I did slash each side of the fish and inserted thin slices of garlic and little pieces of Lemon Thyme in each slit. The biggest one they had was 0.80 pounds so I figured I could risk the $1.37 the fish cost and “risk it” with a cooking failure.įollowed the recipe with the addition of a half Key Lime thin sliced laid on top before cooking and the other half squeezed on top as the final step before serving. Well, I was disappointed because my local market only had Tilapia as a whole fish (I never eat Tilapia). Topped with scallions and cilantro leaves and serve the steamed fish immediately with white rice. As soon as the sauce bubbles up and boils, pour the soy sauce over the fish. Put the pan back onto the stove, add the soy sauce mixture and stir well. Heat up a pan over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, swirl around until it's hot.Lay the remaining ginger strips on top of the fish. Discard the fish water and ginger strips. As soon as the fish is done steaming, transfer it out from the wok.Cover your wok tightly and set your kitchen alarm for 8 minutes. As soon as it boils, place your fish inside the wok, propped up with a small inverted bowl or a couple of wooden blocks (meant for steaming). Heat up a wok with enough water for steaming.Top the fish with 1/2 of the cut ginger strips. Lay the fish on a plate and drizzle 1 tablespoon shaoxing (or rice) wine on top of the fish.Blend the soy sauce mixture in a small bowl and set aside. Clean the fish properly (remove scales, guts, gills, etc.) and pat dry.What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?įor a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes. This recipe is only 344 calories per serving. If you love Chinese recipes and wish to make more Chinese-style recipes, head over to my Chinese recipes category to learn more.īelow is my steamed fish recipe.

It gives your steamed fish that perfect sheen before you top it with the soy sauce mixture. Heat up some oil in your wok and pour it over the fish before adding the soy sauce. Wonder why the soy sauce is so good that you can just eat plain steamed rice with the soy sauce mixture? Rock sugar is the secret. If any, it will leave a bitter–from the fish guts if the fish was not cleaned properly–and fishy taste. Contrary to common belief, it doesn’t add flavors to a steamed fish dish. Discard the fishy and cloudy fish “water” after steaming.Use your best judgment, and don’t forget to set your kitchen alarm. 8 minutes for a smaller fish or 10 minutes for a bigger fish.

Fresh fish preferably alive and swimming in a tank.

Secret Techniques for Restaurant-style Chinese Steamed Fish I am very fortunate to have learned the secret recipe and tricks from a Cantonese chef that would turn your plain steamed fish to Chinese-restaurant worthy.Īs you can see from the picture above, my steamed red cod (红斑鱼) looks like it’s straight from Shang Palace. The slightly chewy texture of fish cheeks is simply divine.Īs simple as it might seem, making a perfect Chinese-style steamed fish takes a lot of techniques and skills. To me, the best part of steamed fish is the two pieces of fish cheek. Certain kind of fish is highly priced for its exceptional steamed texture, for example: my favorite “ Soon Hock” fish, a fresh water fish commonly found in Malaysia.

You tube fish heads