Prosperity Steamed Whole Fish with Sizzling Oil
清蒸魚·(ching-zing-yü)
The Round Table: Sundays & Celebrations
To a kid in an Ohio suburb, a whole fish with the head looking back at you might seem intimidating. But the smell of smoking-hot oil blistering fresh scallions and ginger? That meant home. There is no heavy sauce to hide behind here. It's an exercise in pure restraint: elevate the fish on chopsticks so steam circulates perfectly, ruthlessly discard the funky cooking liquid, and finish with a dramatic crackle of hot oil. It is the unvarnished taste of a Cantonese Sunday, and it is surprisingly fast to pull off on a random Tuesday.
Before you start
Give the aromatics an ice bath.
Submerging the julienned ginger and scallion greens in ice water for 10 minutes causes them to curl into elegant ribbons; drain and pat them completely dry so the hot oil doesn't spatter.
Shock and scrape the fish.
Rinse the fish under cold water, scrubbing out the dark, metallic bloodline along the spine. Pour boiling water quickly over both sides to shrink the skin and expose hidden scales, scrape them away with the back of a knife, and pat the fish meticulously dry inside and out. Score the thickest part of the flesh down to the bone.
Ingredients
- whole mild white fish1 1/2 lb
- Shaoxing wine1 tbsp
- fresh ginger1 large piece
- scallions4 med
- fresh cilantro1 small bunch
- hot water3 tbsp
- premium light soy sauce3 tbsp
- sugar1 1/2 tsp
- toasted sesame oil1 tsp
- neutral cooking oil3 tbsp
Method
- 01
Rig the steamer and elevate the fish.
Place two wooden chopsticks parallel on a heat-proof plate, rest the fish on top, and stuff the belly cavity with the thick ginger coins and white scallion segments.
- 02
Steam over a furious boil without peeking.
Bring an inch of water to a rolling boil in your steamer setup. Lower the plate in, cover tightly, and let it steam on high heat for 8 to 10 minutes until a chopstick slides through the thickest part with zero resistance.
- 03
Purge the funky liquid.
Remove the plate from the steamer, slide out the chopsticks, and carefully pour off every single drop of the murky liquid pooled at the bottom of the plate to ensure a clean flavor.
- 04
Whisk the sweet soy sauce.
In a small bowl, combine the hot water, light soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- 05
Sizzle the aromatics.
Pile the dried, curled ginger and scallions high along the spine of the fish. Heat the neutral oil in a small saucepan until literally smoking, then immediately pour it over the aromatics to flash-cook them and release their essential oils.
- 06
Sauce and serve immediately.
Pour the soy sauce mixture around the base of the fish rather than directly on top, garnish with fresh cilantro, and serve right away with steamed rice.
Notes
You don't need a giant bamboo steamer to pull this off.
An empty tuna can with both ends removed, set in an inch of boiling water inside a wide Dutch oven, makes a perfectly stable platform for your heat-proof plate.