Cantonese Steamed Fish is one of the recipes that I love having whenever I’m in a Chinese restaurant. This dish is simple, but the fresh fish, the infusion of aromatics, and the tasty sauce are something I knew I would cook again and again!
Luckily, my friend Wallace, a world-renowned professional chef taught me how to make this amazing dish. In this blog post, I’m gonna let you in on his tips & tricks which honestly amazed me too! Check him out to know more about him!
Last year when I was in Korea, he actually visited all the sites I went to. We just missed each other so we had to link up when we came back to the US. In Noryangjin Fish Market, we had a lot of grilled fish, sashimi, and fish bone soup, which is the usual way Koreans prepare fish. So, I was so excited to do this collaboration with Wallace to learn how to steam it the Cantonese way!
Mise En Place
Disclaimer: I get a small commission at no additional cost to you when you make a qualified purchase under the affiliate links.
As chefs, one of the best tips we can share with anyone who wants to cook is to prepare all the ingredients beforehand. For this dish, there are three things you need to prepare: The fish, the aromatics, and the sauce.
The Fish
You can use any fish in this Chinese-style steamed fish recipe. Wallace recommends Stripe Seabass and Tilapia because they’re common and delicious. However, you can also do this with Grouper, Cod, Halibut, or any seafood like Shrimp, Scallops, and Lobsters. For this recipe though, to give it a Korean touch, we used Yellow Croaker.
The most important thing to note about the fish is to get fresh ones if possible. Make sure that they’re degutted and cleaned from fish blood as they turn bitter or leave an odor when you cook them. You can also use frozen or filleted fish, but the fresh ones give the best results.
The Aromatics
We only used three aromatics: Scallions, Ginger, and Red Pepper. The pepper is optional, but the scallions and ginger are essential to the dish because they will give that fresh touch to the seafood and also remove any other fishy taste and odor left.
Chop all aromatics in very thin matchstick sizes so that when they cook and turn soft, it is perfectly edible without being too overpowering.
TIP #1: To know if ginger is fresh, it should have smooth skin. Old and wrinkly skin means they are old and dry already. To peel, aside from using a spoon, you can also use the back of your knife.
TIP #2: Slice your scallions into 3-inch long pieces, stack them, and chop them into thin matchstick pieces. Slice your ginger paper-thin, stack them, then chop them into thin matchstick sizes. Be careful with the knife!
The Sauce
This is what blew my mind. Wallace literally used 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and white pepper to taste. I never knew it could be this simple! What’s more, if you want to lean on the healthier side, you can actually use sugar substitutes.
How to Cook Chinese-style Steamed Fish?
Once everything is good to go, you can now assemble the fish like so:
For this dish, you must have an electric steamer or bamboo steamer to cook the fish. If that is not an option for you, you can create a makeshift one by using a deep pot, placing a heatproof bowl or rack in the middle, then place the plate of fish on top. Put about 2-3 inches of water in the pot (not touching the plate of fish) and close the lid as you steam. Consider the size of the plate and the ability to close it as you choose a deep pot.
Another great tip that Wallace shared with me is that for every inch of thickness, it’s about 5-8 minutes of steaming time for the fish. Ours was about 1.5 inches, so we cooked this for about 8 minutes.
To check if it is done, you can use a chopstick and poke through the thickest part of the fish and it should go through without any resistance. Add about 1-2 minutes of steam time when it’s not yet done.
TIP: When you open the steamer, open it away from you so the steam goes the other way and not to your face, just like when you’re frying!
Final Assembly
While steaming, heat up about 3-4 tbsp of neutral oil until there’s smoke coming from it. Make sure it is hot hot before pouring on onto the fish.
When you remove the fish from the steamer, add the rest of the ginger and scallions, and pour the sauce on top. The best trick here is to pour the hot oil to infuse all the fresh taste from the aromatics. Oooh! Be careful and don’t get too excited, I know how it feels!
What to Serve with Cantonese Steamed Fish?
In a Chinese restaurant, we usually order this with other dishes like cold cuts, vegetable stir fries, noodles, and/or fried rice. However, you can also serve it as it is with just steamed rice. This is perfect when you need an easy but healthy meal!
Other easy dishes you may like:
Bonus Tip: Deboning Whole Steamed Fish
- Slice the middle part of the fish.
- On the meaty side, cut the meat connecting to the head.
- Slide your chopsticks through under the fish, just above the gills.
- Slide the chunk of flesh to the side. Do the same for the other side, just below the belly.
- Remove the gills on both sides.
- Cut the tail and lift the bottom of the fishbone to separate from the flesh, then remove the fishbone entirely.
- Remove the fish head and enjoy.
- Remove the belly and enjoy.
- Eat the filleted fish with all the aromatics.
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Cantonese Steamed Fish
Equipment
- Steamer Electric, Bamboo, or Makeshift
Ingredients
- 1 pc Yellow Croaker Fish Degutted and washed
- Salt To season
- White Pepper To season
- 1 stalk Scallions Sliced to thin matchstick sizes
- Small knob Ginger Sliced to thin matchstick sizes
- 1 pc Red Pepper Sliced to thinly
Steamed Fish Sauce
- 3-4 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Sugar
- White Pepper To taste
- 3 tbsp Neutral Oil Vegetable, Canola, etc
Instructions
- Make the sauce by combining soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Mix until dissolved and set aside.
- Chop the scallion, ginger, and pepper into thin matchstick sizes. Set aside.
- Clean your fish thoroughly, then place it on a plate.
- Season all sides and the inside of the fish with salt and white pepper.
- Place half of the scallions, ginger, and pepper on top of the fish then steam for 8-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat up the oil until there is white smoke coming out.
- Once done steaming, remove the fish from the steamer, pour the sauce throughout the fish and place the rest of the aromatics on top.
- Pour the hot oil from the head to the tail of the fish and through the aromatics to infuse everything together.
- Serve hot with a fresh bowl of rice and enjoy!
Len Taylor says
Love steam fish
Chef Chris Cho says
So easy yet so tasty!