Teochew Style Steamed Fish

“Teochew-Style Steamed Fish”

This is one of my fish recipes I am proud to share here. Teochew style steamed fish with salted vegetable and Chinese tofu. Taste of this dish is pleasantly good and fragrant. Simple to make and success rate is high, for many beginners in cooking fish.

I used sea bass instead of the usual choice of white Pomfret (My White Pomfret Recipe). Of course, white Pomfret tastes more appropriate with this recipe, but if it is not available, I think sea bass is the best alternative.

See below:

Ingredients
1 Sea bass
2 leaf of salted vegetables, steeped and thinly sliced
1 cube of bean curd aka tofu, cut into small cubes
1 – 2 preserved whole plum, lightly mashed
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 slice of ginger, cut into strips

1 tablespoon of Hua Diao Rice Wine (Chinese translation: 花雕酒)
1 tablespoon of white sesame oil
Pinch of salt and white pepper

Optional
1 fresh red chili, cut

Method
1) Wash and scale fish, place in a large metal or porcelain dish.

2) Season with sesame oil, salt, white pepper and Hua Diao Rice Wine.

3) Place chopped garlic, ginger strips, tofu cubes, salted vegetable strips, preserved plum, and lastly, cut chili, on top of the fish.

4) Place whole platter in the top portion of electric steamer, or in a wok half filled with water (place platter on a steamer rack in the wok). Steam fish for 20 minutes. Serves immediately with rice.

A serving of my steamed fish counts less than 150kcal. Steamed dishes, always the best diet (if oil isn’t used much). Remember to drink the soup in the dish, too. It’s flavourful!

Tips: Preserved plum can be found in most Chinese grocery shops in the wet market, neighbourhood area, or supermarkets. It is usually packed in medium glass bottle. Place 1 – 2 preserved plum in this fish dish makes better taste of the fish. It will help to enhance the overall taste of this dish, too.
* Sea Bass has 2 types: 1 from river and 1 from sea. Get the from SEA Sea Bass instead of from the river. Sea Bass from sea is more suitable for steaming method as it will not have the ‘muddy’ taste as the river fish. Ask the fishmonger ‘from where the Sea bass is”, before you pick it! :P
*This is a wet dish. If you opt to drink the ‘gravy’ as soup, steep the salted veg longer, or reduce the salt amount. To cook the dish even wetter, add some water before steaming. If so, stick to the recipe as it is.