Cantonese Steamed Fish
Ingredients
Ingredients:
Soy Sauce Mixture:
- 2 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Hot Water
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Shaoxing Wine
- Squeeze of Lemon (Optional)
Main:
- 1 Bundle Cilantro (Chopped)
- 6 Stalks Scallions (coarsely sliced for topping, and into long “sticks”)
- 1-2 Fish (Any oily white fish works best, I used trout
- 1 inch Cube of Ginger (Cut into match-sticks, julienned)
- 3 Tbsp Oil
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients in the Soy Sauce Mixture together. Adjust the flavorings if desired. The Shaoxing Wine adds a little extra depth to the flavor, but omit it or substitute it with whatever cooking alcohol if needed. The lemon juice is not traditional, but I find that it goes well with fish and brightens up the flavor.
- In a large dish, put a layer of scallions at the bottom of the dish and put the fish on top. Put the dish into the steamer and steam for 10-12 minutes or until cooked. It is cooked when the meat of the fish easily flakes off.
- Heat up oil in a small pot until it begins smoking
- Top the fish with half of the scallions, half of the cilantro, and the ginger. Pour the Soy Sauce Mixture over the fish, then finally pour over the hot oil slowly and cautiously. The oil may splash everywhere so be careful. Finally top with the residual Cilantro and Sliced Scallions
Notes
To steam, pour water into a pot so that the water level is 2-3 inches above the bottom of the pot. Bring the pot of water to a boil, then add a stand or metal frame that sits securely above the water level. Make sure the stand is stable and not submerged, as the food should be cooked by steam, not boiling water. Place the food in a heat-safe dish or directly on the steamer basket, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, and reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Steam until the food is cooked through, checking occasionally to ensure there is still enough water in the pot.
The scallions at the bottom of the plate is not necessary, but I do so to ensure that the fish does not stick onto the bottom of the dish. It also perfume the fish as well
Some recipes will have you drain out the water from steaming the fish, but I prefer not to because I’m lazy and also because if the steaming is done correctly, then there will not be excess water that drips onto the plate. Also, I find that the water after steaming is essentially just fish broth which will lend more flavor, usually. Some fish may leave a very bitter fish broth
You can omit the hot oil if wanted, but it wilts the herbes to give it more flavor. Instead of the hot oil, you can just steam half of the herbs with the fish. I don’t prefer to do it this way because that can make the dish super heavy and hard to remove from the steamer.
Make the curly scallion topping by slicing scallions vertically in long strips and placing the strips in ice water for 1-5 minutes.
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