Steamed Fish Chinese Style

Click to Enlarge	Steamed Fish Chinese Style China
	Serves Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	2 main ** 20 min Short		An entirely delectable (and easy) way to cook light or moderately flavored fish. Steaming fish in an open dish with simple seasonings is typically Chinese. The dish the fish is steamed in becomes the serving dish and steam that condenses in the dish become part of the sauce.

1-1/2
1/2
2
4
1
1
3

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T
in

T
t
T

Fish whole (1)
Salt kosher
Ginger
Scallions
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil dark
Rice Wine

Prep

Scale and clean FISH. Make shallowly diagonal cuts on both sides about 3/4 inch apart. Rub the Fish inside and out with SALT.
Peel GINGER as needed and slice thin. Cut the slices into thin slivers. Crush SCALLIONS moderately with your kitchen mallet and cut into 1 inch lengths. Mix with Ginger.
Stuff Fish with 1/2 the Ginger / Scallion mix and set out on the dish it will be steamed in, which should be 3/4 inch to 1 inch deep.
Sprinkle fish with SOY SAUCE, then SESAME OIL, then spread the rest of the Ginger / Scallion mix over the fish. Let marinade at room temperature for 20 minutes or in the refirgerator for 1 to 2 hours if you're working ahead.

Run

Sprinkle the RICE WINE around the fish and place the dish in the steamer (Note-2). Make sure it's level so the sauce is well distributed. Bring the water to a boil with the steamer open, then cover and steam at a moderate boil for about 20 minutes.
Serve in the steaming dish with the sauce that has been produced there, or serve on separate dishes and ladle sauce over.

NOTES:

Fish: steamed whole or head removed to fit your steamer. Select a fish with little to moderate skin shrinkage for most attractive results. Fillets are also steamed by this method. My favorite is Pompano (photo) but I've also made it with a pair of individual size sea bass and golden thread. The shown pompano was 1-1/4 pounds. beyond 1-1/2 pounds you'd probably need to remove the head or tail.
Steamer: A wok with a low steamer grid and a high domed cover is perfect for this.

U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch
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