Cantonese Steamed Fish with Ginger and Spring Onion

• 1 whole tilapia, about 1 lb 12 oz (800 g), cleaned (snapper, bass or flounder also work)
• about ½ oz ginger cut into fine strips (plus ½ oz sliced and laid on top while steaming, then removed)
• 5–7 green onions (white ends as a rack on the plate, the rest cut into fine strips)
• Soy sauce: 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• ½ tbsp dark soy sauce
• Cooking wine: ½ tbsp Shaoxing or any cooking wine
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp boiled water
• ½ tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp oil, heated until shimmering
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• a few sprigs of coriander, to garnish

Method

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1. Scrape any belly fat and the dark blood line from inside the cleaned fish, rinse it inside and out and pat dry. Trim the fins and tail and cut a slit along the thick back so it cooks evenly with the belly. 0:30
2. Thinly slice half the ginger and lay the slices along the fish; cut the rest into fine strips. Lay the spring onion whites on the plate as a rack, set the fish on top, and shred the remaining spring onion into fine strips. 3:17
3. Mix the light and dark soy sauce, cooking wine, white pepper, boiled water, sugar and salt into a sauce. Taste and adjust. 5:36
4. Bring about 4 cups of water to a full boil in a wok with a steaming rack, put the plate in, cover and steam on high for 10–12 minutes, until the eyes turn white and the flesh comes away from the bone. 6:32
5. Pour off the liquid that collects on the plate, remove the ginger slices and pile the ginger and spring onion strips over the fish. 8:59
6. Heat the oil in a clean wok until shimmering and pour it over the aromatics so they sizzle. Drizzle with sesame oil, spoon over the soy sauce mixture and garnish with coriander. 9:37

Tip. Halve the hot oil for a lighter plate. Striped bass, flounder or red snapper work the same way; a 1 lb (450 g) fish steams in about 10 minutes.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.