This dish is my poster child for simple food.
By Andrew Zimmern
I’m not sure there is a nicer method and presentation than steaming a fish and plating it on an oval platter or serving it in the dish it was steamed in. This dish is my poster child for simple food. It’s made with just a few ingredients, and it delivers spectacular results. Whole fish tastes better, but if you don’t have access to whole fish, you can steam fillets or portions. Paired with a salad, some rice, and a nice veg, this dish is a complete meal that gets on the table fast enough to be a weeknight stalwart or a meteor dish for weekend entertaining. Steaming is an easy technique that allows for keeping a lot of moisture in the fish as well as delivering maximum flavor by using the wine and aromatics in the liquid base that you bring to a boil.
Recipe from The Blue Food Cookbook by Andrew Zimmern and Barton Seaver in collaboration with Fed By Blue. Order your copy now!
Steamed Black Bass with Ginger, Garlic, and Scallions
Ingredients
- 2 whole black bass, 2 to 3 pounds each, cleaned and scaled, head-on
- Salt
- One 4-inch knob fresh ginger, half very thinly sliced, half cut into very fine threads
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 cups Shaoxing cooking wine or sake
- 1/4 cup toasted rapeseed oil (available at Asian markets or online) or peanut oil
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced into fine threads about 4 inches in length
- 1/4 cup aged natural soy sauce Special equipment: bamboo steamer
Instructions
Wash and dry the fish very well. Season the fish with salt inside and out and set it aside. You can score it if you like. Place the sliced ginger and garlic inside the fish cavities.
Place 1 1/2 cups of the wine into the base of a steamer and add a quart or so of water, along with any ginger or scallion trimmings you have left. Place the fish on small plates and steam for 12 to 15 minutes, until cooked through. Use an instant-read thermometer to take the temperature along the backbone. It should read 130°F when done.
While the fish is steaming, heat the oil in a small pot over medium heat.
When the fish is done, slide it onto a large platter. Place the ginger threads and scallion over the fish. When the oil is almost smoking, drizzle it over the fish along with the remaining wine and the soy sauce.
