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Cantonese steamed fish

A whole fish steamed with ginger and spring onion, finished with smoking oil and soy.

4 servings · 35 minutes (estimated)

Cantonese steamed fish
Photo: Apeach316 · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons file and source

Ingredients

Quantities for 4 servings.

  • 800 g Sea bass or bream, whole, gutted
  • 60 g Ginger, in fine matchsticks
  • 6 piece Spring onions
  • 60 ml Steamed fish soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • 60 ml Vegetable oil
  • 20 g Coriander
  • 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • to taste Salt

Method

  1. Dry the fish, cut two slashes on each side and rub it with salt and wine.
  2. Lay a few spring onion stalks on a plate and set the fish on them, so steam reaches it from below too.
  3. Tuck half the ginger into the slashes and the cavity.
  4. Set the plate into a boiling steamer and cook eight minutes for every centimetre of thickness.
  5. Pour off all the liquid from the plate and discard it; it is bitter.
  6. Scatter the remaining ginger, shredded spring onion and coriander over the top.
  7. Heat the oil until it smokes and pour it over the aromatics, then pour the soy and sugar around the edge of the plate.
Recipe data adapted from UniTools, CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: page design, formatting and integration in NOMVEX Food. This adapted recipe text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Image credit and its separate licence are shown below the photo, where available.