Cantonese Steamed Fish
A whole fish steamed with ginger and scallions, finished with hot oil and soy sauce. This Cantonese technique keeps the fish tender, moist and delicately flavored. Steaming is the quickest way to cook a whole fish and also the least forgiving — two minutes too long and the flesh turns dry and cottony. It is the standard way Cantonese home cooks test freshness, deliberately served plain so the fish itself does the talking.
Prep time10 min
Cook time12 min
Total time22 min
Servings4 servings
DifficultyEasy
Ingredients
- 1 whole white fish (about 600 g), cleaned
- 3 slices ginger, julienned
- 3 scallions, cut into long strips
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- A pinch of white pepper
Instructions
- 1Have the fish gutted, scaled and cleaned, then pat it dry inside and out with kitchen paper. A wet fish dilutes the aromatics and steams unevenly.
- 2Score both sides with two or three shallow diagonal cuts and no deeper. Lay a few ginger strips on the plate and tuck the rest inside the cavity.
- 3Set a steamer over plenty of boiling water, put the plate in and cover it. Turn the heat to high and work quickly so the steam never drops away.
- 4Steam for 8-12 minutes depending on thickness, until the flesh flakes at the deepest point and the eye has turned opaque white.
- 5Lift the plate out carefully — it will be fiercely hot — and tip away the cloudy liquid that has collected. That is the fishy water and it does the dish no favours.
- 6Scatter fresh ginger and scallion strips over the fish, piling them along the backbone so they sit on the thickest part.
- 7Heat the oil in a small pan until it just begins to smoke, then pour it carefully over the ginger and scallions. They should hiss loudly on contact.
- 8Drizzle the soy sauce and Shaoxing wine around the edge of the fish, finish with white pepper and get it to the table immediately.
Tips
- Steaming time depends on thickness — a 600 g fish takes roughly 8-10 minutes; don't overcook.
- Discard the fishy steaming liquid before adding the final sauce for a cleaner taste.
- Heating the oil until it just smokes is what makes the scallions and ginger burst with fragrance.
- The whole dish rests on freshness. Look for clear, slightly bulging eyes, red gills and flesh that springs back when you press it.
- No steamer? Stand the plate on an upturned bowl inside a large lidded wok or pot with about 3cm of water in the bottom.
