Fish · All year
Cantonese Steamed Fish
清蒸鱼. A whole fish, ginger, and scallion, steamed only until it flakes. The hot oil goes on at the end.
30 minutes · Serves 4 · One whole fish
“So they gave him a piece of a broiled fish.”
Ingredients
- 1 whole sea bass, branzino, or tilapia, about 1 ½ pounds, scaled and cleaned
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 2 inches fresh ginger, half sliced, half cut into matchsticks
- 4 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths, whites and greens separated
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp water
- ½ tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
Method
- 1
Pat the fish dry, including the cavity. Salt it lightly inside and out. Cut two or three slashes on each side if the fish is thick. Tuck the sliced ginger and the scallion whites into the cavity, and lay a few pieces on top.
- 2
Set the fish on a heatproof plate that fits inside a wide pot or a steamer. Bring an inch of water to a boil under the plate. The fish should sit above the water, not in it. Cover and steam 8 to 12 minutes, until the flesh at the bone is opaque and flakes, about 145°F.
- 3
Pour off the cloudy liquid on the plate. That water tastes muddy, and the sauce cannot fix it. Scatter the ginger matchsticks and the scallion greens over the fish.
- 4
Stir the soy sauce, water, and sugar together and pour it over. Heat the avocado oil in a small pan until it shimmers, then pour it over the ginger and scallion so they sizzle. This is the Cantonese finish. Avocado oil takes the heat. Serve at once, with rice.
From the kitchen
- Ask the fishmonger to scale and gut the fish. A scale left on will stick in the teeth, and no sauce hides it.
- Fillets work if a whole fish is hard to find. Use about 1 ½ pounds, and start checking at 6 minutes. They finish sooner.
My note
Kept on this device, beside the recipe, for the next time you cook it.
