chicken breast or thigh, same marinade – my steamed mushroom chicken is the mushroom version of the same idea.
Other vegetables: Green beans, broccoli, or corn join or replace the peas and carrots.
Spicier: A sliced chili or chili crisp under the pork – and for more no-watch bowls, steamed egg with milk and pork floss and steamed brown sugar sticky rice are the sweet and savory ends of the steamer.
More steam dinners: My steamed egg with shrimp and broccoli, silky steamed egg with minced pork, and steamed hairy crab are the rest of the one-bowl steam family.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does any rice cooker work? Any with a rack or a steamer basket that fits – the original uses the quick-cook setting.
Can I use a stovetop steamer instead? Yes – steam the bowl over boiling water for about 15-20 minutes.
Why quick-cook instead of regular? It is the original’s setting and the right window for the thin pork.
How much rice? Whatever your usual amount – the bowl rides above it.
Can I prep it ahead? Yes – the marinated pork keeps a day refrigerated before steaming.
How to Serve
Serve the bowl over the rice straight from the cooker – with steamed mushroom chicken and steamed egg with shrimp and broccoli for a steam-dinner table, or beside broccoli carrot egg pancakes for variety.
Storage & Reheat
Refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days; reheat in the steamer or a covered pan. Reheat pork to at least 74°C (165°F). Never leave the bowl out more than 2 hours.
Allergen Notice
This recipe contains soy (soy sauce). It is free of gluten (if using gluten-free soy), nuts, dairy, egg, fish, and shellfish.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
About the Author & Recipe Development
I am Lin, a professional Chinese chef and food writer with a decade in restaurant kitchens before turning to recipes. This xiachufang cook’s no-oil rice-cooker dinner is the meal I recommend to anyone who thinks their cooker only makes rice – the velveting, the layering, and the one-click timing all work exactly as written. I tested it as written. I have not tested the chicken or chili variations, so those are your experiments, not my claims.
Authoritative References
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service – Safe Temperature Chart for pork handling and steaming guidance.
Rice-Cooker Steamed Pork Bowl (Wu You Yan Zheng Cai): No Oil
Equipment
- Rice cooker with rack
- Steaming bowl
- Knife
Ingredients
For the Bowl
- 200 g pork shoulder, sliced thin 7 oz
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp neutral oil for the marinade
- 1 handful green peas
- 1 small carrot, diced
- a little salt
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed
- scallion, for the finish
Instructions
- Wash the peas and dice the carrot; mix them in the steaming bowl.
- Sprinkle a little salt over the vegetables.
- Slice the pork thin and marinate with oil, soy, and cornstarch; rest 10 minutes.
- Layer the pork over the vegetables; crush the garlic on top.
- Set the bowl on the rack above the rice in the rice cooker.
- Choose the quick-cook setting and wait about 30 minutes.
- Open the lid and sprinkle with scallion.
- Serve the bowl with the rice.
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