Recipes

Steamed Fish Fillets with Ginger and Spring Onions

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Wylie Dean uses this great Kylie Kwong recipe to take on Buck Shelford on The Foodstore Chefs - Legends Edition.

Serve as part of a banquet for 4–6
I could eat this dish every night of the week! It is so healthy, light
and clean-tasting. The most important thing is to buy the freshest
and best-quality fish fillet – the recipe is so simple and refined, the
fish is allowed to speak for itself. Suggested fish for this recipe
include bar cod, blue eye, snapper, King George whiting, Murray
cod, barramundi, mahi mahi, cod and sea bass.
You can also make this using 1 x 750 g (1 lb 8 oz) whole snapper
or sea bass, scaled, cleaned and gutted. Simply increase the initial
steaming time to 6–8 minutes, plus 1–2 minutes after the cabbage
has been added. My mum often steams a whole snapper, to
accompany her many wonderful banquets!
4 x 100 g (3½ oz) firm white-fleshed fish fillets
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons shao hsing wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons ginger julienne
1 Chinese cabbage leaf
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup spring onion (scallion) julienne
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 cup coriander (cilantro) leaves
pinch ground white pepper
Place fish in a shallow heatproof bowl that will fit inside a steamer
basket. Pour water and wine or sherry over fish, then sprinkle with
half the ginger. Place bowl inside steamer and position over a deep
saucepan or wok of boiling water and steam, covered, for 5–6
minutes.
Cut Chinese cabbage leaf into 4 squares and slip inside steamer.
Cover and steam for a further 2–3 minutes, or until cabbage has
warmed through and fish is just cooked. The flesh should be white;
if it is still translucent, cook for another minute or so.
Remove cabbage from steamer and arrange on a serving plate.
Using a spatula, carefully remove fish from steamer and place on
top of hot cabbage. Pour any liquid left in the bowl over fish,
sprinkle with sugar and drizzle with combined soy sauce and
sesame oil, then sprinkle with remaining ginger and half the spring
onion. Heat peanut oil in a small frying pan until moderately hot,
then carefully pour over fish. Sprinkle fish with remaining spring
onion, coriander and pepper, and serve immediately.