An apparatus for rapidly cooking food includes a housing having a reservoir, a heating element, a binary distributor, and a container. In a method of using the apparatus for rapidly cooking food, food is placed into the container and water is poured into the reservoir. The heating element heats the water in the reservoir, and the resulting steam travels into the binary distributor. Pressurized steam then exits the binary distributor to uniformally cook the top of the food. Condensed steam gathers at the bottom of the container and is kept at a temperature capable of cooking the food. In such a way, food in the container is rapidly cooked. In one embodiment, the food to be cooked is a single serving of ramen brick style noodles.