Steamed Fish Asian Style

If you’ve been following my blog, you know of my love for Chinese food.  My mom made amazing Chinese food and since I was in High School, my family has been going to NY’s Chinatown religiously.  My husband and I are equally passionate about Asian food and our very favorite Chinese restaurant (maybe even our favorite restaurant) is Peking Gourmet Inn in Falls Church, Virginia outside Washington DC where we used to live.  It is legendary among the DC crowd and we were there almost every week without fail. We even considered getting married there (no lie). 

I’ve learned over the years, thanks to my mom and many wonderful meals, how to recreate some of our favorite dishes.  One of the dishes we love is a steamed whole flounder.  It comes to the table on a large platter, piping hot and sitting in a delicious sauce with topped with shredded scallions, ginger and garlic.  We are trying to eat more fish so I knew this was a dish I wanted to recreate.  Doing a whole fish is more than I was willing to undertake for a weeknight meal so I opted for thick, individual pieces of Cod.  This recipe would work with any thick white fish like halibut, sea bass or even salmon.  If the fish is too thin, it will probably fall apart while it cooks.

The sauce and fish go into the oven and right to the table when ready.  I quickly stir fried bok choy and snow peas and served with white rice.  A great, healthy dinner with tons of flavor!

Ingredients

2 lbs                 Skinless, Cod fillets (cut into eight individual portions)

5 tbs                 Low sodium soy sauce

4 tbs                 Rice wine vinegar

3 tsp                 Sugar

1 ½ tsp            Sesame oil

¼ tsp               Kosher salt

¼ tsp               White pepper

2 tbs                 Scallions, thinly sliced on a bias

2 tbs                 Fresh ginger.  Peeled and sliced into matchsticks

2 cloves           Garlic. Thinly sliced

2                      Shallots. Peeled and sliced into rings

1 tbs                 Canola oil

Note: This recipe serves four so you can adjust it accordingly based on how many you are serving.  I figure two pieces of fish per person.

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 400.

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, salt, pepper, garlic, 1 tbs ginger and 1 tbs scallions.  Pour the sauce into a large casserole dish and add the fish.  Cover tightly with foil and place in the oven. 

While the fish cooks, combine the shallots and remaining ginger in a small frying pan with the canola oil and fry on medium heat till crispy, stirring frequently.   Transfer to a paper towel to drain.

The fish will take about 12 – 15 minutes to cook and should register about 130 degrees.  If you don’t have a thermometer, you will know the fish is done when it is firm and the flakes start to separate. 

Sprinkle the crispy shallots and ginger over the fish along with the remaining scallions. I place the dish right on the table to serve.