Life’s not all about roasted vegetables. When they’re steamed, vegetables come out refreshed and hydrated, as if they’ve spent a day at the spa. They taste like their best selves, ready to be zhuzhed up with a punchy ginger-soy dressing.

Starchy kabocha especially loves steam, cooking up fluffy and tender in a fraction of the time. This method is not ideal for watery squash, like butternut or delicata.

It all happens in the time it would take to heat up the oven—and there’s no oily baking sheet to clean when you’re done.