Soy Steamed Fish With Scallions And Pistachio 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!

CANTONESE STEAMED FISH

Steps:

• Cut the scallions into 2-inch lengths, and cut the pieces in half lengthwise. Julienne them thinly. Thinly slice about 15g of ginger, and julienne them. Give the cilantro a rough chop. Set the aromatics aside.
• Combine the light soy sauce, salt, sugar and hot water in a small bowl and mix until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Set aside.
• Prepare your steaming set-up, and fill with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a boil.
• Rinse your fish fillet, and carefully lay it on an oblong heat-proof plate that will fit into your wok or steaming setup. Carefully place it in the steamer, and adjust the heat to medium. The water should be at a slow boil that generates a good amount of steam, but not so high that the water evaporates too quickly.
• Cover and steam for 7-10 minutes depending upon the size and thickness of your fish fillet. If you have extremely small, thin fillets (half an inch), cook for 4-5 minutes. Check for doneness using a butter knife. If it falls easily through the thickest part of the fillet to the bottom of the plate, the fish is done.
• Turn off the heat, and carefully drain any liquid on the plate. Spread about ⅓ of the scallions, ginger, and cilantro on the steamed fish (alternatively, you can wait to do this AFTER adding the sauce).
• To make the sauce, heat a wok or small saucepan to medium high heat, and add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add the remaining ⅔ of the ginger, and fry for 1 minute. Add the white parts of the scallions and cook for 30 seconds.Then add rest of the scallions and cilantro. The mixture should be sizzling.
• Add the soy sauce mixture. Bring the mixture to a bubble, and cook until the scallions and cilantro are just wilted, about 30 seconds.
• Pour this mixture over the fish. If you prefer to add the raw aromatics after adding the sauce, you can do so now, and heat an additional 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to pour over the raw aromatics. Serve immediately!

STEAMED FISH WITH SCALLION SOY SAUCE

Steps:

• Fill a wok or large pan with enough water to reach the bottom of a bamboo steamer, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Place the bamboo steamer in the pan and cover to preheat.
• Pat the fish dry inside and out with a paper towel and place on a plate. Stuff the cavity and top the fish with all of the mushrooms and half of the ginger and scallions.
• Carefully lower the plate with the fish into the preheated steamer. Cover and steam the fish until the fish is cooked through and the flesh is opaque, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, 2 tablespoons water and the sugar. Set aside.
• Remove the fish and plate from the steamer and drain any excess liquid. Scatter the fish with the remaining ginger and scallions. Pour the soy sauce mixture over the fish, immediately followed by the hot oil. Serve with steamed white rice.

STEAMED SCALLION GINGER FISH FILLETS WITH BOK CHOY

Steps:

• In medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, and five-spice powder.
• Transfer fish to 2 rimmed plates. Drizzle each piece with 1 tablespoon soy sauce mixture and scatter with julienned ginger. (Set remaining sauce aside for finishing dish.) Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.
• Fit large saucepan with flat steamer basket, fill with 1 inch water, and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and transfer 1 plate to steamer basket. Cover and steam 4 minutes. Without lifting lid, turn off flame and allow residual heat to finish cooking until fish is just cooked through, about 1 minute more. Carefully remove plate (keep warm in oven). Return water in steamer to boil, transfer second plate to steamer, and steam remaining fish in same manner.
• While fish is steaming, in small saucepan over moderate heat, heat vegetable oil. Keep warm.
• Divide fish among 4 plates and top with julienned scallions. Pour splash of hot oil over each dish. Serve immediately with bok choy.

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.

STEAMED FISH WITH SCALLIONS AND GINGER

Steps:

• Peel and julienne the ginger. Trim and slice the scallions on a bias. Place in shallow, heatproof dish large enough to hold the fish.
• Make sure the fish is clean of scales and snip off the sharp spines with kitchen shears.
• Score the fish on both sides on a bias at 2-inch (5cm) intervals, down to the bone. Season lightly with salt and pepper inside and out. Place the fish in the dish and disperse the scallion whites (reserve the greens for garnish) and ginger on top, underneath, and inside the fish. Add the soy sauce, peanut oil, sesame oil and the sugar.
• Place the dish with the fish set on a rack above simmering water in a wide, shallow pan with a tight fitting lid. Cook until a small knife or skewer can be easily inserted into the thickest part of the body of the fish, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan, sprinkle with scallion greens and serve immediately.

STEAMED FISH WITH SEASONED SOY SAUCE AND SCALLION

Steps:

• For the sauce: Add the Shaoxing wine to a small pot and heat over high heat until it starts to boil. Add the chicken stock, light soy sauce, sugar, ginger and dried tangerine peel to the pot. Bring to a simmer and stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to steep for 1 hour. Remove the ginger and dried tangerine peel. Set aside the sauce until ready to use.
• For the steamed fish: Pat the fish dry and put on a heatproof plate. Scatter the ginger over the fish.
• Put a steamer rack in a pot wide enough to fit the fish. Add enough water to come almost up to the rack, place over high heat and bring to a full boil. Put the plate with the fish on the rack, cover the pot, lower the heat slightly and steam until the flesh flakes off the bones, 18 to 20 minutes. Pour off any liquid that has accumulated on the plate. Scatter the scallions over the fish.
• Heat the canola oil in a small pot until smoking. Slowly and carefully pour the hot oil over the scallions on the fish; the hot oil will release the aromas and flavors from the scallions.
• Bring the sauce to a simmer. Pour enough sauce around the fish to cover the bottom of the plate by 1/4 inch. Garnish with the cilantro sprigs on top of the fish. Serve immediately.

STEAMED FISH WITH GINGER AND SCALLIONS

Steps:

• Set up your steamer over high heat.
• Score the fish, gently making three to four cuts along the body of the fish on both sides, starting from the dorsal fin to the belly. The cuts should be deep enough that you can stuff them with some ginger and onions. Sprinkle the salt in the slits on both sides to help flavor the fish. Gently place half of the onions and ¼ cup of the ginger into the slits.
• In a small pot over medium-high heat, combine the soy sauce, wine, oil, and the remaining onions and ¼ cup ginger. Heat to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Keep the sauce over low heat while the fish steams.
• Place the fish in a steam-proof dish, such as a pie plate, that fits in your steamer. The dish should be deep enough to let the sauce pool at the bottom. Steam the fish for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. To check for doneness, turn off the heat. Carefully lift the lid of the steamer. Using the tip of a sharp knife, gently probe the flesh at the meatiest part of the fish. If it is opaque and flakes, then the fish is done steaming. If it looks underdone, then close the lid and steam over high heat for up to 5 minutes more.
• Remove the dish from the steamer and drizzle the soy sauce mixture over the fish. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice as a part of a meal.