Similar to other Chinese cooking techniques, steaming can be utilized in preparing dishes in different ways. The 2 most common ways to be used are:
Steaming first, then add the remaining sauce.
Adding sauce first, and steam them with the ingredients together.
Here are some pointers to help you steam Chinese dishes most effectively

• Heat the steam basket until you see steam first, then add the ingredients
  If the ingredients were put in before the steam basket is ready, you will inevitably lose some of the taste of the dish. So as a rule, make sure the steam basket has been heating for about 15 minutes before you put the dish in.
• Follow the recipe as directed on whether to use high, medium, or low heat.
  If egg, or tofu are the main ingredients, small holes can be poked through during steaming to help along (the holes will disappear once done), and it can be steamed slowly. If fish is the main ingredient (unless specified otherwise), it will need to be steamed on high heat and monitored frequently. If fish is steamed too long, then the meat will get tough, and obviously the dish will not taste as good.
• Do not lift the top of the steam basket unless necessary
  Idealy, the top needs to stay on the steam basket the entire time to maximize the flavor and consistency of the dish. So use your timer (wink).
• Check the water level
  Sounds so trivial, but it is a very common mistake in steaming. So make sure you have adequate water to produce the steam, and add more as necessary.