Chinese Steamed Fish 清蒸魚

Auntie Emilys Kitchen-Chinese Steamed Fish2

I used a 550g fresh yellow croaker for this recipe but you can pretty much use any fish.

Before steaming the fish, make sure that your fish is dry and at room temperature.

Approximate steaming times are as follows:

• 300g-450g 6-8 minutes

• 450g-600g 8-10 minutes

• 600g-750g 10-12 minutes

• 750g-900g 12-14 minutes

For fish over 900g, you may want to score the fish using a 45˚cut a few times.

Steam on high heat.

Besides using soy sauce, you can add a bit of chilis, oyster sauce, Maggi Sauce, preserved vegetables, Chinese sausages or Shitake mushrooms to spice things up!

Approximate cost (CAD) $8

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 8

Total Time 23

Course Dinner, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings servings

Calories 463 kcal

Ingredients

450-600 g Whole fish (or a cut portion) Choose a fish under 900g for best results.
2 stalk Green onions
3 slices Ginger
3 sprigs Cilantro
2 tsp Corn starch
¼ tsp White pepper powder
4 tbsp Steam fish soy sauce or light soy sauce
3 tbsp Oil

Ingredients to make Steam Fish Soy Sauce:

3 tbsp Light soy sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1 tbsp Water

Combine the above ingredients in a small pot and heat until sugar is dissolved

Instructions

I bought a cleaned, gutted and scaled yellow croaker from a fish monger. If your fish did not come like this, you will need to remove the scales, make a cut from the chin of the fish down to the end of the belly area. Remove the gills and all the inner organs. Trim the fins as well.
Rinse the fish and pat dry. If the fish is cold, let it rest at room temperature for 30-60 minutes
Take 2 tsp of corn starch and rub on the inside and outside of the fish
Rub ¼ tsp white pepper to the inside cavity of the fish
Slice green onions into shreds and soak in water for 15 minutes
Slice ginger into thin slivers and set aside
Place ¼ of the green onions and ginger on the bottom of the steaming plate and inside the fish cavity the ginger on the bottom will prevent the fish skin from sticking to the plate
Put the fish on top of the green onions and ginger on the steaming plate
Prepare the steamer. Place the fish in the steamer when the water is boiling. Steam at high. Refer to the steaming times listed above for reference. My yellow croaker was perfectly done in 8 minutes
When the fish is almost finished steaming, prepare the hot oil. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pot on medium-high heat for approx. 2 minutes. I add the 4 tbsp Steam Fish Soy Sauce to the pot to heat it with the oil. I find that heating the sauce gives it a better aroma. But it’s more common to add it directly to the fish after the pouring of the hot oil onto it.
When the reference time is up, check if the fish is done. To check for doneness: use chopsticks or a fork and try to lift up a piece of the fish meat from the bone. It is done if the meat does not stick to the bones. If the meat still sticks, then steam for another 2 minutes and check again. Another common way is to look at the eyes of the fish. If it looks like the eye sockets are hollow and the eyeball is an opaque white, then it should be done
When the fish is done, remove it from heat and either pour out the steam water or transfer the fish onto another plate
Put the cilantro, remainder of the green onions and ginger on top of the fish
Pour the hot oil onto the fish
If you did not add the 4 tbsp Steam Fish Soy Sauce in Step 10, then you can do it now
Serve

Nutrition

Calories: 463kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 52gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 3641mgPotassium: 876mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 345IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 3mg

Keyword Croaker, Fish, Fresh Fish, Steamed, Whole Fish, Yellow Croaker

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!