1 Favorite Chinese Steamed Whole Fish By Sy Recipes

CHINESE STEAMED WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• Remove any scales from your fish using a serrated steak knife. The areas to look for are the belly and the edges of the fish including the top, near the dorsal fins, and the head. There is nothing worse than having to pick out scales while you're having dinner.
• Cut off any fins with kitchen shears. They are pretty tough, so be careful with this step. Leave the tail and head in tact for presentation.
• Look at the cavity, and you should see the backbone. You may also see a membrane that you should pierce and cut, revealing a blood line near the bone. Run your finger or a spoon across it to clean it thoroughly.
• Check the head and gills. You should not see any gills left, and if there are, remove them with the kitchen shears and rinse the area clean. Older Chinese folks who like dining on the fish head will appreciate this step.
• Give the fish a final rinse, shake off the excess water (no need to pat it dry) and transfer to a heat-proof plate for steaming. No salt, seasoning, or wine should be used on the fish before steaming. Repeat. Nothing on the fresh fish before steaming!
• For steaming, I used an elongated heat-proof plate. To accommodate that, I needed to MacGyver a steaming apparatus that would fit said plate. It's simple enough. I used a wok and metal steam rack. If you need more height to keep the plate above the water in the wok, set a rack on top of a metal can with both ends removed. It's a handy and cheap addition to your kitchen arsenal!
• Steam for 9 minutes and turn off the heat. Use a butter knife to peek at the meat and confirm the fish is cooked through. The meat should be opaque down to the bone, but the bone should be slightly translucent and not fully cooked (remember, you will not be eating the bone. Trust me on this one!).
• Next, carefully pour off all of the liquid accumulated on the plate from steaming and spread half of the ginger, the green portions of the scallion, and the cilantro over the fish.
• Mix the water, salt, sugar, light soy sauce or seasoned soy sauce, and fresh ground white pepper in a small bowl or measuring cup. Heat 2 tablespoons oil and the other half of the ginger in a saucepan until the ginger begins to sizzle and add in the sauce mixture. Heat the mixture until simmering.
• Once simmering, add the rest of the oil and white portions of the scallion and stir until the liquid begins to simmer and sizzle once again. Spoon the entire mixture evenly over the fish and serve hot!

CHINESE STEAMED COD FISH WITH GINGER SCALLION SAUCE

Steps:

• Slice the cod fillet into two equal weight pieces, ½ lb each fillet. Pat dry with a paper towel.
• Fold one piece of the parchment paper in half and place 1 fish fillet in the center and closer to the seam. Repeat with the other half of the fish.
• Season each filet with ¼ tsp coarse salt, 1 tbsp coconut aminos, and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil.
• To make a paper pouch: Fold the paper over so the two ends meet, enclosing the food. Beginning at either end of the center crease, make small, overlapping diagonal folds around the filling, pleating it all around to make a semicircular airtight package that looks like a half-moon shape calzone. Seal the packet tight. You might need to twist and fold the end tip to secure the envelope.
• If use air fryer: place 1 packet inside of the basket. Lightly press the paper pouch down so it won't get burnt. Air fry at 300F for 15 minutes or until the fish is soft and flaky. Test with a skewer, if it goes in easily, the fish is done. If not, air fry for 5 additional minutes. If your fish is thinner than 1-inch, reduce the cook time by 5 minutes.
• If use oven: Place both packets over a large sheet pan. Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes or until the fish is buttery soft. The exact bake time will depend on the thickness of the fish fillets and type of fish.
• In the meantime, finely chop ginger, scallions, and chili peppers. Divide them into 2 equal piles.
• When the fish is about 5 minutes away from ready, in a heavy bottom saucepan, heat up the avocado oil over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Cover the saucepan with a lid but leave a small gap open to allow air to come-in.
• Carefully remove the fish pouch. Let cool for 3 minutes before using a kitchen scissors to cut open the packet (be careful of the hot steam). Add the aromatics - ginger, scallions, and chilies - on top of the fillets and season with a pinch of salt.
• Carefully pour half amount of the hot oil over each fillet and the aromatics on top. Serve hot and immediately.

STEAMED WHOLE FISH WITH GINGER, SCALLIONS, AND SOY

Steps:

• 1. Rinse the fish in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Season the fish inside and out with salt and pepper. Place the fish on a heatproof plate that is both large enough to accommodate it (a glass pie plate works well) and will also fit inside your steamer, bending the fish slightly if it is too long. Stuff half of the ginger inside the cavity of the fish and spread the remaining ginger on top of the fish.
• 2. Pour water into a wok or stockpot and set a steamer in the wok or on the rim of the stockpot. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the steamer. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
• 3. Place the plate holding the fish in the steamer, cover, and steam for about 8 minutes, until the fish flakes easily when tested with the tip of a knife.
• 4. While the fish is steaming, in a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, wine, and 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside.
• 5. When the fish is ready, carefully remove the plate from the steamer and pour off any accumulated liquid. Lay the scallion and cilantro along the top of the fish. In a small sauté pan, heat the oil over high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Remove the oil from the heat and pour it directly over the scallion and cilantro to "cook" them. Drizzle the soy mixture over the fish and serve immediately.

CHINESE STEAMED FISH RECIPE

Steps:

• Clean the fish properly (remove scales, guts, gills, etc.) and pat dry. Blend the soy sauce mixture in a small bowl and set aside.
• Lay the fish on a plate and drizzle 1 tablespoon shaoxing (or rice) wine on top of the fish. Top the fish with 1/2 of the cut ginger strips.
• Heat up a wok with enough water for steaming. Wait for the water to boil. 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). Cover your wok tightly and set your kitchen alarm for 8 minutes.
• As soon as the fish is done steaming, transfer it out from the wok. Discard the fish water and ginger strips. Lay the remaining ginger strips on top of the fish.
• Heat up a pan over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, swirl around until it's hot. Pour the hot oil over the steamed fish. Put the pan back onto the stove, add the soy sauce mixture and stir well. As soon as the sauce bubbles up and boils, pour the soy sauce over the fish. Topped with scallions and cilantro leaves and serve the steamed fish immediately with white rice.

CHINESE STEAMED FISH

Steps:

• Cut half of the scallion and ginger into small sections.
• For decoration: shred scallion with a fork and then soak them in cold water.
• Clean the fish completely and peel off any black skins in the stomach of the fish. Drain completely.
• Watch the body shape if your fish. If it gets a thick back, cut a line and separate the back into two parts. Or if it gets thick stomach, cut 2 lines on the thickest meat, so the meat can be cooked in a shorter time and be kept as tender as possible. (Optional for fresh water fish only), spread a very thin layer of salt on the surface and stomach of the fish. Place scallion and ginger inside of the fish.
• Place two scoops on the plates, or two sections of chopsticks and then place the fish in.
• Bring enough water to a boiling in a large pot and place the fish in after the water boils. Start the count the time, steam 5 minutes and stand for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Transfer the fish to a clean plate, discard the scallion and ginger and place the newly cut scallions. Heat around 2 tablespoons of cooking oil until almost smoky and pour the oil evenly on the scallion shreds.
• Heat the seasoned soy sauce until warm and pour evenly on the plate. If your soy sauce is cold, pour them on the two sides of the fish, not over the fish.
• Serve hot and should be finished within 10 minutes.

#1 FAVORITE CHINESE STEAMED WHOLE FISH BY SY

Steps:

• Clean and scale the fish and remove the insides, however, leave the head and tail on.
• Rinse under cold water and then pat dry.
• Place the fish in an oblong oven proof/microwave proof dish and add a little rice wine to both sides.
• After 5 minutes, remove the wine.
• Place two whole scallions under the fish to prop the fish up, which will allow steam to flow underneath.
• STEAMING THE FISH: Place water in a large wok and using a flat round trivet on top of the wok, bring water to a boil.
• Place the fish plate on the trivet and cover.
• Steam the fish for about 10-15 minutes, use a fork to poke the flesh of the fish to see that it is done (It should be white and not translucent, don't overcook).
• Remove the fish plate from the wok, pour off the cloudy liquid, discard the scallions and then place the plate in the kitchen sink.
• (Why? Cause when you pour hot oil over the fish, it will splatter all over).
• As an alternative for steaming, put plastic wrap over the fish plate and then into the microwave oven.
• Microwave on high for about 5-6 minutes; check for doneness as noted above, and pour off the cloudy liquid and discard the scallions.
• Sprinkle the fish with pepper& salt.
• Spread over the fish the scallions and ginger strips.
• In a small frying pan add the peanut& sesame oil and heat just to smoking.
• Then pour smoking oil over the fish, be careful with the oil splattering.
• Next add the soya sauce.
• Serve hot with white rice and chinese vegetables toped with oyster sauce!

BROILED WHOLE FISH AND VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Clean the inside and outside of the fish with lemon; rinse the fish with cold water; pat dry; place the fish on a baking sheet.
• Mix 3 tablespoons of oil with the lemon juice, basil, oregano, garlic, wine or sherry, salt and black pepper.
• Place the fish on a baking pan; brush the fish with the mixture inside and outside; spread the rest of the mixture inside and on top of the fish.
• Heat the oven to 350 degree, bake the fish covered for 20 minutes.
• Transfer and place the fish in a single layer on a greased broiler pan; broil the fish for 15 minutes.
• At the same time, chop the carrots, potatoes, squash, peppers, shallot as desired.
• Mix one tablespoon of oil with rosemary, pinch of salt and marinate the vegetables.
• On a non-stick baking pan, roast the vegetables for 20 minutes.
• Place the broiled fish and the vegetables on a platter and serve it warm.
• * You may use trout or flounder or sea bass or any fish of youir choice.