Whole Steamed Fish

Dad loved making steamed fish for gatherings. It always seemed so spectacular.

It’s the type of communal dish that everyone passes around and pulls pieces off with their chopsticks. And, there would always be someone that would pick through the bones to remove every scrap of flesh. That’s just the way it is.

Cooking time for a whole fish is a challenge – always test the fish if you’re unsure if it’s fully cooked. Cooking times has been provided for small fish.

Whole Steamed Fish Recipe

Ingredients

Barramundi: Whole fish (~350 – 700g)
Soy sauce: 3 tablespoons
Chinese cooking wine: 2 tablespoons
Sesame oil: ½ teaspoon
Sugar: ¼ teaspoon
Ginger: 2 cm knob, julienne
Spring onion: 2 stalks, julienne
Chilli, birds eye: 1, sliced

To serve

Coriander: 1 small handful
Peanut oil: 3 tablespoon (optional)

Method

Prepare all of the ingredients ahead of time.
Slit fish diagonally through the skin. Stuff cavity and slits with ginger, spring onion and chilli.
Mix the cooking wine, sugar and soy sauce and pour over the fish. Top with sesame oil and some more spring onion and ginger. Reserve spring onion and ginger for serving.
Boil water in wok on high heat. Place fish in wok so that the water is not touching the plate. You may need to have a separate steaming rack for the wok or using along plate may suffice.
Cover wok ensuring a heavy steam.
Cook for 8 minutes for a ~300 – 400g piece of fish. For larger fish of about 700g you will require longer (e.g., 12 – 15 min).
Flip the fish to serve (as the bottom would have been sitting in the sauce), top with the remaining ginger, spring onion and coriander.
(Optional) pour hot smoking peanut oil on the fish as you serve it at the table. Serve with steamed rice and vegetables.

You can use this recipe using fish fillets. Ensure you slice thick fillets to help the fish cook all of the way through.