Description
Steamed whole fish is a classic and symbolic dish in Chinese cooking. This easy homemade fish is made with sea bass, topped with ginger and scallions and served with savory sauce and aromatic seasonings.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 whole fish (1 lb sea bass)
- salt (to season the fish)
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (to marinate the fish)
- 2 inch ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable, canola, peanut, avocado, etc.)
Instructions
- Clean the fish thoroughly and remove any scales and guts prior to cooking. You can ask your local market to do this for you! Make sure to keep the head and tail intact. Pat the fish dry with paper towel.
- Season the fish with salt on both sides. Pour Shaoxing wine over the fish and let it marinate for 15 minutes.
- Place the fish on a plate and set it in the steamer. Cover and steam over high heat for 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of your fish. For this recipe, I used a 1 lb whole sea bass, which took about 5 minutes steaming time. The flesh should easily comes off from the bone when cooked through.
- For the sauce, combine light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper in a small bowl.
- Once the fish is cooked, carefully remove the plate from the steamer. Pour the sauce over the fish.
- Garnish with sliced ginger, scallions, and red pepper.
- In a small saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of neutral oil over medium-high heat. Drizzle hot oil over the fish. Serve hot and enjoy!