Thirty years ago, armed with a Chinese cleaver and a rice cooker, I arrived at the “land of opportunity” in search of my American dream. But I had no clue how to cook! My best friend, Nan, who had immigrated years before, came to my rescue. She said, “Steamed fish is easy. Topped with scallions, ginger, and delicious sizzling sauce. Quick, healthy, and easy!” And it was the perfect fool-proof recipe for a cooking newbie.
As time went on, I learned that this recipe is a traditional and still-popular method in which the Cantonese cook fish. The recipe below adds a couple more bells and whistles to the recipe I made thirty years back, however it is still just as authentic and fail-proof – you just can not go wrong. Don’t worry if the fish breaks apart as you transfer it to a serving dish — it’s happened to me for years! It still tastes just as good. If you’re all about presentation, here is a tip: just choose a serving plate that can also be used for steaming 🙂
Handy Plate Gripper (added on 3/14/16)
The first question I always get when my friends watch the recipe video above is, “Where did you get the plate gripper?” I don’t blame them – I was lucky to find one so effective. With a plate gripper, you can turn any pot into a steamer. Just boil water in a pot large enough to hold your plate and use this gripper to get the plate in and out quickly with ease. My mother had one at Taiwan, but I could not find it any where in the States until one day I ran across it at Amazon.
- Yield: 4
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Serving: 4
Nutrition facts (per portion)
- Calories: 216
- Carbohydrate Content: 7.7g
- Cholesterol Content: 55mg
- Fat Content: 11.4g
- Fiber Content: 0.7g
- Protein Content: 22.0g
- Saturated Fat Content: 2.0g
- Serving Size: 155g
- Sodium Content: 559mg
- Sugar Content: 3.5g
- Trans Fat Content: 0.0g
Steamed Fish with Ginger and Scallions (姜蔥蒸魚 jiāng cōng zhēng yú)
Fresh fish is always key to a successful steam. Most of the white fish you find in the grocery store can be used for the recipe, including tilapia, flounder, cod, bass, or snapper.
The dish goes extremely well with rice. If you happen to have Chinese rock sugar
Ingredients
- fish - 1 pound of white fish
- ginger - 1 inch, julienned
- scallion - 3, shredded
- rice wine - 1 tablespoons (for steaming - step 2)
- cooking oil - 2 tablespoons
- Sauce
- rice wine - 2 tablespoons. Alternate: shaoxing wine or sherry.
- soy sauce - 2 tablespoons
- sesame oil - 1 tablespoon
- sugar - 1 teaspoon
- Optional
- cilantro - a small bunch, chopped
Instructions
Video is also provided at the top of this article to demonstrate the steps.
- In a small bowl, add rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar. Mix well. Set aside.
- Pat dry fish with paper towel. Place on a plate. Drizzle 1 tablespoon rice wine and scatter half of the ginger evenly over the top.
- Heat up a wok with about an inch of water, cover and bring it to a boil over high heat. Put the fish inside the wok, cover tightly and steam the fish for about 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.
- Check it for doneness by using a knife or a fork. Insert a small knife into the center of the thickest part of the fish. If the knife can pierce through all the way to the bottom of the plate, the fish is done. Fish cooks quickly, so be careful not to overcook it.
- Remove the fish from the wok and drain any excess liquid. Discard ginger if you prefer.
- Transfer to a serving plate, if desired.
- Spread half of the scallions (green part only) over the fish. Optionally, spread roughly chopped cilantro over.
- Heat a small saucepan over medium-high. Add 2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add ginger until it is wilted, about a minute. Then add remaining scallions to sizzling. At this point, you have two options: 1) Pour the sizzling oil over the fish, which will give the fish an extra sheen, and then put back the pan and go to next step; 2) Go straight to the next step and mix soy sauce in.
- Add soy sauce mixture. Stir well until bubbling.
- Pour the bubbling sauce over the fish.
- Service immediately with rice.
