Steamed whole fish

Name: Steamed whole fish
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Cantonese
Ingredients: Barramundi 1; Fresh ginger 40 g; Spring onion / scallion 4; Coriander / cilantro a few sprigs; Light soy sauce 2 tbsp; Dark soy sauce 1 tbsp; Sugar 1 tbsp; Cooking oil 3 tbsp

清蒸魚

SteamedFishWeekendFor guestsMediumhands-on 15 min · start to finish 30 min

“Ready when the rice is. Nothing simpler.”

Ingredientsserves 4

街市Barramundi· 600–750 g, cleaned and dried; or snapper or silver perch1

街市Fresh ginger· half in slices, half in fine shreds40 g

街市Spring onion / scallion· two in lengths for the bed, two in shreds4

街市Coriander / cilantroa few sprigs

雜貨舖Light soy sauce· for the seasoned soy2 tbsp

雜貨舖Dark soy sauce· for the seasoned soy1 tbsp

雜貨舖Sugar· for the seasoned soy1 tbsp

雜貨舖Cooking oil· for the hot-oil finish3 tbsp

Method

Have the fishmonger scale and gut the fish; rinse, pat dry inside and out, and if it is thick cut two diagonal slashes each side or one along the back. Do not salt it.
Lay two spring onions and a few ginger slices on the plate and set the fish on top so steam passes underneath and it does not sit in its own liquid; put a few ginger slices in the cavity.
Bring the water to a full rolling boil before the fish goes in, cover, and steam on high: six to eight minutes for a 600 g fish, eight to ten for 750 g; do not lift the lid.
Test at the thickest part behind the head: the flesh should just lift from the bone. Pour off the liquid on the plate and discard the cooked onion and ginger.
Scatter the ginger and spring onion shreds and coriander over the fish; boil the light soy, dark soy, sugar and a tablespoon of water together and pour it over. Soy after, never before.
Heat the oil until it just smokes and pour it over the shreds so they sizzle; if the flesh at the bone is a shade underdone, the hot oil and soy finish it. Serve at once.

Take care

Contains fish; the sauce contains soy and wheat. Steam a whole fish until the flesh is opaque to the bone; bones are a hazard for young children, so give them the belly and the cheek. Buy the fish the day you cook it.

The story

A whole steamed fish is the centre of the Cantonese table, the dish a cook is judged by, and the one the family orders out when the fish at home is not good enough; on New Year's Eve it is served whole for 年年有餘, a surplus every year. The home rules are repeated by every Hong Kong chef, no salt, boiling water first, soy after, hot oil last, and the only argument is ever about the fish itself.

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Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.