Steamed Snapper Fish

This is my favorite cantonese food dish that I can cook myself. It’s not salty, but flavorful.

Ingredients

1. Snapper Fish (立鱼) or Strapped Bass (鲈鱼), interchangeable

2. Chili Pepper

3. Salt

4. Cooking Oil

5. Ginger

6. Chinese Onions (葱)

7. Chinese Cooking Wine (料酒)

8. Cantonese Seafood Soy Sauce (蒸鱼豆蔻)

Cooking Ware

1. Steamer Pot

2. Plate large enough to hold the fish

3. Small pot

Recipe

1. Since this is a dish based on “freshness” of the ingredients, buy the fish alive or just killed to preserve the freshness. If the fish is two days in your refrigerator, you will not have the best culinary experience

2. Do not freeze the snapper fish, keep it in the refrigerator if you do not plan on eating it on the same day you bought it.

3. Cleanup the snapper fish, get all the guts out (normally Asian supermarkets help you clean if you request it).

4. Slice up the fish like “nets” on both sides, cut deep enough, not just the skin so it’s ready for marinating later. Also don’t cut too deep or the flesh will fall apart when you eat.

5. Rub salt into the cuts on both sides. Make sure that you don’t put too much salt, because you will need to pour soy sauce on it later, so just a little bit will suffice.

6. Place the fish into a large enough plate or bowl that it can lay down flat. Pour enough Chinese cooking wine until it reaches half of the fish. Let stand for 8 minutes, flip, and let stand for another 8 minutes.

7. Fill the steamer 1/4 the way until it reaches the line where it holds the steamer plates. You don’t need a lot of water because you won’t steam it for that long.

8. Heat the water in the pot until it boils.

9. When the water boils, place the fish into the steamer pot, onto a steamer plate. IMPORTANT: place fish onto a plate that rests on the steamer plate, not into the water. Please do not put it in the water, please, please.

10. Steam the fish at maximum heat for 15 minutes. You do not need to flip sides.

11. Prepare the vegetables. Slice the Chinese onions, chili pepper and ginger.

12. Pour 1/2 cup of oil into the small pot, heat it up until it simmers.

13. When the fish is finished, kill the fire, but keep the plate in the steamer pot.

14. Place the vegetables onto the fish in a vertical format. It doesn’t have to align with the cuts on the fish.

15. Remember the oil you were heating? Now, pour it onto that one side of the fish, and pour all of them.

16. Pour a little bit of the Cantonese Seafood Soy Sauce onto the fish. Don’t put too much, or it will ruin the the flavor. A little bit for the color, but it really depends on personal preference.

17. Remember to wear an oven mitt while taking the fish out of the steamer pan. You will get burned if you don’t.

18. Voila!