Easy Steamed Fish
I learnt this super easy way of cooking steamed fish from my mum and to me, this dish is perfect in every way.
Perfect because … this dish cost about S$4 (cheap!), 10 minutes to prepare (easy!) and 10 minutes to cook (fast!). It’s super healthy, and no messy clean ups later. It has all my favourite tastes (salty/spicy/tangy) as well as favourite food ingredients like ginger, spring onions, mushrooms, chili, tomato and sour plums. I lick up every last drop of the water that comes from steaming the fish… so satisfying! =D
This is so easy that you can whip this up when you’re cooking for one person too. Simply cook some rice (or porridge) while you are steaming the fish and you have a healthy, delicious home cooked meal in no time. To me, this certainly beats eating crappy & unhealthy food court meals for around the same price ;p
Note: If you like a recipe for steaming a whole fish, check out my Teochew steamed fish recipe.
Ingredients
(Serves 1-2)
Note: If cooking for more, just use a bigger piece of fish and add more of the other ingredients accordingly to fill the plate.– 1 small cut of fish (about 150g onwards)
– 1 thick stalk spring onions, cut to 2 inch lengths
– 5 slices ginger, sliced thinly
– 1 chilli padi, sliced thinly (adjust or omit to your liking)
– 1/2 to 1 tomato, cut to small wedges
– 2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
– 1 sour plum (aka salted plum)
– 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
– 2 tbsp water (or more if you like more “soup”)Directions
1. Place fish (skin side down) in a deep plate. Drizzle light soy sauce and water over the fish. Keep in fridge (covered) for at least 30 minutes if you can.
2. Scatter the rest of the ingredients evenly over the fish.
3. Steam on high heat for 10-15 minutes (note: for the small piece I had, it is cooked after 10 minutes of steaming).
Clean plate, a sign of satisfaction (or greed?)
Just drop by to share alternatively if u preferred crunchy vegetables; can replace the salted sour plum with preserved salted vegetables (can be found in small packet form in most supermarkets) as a topping with the red chilli and mushrooms :)
Hi, I chanced upon your food blog a few weeks ago n I must say I really like your fuss-free style…cos I’m the same. You inspired me to try out steamed fish…my dad is Cantonese while mom is Teochew which means steamed fish is often served…. I never had the courage to do it myself as it seemed an art…
But today, I plucked enuf courage n did it! I bought 4 slices of red snapper ($12) and this is what I did….sliced ginger beneath each fish slice, added minced garlic n chai po (salted radish) on top of the fish…then drizzled sesame oil on fish slices n pan…added a bit of water…then steamed for 7 mins…my family loved it…. Thanks again for giving me the courage to cook what I once Thot was insurmountable I will remain a fan of ur recipes….
love your personal touches to this dish with the chai po and sesame oil … u r good! I shall try it your way too. thanks for your kind words :)
sorry, i’m really a noob in cooking, what sort of fish should i buy for this?
Hi iris, I usually buy the already-fillet fish in the fridge section of NTUC, there are many types to choose from, it’s up to u. my fave is the red snapper or something, its with a slight reddish skin.
Hi, may I be Kay poh n suggest some fish types too? You may also use cod fish, sesame fish (Ma Yao fish in Cantonese, Ngow fish in Teochew), garouper, endless types!! If you to the wet market, ask the fishmonger which is suitable for steaming :-)
Hi, where u get the bottle salted plums, cant find it in Singapore.
Hi all,
Love this easy steamed fish, i usually use seabass for my recipe.. :D
What fish did you used?
Hi my favourite is threadfin fillet, it’s quite expensive but delicious when steamed!
Hi, I am Pooja from India. I love fish and want to experiment with steaming them. I am very intrigued by your steamed fish recipes and just wanted to know an easy recipe to make salted vegetable and also what vegetables should i use.
Thanks in advance.
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Hi, what’s the name of fish do you use for this? TQ.
;)
Personally, I always use threadfin fillet (午鱼) for this dish. But feel free to use any of your favourite Chinese fish fillet such as tioman fish will do too.