粤式蒸鱼 (Steamed Fish with Hot Oil)

Steamed fish that is finished with a drizzle of hot oil is a classic Cantonese dish. The way I like to make it includes a few Japanese ingredients, and my method is a bit unorthodox.

×

Steamed Rockfish with Hot Oil

Hardware

• 12 inch frying pan with lid
• A small raised rack that will fit inside the pan that can provide a centimeter or so of clearance above the bottom of the pan; the removable rack that came with my toaster oven works perfectly
• A very small bowl
• A small saucepan (it can be tiny)
• A platter for serving that is large enough for the fish and deep enough to hold some sauce

Software

• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. mirin
• 1 tbsp. shaoxing cooking wine, or you can substitute an additional tbsp. of mirin
• 1 tbsp. sake
• 1/4 cup of either water, katsuo dashi stock, or water plus half of an instant dashi stock packet
• 1 fillet of a large flaky fish. Approximately 1 pound. I often use rockfish or wild striped bass. If you cannot find a large fillet, a smaller whole fish can be used.
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 2 in. knob of ginger, peeled and julienned
• 2 scallions, both whites and greens, julienned (or thinly sliced at an oblique angle, similar to the thicker Chinese “horse ear” cut)
• hot chili pepper, sliced thin at an oblique angle (optional)
• 1/8 tsp. five spice powder
• 1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Algorithm

• Mix the soy sauce, mirin, shaoxing wine, sake, and water/dashi in the frying pan
• Place the fish into the pan and marinade for 15 minutes, flipping once half way
• Meanwhile, combine the ginger, cilantro, scallion, optional chili pepper, five spice and toasted sesame oil in a small bowl and mix
• Remove the fish from the marinade, place the rack into the pan, and the fish onto the rack
• Bring to a boil
• Once boiling, cover the pan tightly, reduce the heat to simmer, and steam for 8 minutes
• Meanwhile, start heating the vegetable oil in the small saucepan
• When the fish is done steaming, remove it and the rack from the pan, placing the fish on the platter
• Increase heat to high and let the sauce reduce to the consistency of Grade A (runny) maple syrup
• Pour the sauce over the fish and put the herb mixture on top of the fish
• When the vegetable oil is very hot, spoon it over top of the herbs