Steam fish in the Teochew way. A Teochew styled steamed fish usually use a whole fish, and with salted vegetables and salted plums. The dish is towards the “sourish”, which the taste coming from the use of sour salted plum, tomato, and preserved mustard. The sour sweet surprisingly bring out the freshness of a fresh fish.
To make this dish authentic you can add some Silken tofu and some thinly sliced pork or add Chinese mushroom. Skipping them will not make this dish less tasty. But serving the dish immediately will please your palate.
INGREDIENTS
* 350g – 400g whole Threadfin fish*
* 1 large tomato (wedges)
* 1 piece whole sour salted plum
* 100g preserved mustard (thinly sliced)
* Half box of silken tofu* (cut into small cubes)
* 4-5 slices of pork belly (thinly sliced) or a few pieces of pork lard*
* White pepper to taste
* 4 slices of ginger
* 1 tablespoon oil
* 2 cloves garlic, chopped
Skip pork belly and silken tofu if you don’t like them.
AROMATIC (prep & set aside)
* 1 stalk of spring onions (finely chopped)
* 15g of ginger (cut into long thin strips)
* 2 stalks of coriander leaves (roughly cut)
* Red chilli (finely chopped)
SAUCE:
* 4 tbsp water
* 1 tbsp light soy sauce
* 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Prep the aromatics, and mix the sauce. Set aside.
2. Give both sides of the whole fish a cut. Pat dry.
3. Place the whole fish on a heat-proof plate that can fit into your wok or steaming setup.
4. Arrange the tomato wedges, sour plum and tofu around the fish, and place the ginger slices on top.
5. Prep the steamer and set it to boil.
6. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
7. In a wok, heat the cooking oil and add in the chopped garlic. Stir-fry until aromatic.
10. 10. 10. Add in the pork, and stir-fry until half-cooked.
11. Followed by the preserved mustard slices and the sauce. Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat.
12. Place the pork and preserved mustard on top and around the fish.
13. Pour the gravy over the fish.
14. Turn to medium heat and place the fish in the steamer. Cover it and keep the temperature to a slow boil.
15. Steam for 7-12mins depending on the size of the fish.
16. Add the aromatic and white pepper to the fish.
17. Serve the fish immediately.
Note:
– Blucurrent has Grouper, Red Snapper and Barramundi whole fish as alternatives.
– Blucurrent fish comes gilled, gutted and descaled so it’s easy to prepare.
– Thaw the frozen fish in its original sealed bag; at room temperature (kitchen sink) for 4 hours or in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Skip this if it’s not a frozen fish.
– Give the whole fish a cut on each side, it will help with even steaming and easier to check on the fish done-ness.
– Be sure you have added sufficient water for the steamer. Adding room temperature water halfway through steaming will affect the steamer’s temperature, and affect the cooking time, and the fish texture.
– Steam in the microwave for 8mins; steaming in a microwave will retain the fish juice better.
-This dish has more liquid, so use a deep heatproof plate.
